Our hills are alive with the sound of music. BRO highlights top upcoming performers and events.

If you were around the Charlottesville music scene in the ’90s, you’re definitely familiar with Baaba Seth. The world jam outfit was one of the region’s most popular bands throughout the decade—mixing a potent ensemble concoction of funk, jazz, rock, African rhythms, and Latin grooves. The high-energy sound was put to good use during the [...]

In the spirit of complete disclosure and unrepentant bias, I must admit to being an unabashed Trent Wagler fan.
Adrienna Valentine, the 2009 release from Wagler and Jay Lapp, last year earned the distinction of being, at any given moment, the record most likely to be found in my CD player and it was, by [...]

Dave Matthews will join his old friend Emmylou Harris at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on May 18 at the Music Saves Mountains concert to raise awareness about mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. The high-profile concert will also feature appearances by Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Patty Loveless, and Kathy Mattea with more artists to [...]

If you like Woodsongs, Mountain Stage, or E-Town, you should check out the new Fret Knot Radio Hour. The free online show being produced out of Asheville, N.C., features a mix of innovative artists, activists, and musicians, who are intent on making the world a better place. Stories of predominantly Southern culture are delivered through [...]

Ray Wylie Hubbard is a true Texas bad ass. His voice growls like a diesel engine that’s been on the road a few hundred miles too long. He sounds like he snacks on gravel and chases it with kerosene cocktails. And his songwriting reflects the brutal honesty found in his voice. The songs on his [...]

Bonnaroo returns to the farm fields of Manchester, Tenn., this June 10-13, and today festival organizers are creatively rolling out the massive music festival’s line-up. Every five minutes a new band is being announced on the Bonnaroo MySpace page. So far acts confirmed on the always-eclectic bill include Jay-Z, the Avett Brothers, Thievery Corporation, Gwar, [...]

Feral Fire marks the sixth album release from Murfreesboro rockers Glossary. There is an authentic garage band spirit to Glossary, and the band plays with a gritty honesty that comes from over a decade making great, under-the-radar rock and roll music on its own terms.
For Fans Of
Drive-by Truckers, Bloodkin, Lucero

Prime Cut
“The Sweet Forever” – [...]

Vic Chesnutt died on Christmas Day. The apparent suicide of the dark genius isn’t completely surprising, but that doesn’t make it any less sad. The acclaimed underground singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia, seemed to be constantly grappling with demons, but unlike many with the same problems, he was able to manifest it into beautiful art. A [...]

Here’s $10 well spent. 1% For the Planet—a global network of businesses (Patagonia, Mountain Khakis) that generously donate one percent of annual sales to environmental causes—is releasing a 40-song digital music compilation. 1%: The Music, Vol. 1 will feature exclusive tracks from a range of eco-minded roots artists including Jack Johnson, Brandi Carlisle, Mason Jennings, [...]

Old St. Warren brings the big jam back to the Asheville Civic Center tomorrow night. Surprisingly, tickets are still available for Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam, which donates proceeds to Habitat for Humanity. According to the event website, to date the event has raised over a million dollars for Ashville’s Habitat chapter. The event, now in [...]

Toubab Krewe is about to finish another year of hard touring with a set of high-profile shows. The West Africa-influenced groove masters from Asheville, N.C., will travel north this weekend to play the newly renovated Jefferson Theatre in Charlottesville, Va. The gig on Saturday night will be a big after-party for the sold out Phish [...]

Levon Helm will be driving Dixie down to the Dreaming Creek Stage this summer. The iconic drummer from The Band has been announced as an initial headliner of FloydFest, which will take place July 22-25 in its usual beautiful setting just off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Floyd, Va. Now rolling as a solo act, [...]

Start making plans for how you’re going to bring in 2010. Here’s a list of New Year’s Eve shows in the region:

Avett Brothers – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium – Asheville, N.C.
Larry Keel’s Mountain Music Family Circus – Grey Eagle – Asheville, N.C.
Toubab Krewe – Orange Peel – Asheville, N.C.
Widespread Panic – Phillips Arena – Atlanta, Ga.
Band [...]

Hopefully the only tumultuous weather in Cumberland, Md., this coming Memorial Day Weekend will be the storm of strings that’s inevitable based on the awesome line-up of the third installment of DelFest. After last year’s site destruction from hurricane-force winds, fest organizers are bouncing back with a huge roster of pickers in the Maryland Mountains [...]

Halloween brings out the someone else in all of us. Each year, on the last day of October, donning your favorite assless chaps, fishnet stockings, or superhero costume – or maybe even all three at once – is absolutely hunky dory, and most folks won’t even give you a second glance.
The Halloween show offers a [...]