Trustees endorse finalists for WCU chancellor
The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees has endorsed a slate of three finalists for the position of chancellor to…
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WCU celebrates steam plant funding
Western Carolina University got some good news last week when the state legislature approved a budget bill that includes $16.5…
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Cherokee votes no on alcohol
A referendum vote asking Cherokee voters to OK a tribally owned beer, wine and liquor store off casino property failed…
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Jackson wrestles with budget crunch
With the deadline to adopt a new budget drawing ever closer, Jackson County Commissioners are still deliberating how to handle…
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Swain to receive remaining settlement funds
According to an announcement from U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Swain County will finally receive the remaining $35.2 million owed…
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Jackson votes in favor of Blackrock conservation
A 441.5-acre piece of land high in the Plott Balsams is well on its way to being permanently conserved following…
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No small feat: Dwarfs wrestle with perception, performance
Perhaps not unique in that the reasons for both its popularity and its controversy are intertwined like the limbs of…
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Franklin approves tax increase
The Franklin Town Council unanimously approved its 2018-19 budget on Monday night, which includes a 4-cent property tax increase for…
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State budget aims to deliver more for less
Even though the process by which legislative changes to North Carolina’s $23 billion 2018-19 budget were made — shutting out…
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Everybody’s scared, everybody’s inspired: Shovels & Rope to headline Cold Mountain Music Festival
There’s a reason Shovels & Rope has evolved into one of the “must see” live acts in the music scene…
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Maybe believe: A conversation with Jon Stickley
When you dig into the music of The Jon Stickley Trio, you find yourself meandering farther down the rabbit hole,…
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This must be the place
I was thrown into the deep end. When I was 20 years old, I became a substitute teacher. I was…
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All-American bluegrass girl: A conversation with Rhonda Vincent
Hot off the heels of winning the Grammy for “Best Bluegrass Album” this past winter, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage…
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This must be the place: Chasing the American Dream of Breakfast
It’s the only way to eat breakfast. Two eggs, two slices of toast (cut into four triangular pieces), a side…
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WCU Concert Choir to perform in NYC
Performing at certain venues can be the highlight of a musical career, as if the stage itself shares a star…
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Least I got the blues: Justin Townes Earle on songwriting, Van Zandt
When two-thirds of your full name encompasses two-thirds of arguably America’s greatest songwriters, it’s pretty apparent you’ll follow suit —…
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Cry sweet tears of joy, touch the sky
Right around the point of the song “Beginnings” when Chicago singer/keyboardist Robert Lamm belted out the lyrics, “Time passes much…
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Collecting the fire within: Rising string act to headline Sylva festival
It’s one thing to play bluegrass, mountain and old-time music. It’s another thing to dig deep into the rich, intricate…
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This must be the place: Never take those mountains for granted
Standing in the midst of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one can’t help but feel refreshed, a return to…
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WCU marching band invited to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band will be enjoying one of the best things about Thanksgiving Day…
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Aw, shucks: Haywood County crafter keeps heritage craft alive, vibrant
You’ve probably driven by the Red Barn Greenhouse & Garden Center on Dellwood Road between Maggie Valley and Waynesville a…
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This must be the place: Never forget what you made, what made you
It seems like a race against time. As a longtime arts and entertainment editor, I find myself in the backwoods…
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Got to keep on travelin’, movin’ on down the line: A conversation with Ronnie McCoury
The charm and allure of bluegrass music resides in its seamless ability to have one foot in the sacred, traditional…
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This must be the place: Head for the whirling sands of your soul
Standing atop an Outer Banks fishing trawler, I gazed across the high desert of northwestern Nevada.
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Greening Up the Mountains 2018
The 21st annual Greening Up the Mountains Festival is Saturday, April 28, in downtown Sylva. The festival includes more than…
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This must be the place: ‘Welcome to TRL, I’m Carson Daly…’
“How did you get into all this?”
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A hard life makes a good song: Jeremy Garrett of The Infamous Stringdusters
Hopping up on my truck tailgate one recent afternoon, fiddler/singer Jeremy Garrett gazed around the Spirit of the Suwannee Music…
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Roads that we abandon, and others that we take
A slight breeze awoke me from my slumber this past Saturday morning. Swaying in the hammock, I looked upward while…
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New Haywood Arts director
The Haywood County Arts Council Board of Directors unanimously elected Leigh Forrester as the new executive director. She will assume…
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Halfway where: Ol’ Dirty Bathtub releases debut album
What started out simply as a creative outlet has now taken on a life of its own. Based out of…
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This must be the place: Every soul has a story, every story has a face
You can’t help but smile. Watching old clips of “On The Road” with Charles Kuralt, you find yourself in a…
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The Art of Garfunkel: Musical, pop culture icon to play WNC
In conversation, Art Garfunkel is as poignant and whimsical as his music. The strong, heartfelt emotion behind his thoughts and…
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The Swag changes hands
David and Annie Colquitt of Knoxville, Tennessee, are purchasing The Swag, a popular mountain retreat near Waynesville.
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This must be the place: I know I'll see you again in the long run
Somewhere around central South Carolina my mind began to drift.
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In his own words: Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Academy Award nominee Tony Kushner
Smoky Mountain News: When you look at American society today, what do you see? Tony Kushner: Oh, my god. [Laughs].…
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This must be the place: ‘And live the way I said I would, but somehow never did…’
As I awoke in my hammock, I could see the branches and leaves swaying above, sprinkling small bits of the…
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‘American Pickers’ return to WNC
Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and their team are excited to return to Western North Carolina to film more episodes of…
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Cherokee to open first brewery
In keeping with the long tradition of women within indigenous cultures crafting fermented beverages, Seven Clans Brewing is born.
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New pictorial book on Cherokee released
Images of America: Cherokee, Anna Fariello’s new pictorial history book, will be presented during a special event at 6:30 p.m.…
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Hard times, come again no more: An evening with Scott Ainslie
Literally and figuratively, the idea of “listening” is somewhat of a lost art in our digital world. When a voice…
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This must be the place: There’s a reason you should care, seriously
Sitting in a chair on a front lawn late Sunday afternoon, the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, a…
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‘Let the freaks take back the night…’
The further you meander down the road of life, the more you come to realize just how haphazardly bumpy and…
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The gold in the mountain of our madness: A conversation with Wayne Coyne
For the last 35 years, the Flaming Lips have gone from a fringe rock act in Oklahoma to a highly-sought-after…
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This must be the place: ‘Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again’
When you’re young — full of confusion about the ways and means of a “stable adulthood,” amid a hazy sense…
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Wind on the water, carry me home
When you simply mention the name Graham Nash, a multitude of sounds, images, movements and ideas flood your field-of-vision. You…
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This must be the place: ‘There’s no such thing as truth. Everyone has their own truth.’
Now, let’s get this out of the way. What happened to U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan from within the social…
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New Yancys album strikes a chord
A southern gothic love triangle set in the age of Trump? Or maybe J.D. Vance’s bestseller Hillbilly Elegy as a…
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On your plate, on the plateau: Chef Ken Naron of Canyon Kitchen
Though the culinary and agricultural history of Southern Appalachia is as vast and robust as the tall and rigorous mountains…
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This must be the place: ‘It’s herd behavior, it’s evolution, baby’
Cape Cod. Well, to be more specific, the small seaside town of Chatham, Massachusetts, on the southeastern coast of Cape…
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Galaxy of the Stars series returns to WCU
The Galaxy of Stars Series, the only professional entertainment series in Jackson County, enters its 12th season this fall. It…
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