Editor’s Note (October 2024): We love and celebrate our mountain communities; however, following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, many areas remain inaccessible for travel. Please check DriveNC.gov’s travel map for the latest on traveling to these areas.
Parker Concert Hall overlooks scenic Lake Milner. photograph by Kevin Meechan, Brevard Music Center
Visit Transylvania County’s music mecca, and you might hear the sounds of cellos and trumpets soaring across the grounds. During the warmer months, musicians from around the country and the world practice throughout the 180-acre Brevard Music Center, which serves as a hub for summer institutes, festivals, and concert series in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In addition to the practice rooms, concert halls and small cabins can be found tucked among the pines.
Students studying classical, jazz, and bluegrass music take the stage alongside professional symphony musicians and university professors. A majority of the season’s performances are held in the open-air Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium. Audiences often spill out onto the lawn, bringing picnic blankets and snacks to enjoy the music.
Come fall, concerts are primarily held in Parker Concert Hall, where small ensembles and soloists present works ranging from classical quartets to Irish folk music. The venue is the campus’s newest addition, allowing BMC to host performances year-round.
349 Andante Lane
Brevard, NC 28712
(828) 862-2105
brevardmusic.org
When an artist or band begins their set onstage at The Orange Peel, Liz Whalen Tallent knows that they’ll never play it the same way again. The particular strum of the guitar, the timbre of the vocals — the experience is singular. This is the joy of live music. Since joining the team in 2006, Tallent, now the director of marketing and events, has seen The Orange Peel help make Asheville a live-music destination.
The building previously housed a roller rink and an auto parts warehouse, but in 2002, it finally hit its stride as a music venue. Fans have gathered there to see up-and-coming musicians open for household names like Bob Dylan and The Avett Brothers. Tallent recognizes that each performance is a chance for fans to commune over their shared love for an artist. “There just really is not a ‘take-out’ version of seeing a live show,” she says.
101 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 398-1837
theorangepeel.net
Seasoned string players and the occasional pianist find an ideal performing spot on the Grand Old Stage of the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center. The retired schoolhouse auditorium is intimate, accommodating just 320 in its restored wood-and-metal seats — not a bad one among them, according to Executive Director Jennifer West.
West says that the center preserves and promotes the culture of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Since a community group formed a nonprofit to restore the old Stecoah Union School in 1996, the building has served Graham County in a multitude of ways. The textile studio and Junior Appalachian Musicians program make use of the old classrooms. In the fall and spring, the community gathers on the campus for the Harvest Festival and Smoky Mountain SpringFest, respectively.
In the summer, the Appalachian Evening Concert Series is a prime destination for old-time and bluegrass music, with some concertgoers having attended events in the auditorium since it belonged to their high school. This year marked the 25th anniversary of the series, bringing in notable artists like Balsam Range of Haywood County. Between the familiar faces and the old-time music, the community’s roots remain strong.
121 School House Road
Robbinsville, NC 28771
(828) 479-3364
stecoahvalleycenter.com
Bob Hinkle has an ear — and an eye — for acoustics. When he first stepped inside the old McMurray Chevrolet dealership in 2007, he looked up and immediately recognized the acoustic potential in its curved wooden ceiling.
With 40 years of experience in the music industry, Hinkle knew that the building had the right framework for a music venue. So in 2008, he and his then wife, Kim Hughes, founded what would become the town’s musical haven, White Horse Black Mountain.
Now, fans gather each night to hear bluegrass, Celtic, and blues music. If a genre is played in the Carolina mountains, it’s most likely in the lineup. Seated around tables and on comfy couches, folks feel right at home — that is, with better acoustics.
105 Montreat Road
Black Mountain, NC 28711
(828) 669-0816
whitehorseblackmountain.org
In addition to hosting WPAQ’s Merry-Go-Round and other shows that preserve the old-time music traditions of Surry County, the Historic Earle Theatre also screens movies and stages live theater productions. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
The scent of buttery popcorn fills the lobby of the Historic Earle Theatre as guests enter the narrow building, and it lingers as they settle into their seats. Overseen by the Surry Arts Council, the theater offers a similar experience as it did in the 1930s — with modern updates like air-conditioning, of course.
In her 40 years with the arts council, Executive Director Tanya Jones has seen these and many other changes — but the WPAQ show Merry-Go-Round is not one of them. The second-longest continuously running live radio broadcast in the nation, Merry-Go-Round has attracted visitors from near and far to hear Surry County’s old-time music every Saturday since 1948. The Earle has hosted the show since 1998.
Nostalgia is key to the whole experience, Jones says. “We’ve worked hard to maintain the integrity of the atmosphere.”
142 North Main Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
(336) 786-2222
surryarts.org
Joel Friedman doesn’t take credit for what happens at his shop, Zuma Coffee & Provisions, on Bluegrass Jam night. “I open my doors, and they come on in,” he says.
This popular third-Thursday event draws a faithful crowd each month, all smiles and gentle camaraderie — and often, several hours early. Friedman attributes the gathering to fiddler Bobby Hicks. In Friedman’s opinion, the North Carolina Music Hall of Famer has made Bluegrass Jam “a force of its own.” Hicks and other instrumentalists show up with a loose set list, visiting musicians join the fold, and the next song on deck is anybody’s guess.
Friedman may be humble about what he contributes to the creativity on display, but his ethos suggests that he does, in fact, play an important role. “I don’t sell coffee,” he says. “I sell community.”
7 North Main Street
Marshall, NC 28753
(828) 649-1617
zumascoffee.com
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
