Meant to be lonesome: Maggie Valley Band launches new album, pushes ahead
The territory, and what comes with it. Being a traveling musician has always been a haphazard and often difficult position…
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Music classes at HCC
Haywood Community College Continuing Education Creative Arts is expanding its selection of music classes spearheaded by local musicians Julie and…
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This must be the place: WNC art councils: where do we stand?
It’s like pulling teeth. As your arts and entertainment editor for Western North Carolina, I find it difficult sometimes to…
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Don’t stop the music: A conversation with Del McCoury
If there’s one singular force truly keeping the flame of Bill Monroe alive and kicking well into the 21st century,…
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This must be the place: ‘Set the gearshift for the high gear of your soul’
The time had come. Last Friday, right around noon, I received a message on Facebook. It was a fella looking…
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This must be the place: ‘Life being what it is…’
Ten years ago this week I left my native Upstate New York for my first journalism gig out of college…
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Eye of the beholder: Outdoor photographer shares love of the craft
Catch him if you can. For the last few years, Steve Yocom has made quite a name for himself as…
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This must be the place: ‘You know I’m such a fool for you’
They said it happens. When I was younger, and very much so in conversation nowadays, it was always said that…
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Grant awarded to Women’s History Trail
The Women’s History Trail (WHT), a project of Folk Heritage Association of Macon County, has received a $740 grant from…
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Between the lines tells the story: Waynesville woodworker carves into passion
When you are in the presence of the woodwork by Ben Grant, you find yourself captivated by the contours of…
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This must be the place: ‘It ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe’
So, what do you make of it all?
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The end of silence: A conversation with Henry Rollins
He is a welcomed voice of reason in a planet seemingly gone mad. For the last four decades, Henry Rollins…
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This must be the place: ‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot…’
Nobody ever seems to know. New Year’s Eve is the same day every go around, and yet, why is it…
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HGTV features Cataloochee Ranch
Cataloochee Ranch, the well-known Haywood County vacation destination on top of Fie Mountain, will make its national debut on HGTV…
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House of my soul: A conversation with Langhorne Slim
The sound echoes a tone of inclusion and timelessness. When you listen to Langhorne Slim, you’re hearing something oddly familiar,…
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This must be the place: ‘Keep on rolling, my old buddy…’
Once the roads became sketchy, I became familiar with the territory.
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Raleigh hotelier purchases Balsam Mountain Inn
A Jackson County landmark has changed hands.
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Latest GSMA musical release earns Grammy nod
The Great Smoky Mountains Association’s newest musical release, “Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition,” earned a Grammy nomination recently…
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This must be the place: ‘I have been all over but I can’t help feeling stuck…’
The crunching kept catching my attention. After finding a scarce parking space, it was a short, careful stroll from the…
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All American Made: A conversation with Margo Price
Catch her if you can. In the last two or so years, the name “Margo Price” has overtaken brightly lit…
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This must be the place: ‘I been a workin’ man dang near all my life…’
“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing. As opposed to those that are just…
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Regional Artist Project Grantees announced
The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), administrator of this year’s Regional Artist Project Grant (RAPG), is pleased to announce grantees…
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This must be the place: Pass the gravy, and the memories
It was right around the second beer when I began to settle in. The warm sunshine and lingering foliage of…
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Exodus of Venus: Elizabeth Cook swings through WNC
Don’t fuck with Elizabeth Cook. In a city like Nashville, where your artistic integrity and credibility can be bought and…
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This must be the place: ‘Two all-beef patties, special sauce…’
That slow walk from the car. When I was 16 years old, I entered the American workforce. I was the…
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Sense of wonder: Freeway Revival releases new album, looks ahead
They stick out. In a city like Asheville and in a region like Western North Carolina, world-renowned for bluegrass and…
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This must be the place: ‘Gonna see my picture on the cover, gonna buy five copies for my mother…’
It’s the carrot. For the better part of the last 12 years, Rolling Stone magazine has been a carrot dangling…
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New logo for Haywood Arts Council
In its 40th anniversary year, the Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) received a $4,500 grant from the Fund for Haywood…
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Only here for your love: Futurebirds to rock Highlands Food & Wine Fest
It’s about finding a balance between your creative soul and your sanity. “When you feel you’re doing what you’re supposed…
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This must be the place: ‘And it feels like heaven’s so far away’
Taken too soon. It’s the three words one person — let alone one family or one community — never wants…
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Brewing success: Two WNC craft breweries win national medals
With sunshine spilling into the taproom of Currahee Brewing Company in Franklin one recent afternoon, brewmaster Taylor Yates is all…
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New Sylva brewery opens
With its grand opening last Friday, Balsam Falls Brewing Company becomes the third business of its kind in Sylva.
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This must be the place: ‘Take me out to the ball game…’
My first love. Baseball. The quintessential American pastime. The thing of which childhood dreams are made. The playing grounds of…
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Local World War II vet honored
Paul Willis, 96, a World War II veteran from Canton, was awarded the French Legion of Honor by the French…
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Mountain Heritage Day award winners
A popular component of Western Carolina University’s annual Mountain Heritage Day are the judged and juried contests, and other competitions.…
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This must be the place: ‘It’s times like these you learn to live again’
It was right around the third song or so that the goosebumps kept appearing. Up and down my arms, the…
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Growing up in freedom: Gladys Knight performance to benefit proposed Canton community center
Just outside of a small Western North Carolina community known as “Papertown USA” sits a dilapidated 84-year old brick schoolhouse…
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This must be the place: ‘They won’t know what route I’m going…’
For a moment, I thought the dog was going to charge me. Running along the quiet back country of Southwest…
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This must be the place: ‘What a way to ride, oh what a way to go’
Three pickup trucks. One stretch of highway. Since 2005, I’ve routinely traversed a never-ending stretch of Interstate 81 from north-central…
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New director named for Lake Junaluska Singers
Mary Wannamaker Huff has been named the director of the Lake Junaluska Singers, a choral group that has been a…
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Symposium draws on tradition, looks to future
The eighth annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium at Western Carolina University brought concepts of Cherokee philosophy and living wellness…
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Time of the season: WNC falls into October
Amid the innumerable reasons we love Western North Carolina, the fall foliage of October might be the common denominator that…
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Autumn leaves must fall, but not before being a WNC tourism draw
It’s September in the hills when Western Carolina University’s fall foliage forecaster Beverly Collins attempts to quantify the quality of…
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This must be the place: ‘You never slow down, you never grow old’
Tom Petty. I can’t remember a time without him and his band’s music in my life. It’s always been there,…
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‘Where were you in ‘62?’
The Jackson County Genealogical Society, winner of Western Carolina University’s 2012 “Mountain Heritage Award,” will host its annual Cruise-In fundraiser…
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This must be the place: ‘Where do you think you’re goin’?’
It’s the internal struggle. Do you participate in life and soak it in like a sponge being dropped into a…
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The fog of war: Vietnam vet reflects on service, new documentary
You could see it in his eyes. Sitting across from James “Jim” Joyce in his office in downtown Waynesville, his…
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WCU’s Mountain Heritage Day returns
Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day, a free family oriented festival that celebrates Southern Appalachian culture through concerts, living-history demonstrations,…
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Tell it from the mountain: ‘Uncle Ted’ White on bluegrass, the late Steve Sutton
What defines bluegrass music would have to be the banjo played “The Earl Scruggs Way” with the three-finger roll. If…
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This must be the place: ‘Remember me if I forget…’
He suggested two. I bought three. Standing in the small main office of the Woodsmoke Campground in Unicoi, Tennessee, I…
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