The Best of 2023
As the last hours of 2023 tick away, Asheville Stages staffers look back on the year that was and pick their favorite shows from the past 12 months.
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Brian Postelle
My favorite show to think back on from 2023, the one that I remember most fondly, is probably Drunken Prayer's Sept. 15 set at Roadmaster Stage in Black Mountain. Morgan Geer (the band's central figure and sometimes lone performer) told me later that he had envisioned that show as a duo, with only him and lap-steel player Josh Gibbs onstage, but as the date drew closer, bassist Ian Wade and drummer Lance Wille joined up. The result was a four-piece, low-key acoustic style performance that split the difference between the rowdy energy of Geer's full-band electric setup and the songwriter charm of his solo acoustic performances. It was a rare and pleasing alignment.
The memory of that show is especially bittersweet given the word around town that Roadmaster Stage won't remain in the old produce barn tucked behind Old 10 State Road in 2024. The property has transferred and the Roadmaster is, for the time being, in flux. In just the last year, I saw some fantastic shows in that barn by the likes of Fancy and the Gentlemen, Hustle Souls, Vaden Landers, and the aforementioned Drunken Prayer. I don't know if the venue — itself a shrine to country music and Americana with its walls covered in posters and framed records — was what enhanced those performances, or if the musicians rose to meet the magic of the room. But everyone, performers and audience alike, seemed to agree that it was a good place to be. Here's hoping Roadmaster finds a new spot to keep that spirit rolling.
Photo by Rey Castillo
Beth Keefauver
My favorite live show experience this year was First Aid Kit at Rabbit Rabbit on Sept. 9 *because of* the bad weather. The ominous darkening sky, the angry pounding rain, the insane puddles that collected within seconds of its onset — this storm set off the radiance of the sisters’ sequined dresses and their ray-of-sunshine harmonies in pitch perfect style. I will never forget the magic of their performance or the gratitude they lavished on the audience for hanging through the downpour just so we could bask in their silver linings.
Photo by Jonny Leather
Scott Bunn
I was fortunate to write about many of my favorite performances in 2023, including The Smile, Tortoise, Setting, Yo La Tengo, and Bill Callahan, but the concert that I valued seeing the most this year was when Wilco played at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium on April 28. My wife and I purchased tickets in March 2020 to see Wilco perform in Asheville that summer. Of course, the world did not allow that to happen. When Wilco rescheduled that show for the summer of 2021, a hurricane passed through Asheville on that night, so Wilco had to postpone once again. Due to familial commitments, we were not able to attend the rescheduled show either.
It was with great relief that we were able to actually witness Wilco play instruments and sing songs in Asheville this past spring. Highlights included the opener "Handshake Drugs," the A.M. gem "Box Full of Letters," the three guitar convergence within "Impossible Germany," and the reminder that Nels Cline is free jazz Eddie Van Halen. Most of all, the concert acted as an actual reunion as so many old friends also attended the show. The number of middle-aged parents out on the town was evidenced by the farmers market tote bags for sale at Wilco's merch table. They certainly know their audience!
Photo by Micah Rogers
Micah Rogers
Fleet Foxes at Rabbit Rabbit was a favorite for me this year. While I didn't cover it, the performance, audience, and general vibe stood out as one of 2023's best. Robin Pecknold's voice is somehow even better live than in their recordings!
Atmosphere was a blast to photograph — the energy from Slug and Ant went straight into the audience. It was nice to have them back at The Orange Peel.
Photo by Arlo Abrams
Tom Chalmers
I will not be so brash as to say it was the best show of the year, but my favorite by far was Matt and Kim at The Orange Peel back in September. I went on a whim with a friend for something to do in Asheville on a Wednesday night. I was somewhat familiar with a few of their songs (like "Daylight" and "It's Alright") and their unapologetic upbeat sound, but I had no idea that two people could create so much energy and enthusiasm with just keyboards and a drum kit. I felt embarrassed for what I previously thought passed for a good time before seeing this insanely fun show.
The indie electronic duo are married to each other but also to a dedication to create a live music experience that is electric. Matt Johnson barks out uplifting anthem lyrics like a spirit-team captain and bangs on his compact keyboards the way Schroeder from Peanuts did whenever he was making a musical point. And Kim Schifino literally stands on the drums to encourage the already convinced crowd, then drops down to bang her kit with her whole being. Any time you can see someone assail their drum set with two giant dildos, you have dialed up the right show.
In their song "Get It," when they sing about going for gold and losing control and not wanting to go home, everyone in attendance feels the same and screams along in agreement. We did eventually have to go home, my friend and I staring at each other, wondering as we walked out, “Did that really just happen?” So much surprise happiness for a "what do you wanna do?" Wednesday night.
Heather Burditt
I photographed over 100 bands this year, covered a festival, and joined a local band on a short tour. But there is one show in particular that earns "my favorite show of the year" title. I saw punk rock legends The Descendents in Gainesville, Fla., on Oct. 26 for a special pre-festival show. I didn't cover this performance — I experienced it.
They've been a bucket list band since I was a teenager and the stars have just never aligned. I'm not exactly young, so it’s a little crazy, right? I'll never forget standing up front, singing almost every lyric to every song with a crowd full of (middle aged) die-hard fans. It was just so fucking great. The collective experiences we all have, to feel the joy that music brings, and forget everything else for just a short moment in time is exactly why I love live music so much.
Photo by Daniel Walton
Daniel Walton
More than 10 years had passed since Tangerine Dream last graced Asheville before the electronic group's October show at The Orange Peel. I'd been wanting to see them ever since hearing their landmark Phaedra as a nerdy-ass proghead in high school, and I was not disappointed. Sculptures of sound and light filled the room, making it a place of wonder and inspiration for all in attendance.
Photo by Bryce Lafoon
Storms Reback
My favorite show of the year was seeing Charley Crockett at The Orange Peel on June 5. I'd been listening to him for years, but for one reason or another had never seen him live. In anticipation of the show I listened, multiple times, to his entire discography, starting with his 2015 album A Stolen Jewel (when he had a jazzy New Orleans sound) and ending with The Man From Waco, a concept album that captures him at the height of his musical powers.
And I'm glad I did because his 28-song set at the Peel covered the highlights of both albums. Each member of his band, the Blue Drifters, added to the heightened energy in the room, but one stood out above the rest. Multi-instrumentalist Kullen Fox whipped the crowd into a frenzy with timely blasts of his trumpet. Like all the best shows I've seen, this one left me thinking, “If I ever have the privilege of seeing this band again, it will never be in a venue this small.”
Photo by Bryce Lafoon
Bryce Lafoon
2023 was a solid year of music in North Carolina. Memorable shows would be The Psycodelics and Neil Frances at The Orange Peel; The Band of Heathens and Them Cooley Boys at The Grey Eagle; Gojira and Mastadon at Harrah’s Cherokee Center — Asheville. But My favorite show of the year would go to Vincent Neil Emerson and Valley James at The Grey Eagle, and my favorite festival would go the Earl Scruggs Music festival at Tryon Equestrian Center.
Photo by Jonny Leather
Jonny Leather
Two decades removed from my initial introduction to Pedro The Lion’s emotionally-devastating masterpiece, Control, I was fortunate enough to see the Seattle slowcore trio perform the album in full at The Grey Eagle on April 25. With the album having entrenched itself deeper into my own DNA over the time passed, my melancholy soul may never have been more ready to be obliterated than at this concert. David Bazan & Co. did not disappoint, delivering the songs with the ideal combination of sonic force and heartfelt urgency to satisfy any fan. And in the following months, I found myself obsessively returning to Control as though it was new love.
Photo by Edwin Arnaudin
Edwin Arnaudin
It was another phenomenal year for live music on a local and regional level. Along with revisiting longtime favorites like Wilco, The National, and Nick Cave, I was fortunate to finally see The Smile, Sheryl Crow, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Pavement (twice!), Willie Nelson, The Walkmen, Fleet Foxes, Japanese Breakfast, Franz Ferdinand, Patti Smith, Graham Nash, Bartees Strange, Dinosaur Jr. (twice!), Queens of the Stone Age, Guided By Voices, Superchunk, The Wooten Brothers, Broken Social Scene, Lucius, and They Might Be Giants.
But my favorite of the bunch was Ben Folds solo at the Peace Center on Sept. 14. For whatever reason, front row seats were only a few bucks more than nosebleed spots, so I snagged one and lucked into being on the side where the singer/songwriter’s hands were visible on the house piano keys. Just over 25 years after discovering Ben Folds Five via the “Brick” music video, it was an absolute treat to watch this fellow North Carolina native play for a healthy 80 minutes from a little over 10 feet away. And the crowd couldn’t have been better — clapping at the right spots in “Zak and Sara,” singing Regina Spektor’s part in “You Don’t Know Me,” and nailing the participatory parts of “Army.”
(Photo by Brian Postelle)
