Downtown Asheville Blog

The Orange Peel has done it again. The Asheville Citizen-Times is reporting the popular venue will host David Byrne, former lead singer of The Talking Heads, on Sept. 21. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Asheville is by far the smallest market on the tour schedule. Of course, our town attracts many concert-goers from out of town. The Orange Peel has also become a major draw, earning mention in Rolling Stone magazine as one of the Top Ten music venues in the country.

Byrne will be playing songs off his new album with Brian Eno, the ambient-music pioneer who produced landmark albums such as The Talking Heads’ “Remain in Light” and U2’s “Joshua Tree.” Eno is not schedule to appear at the show, however.

Byrne will also play songs from his former band, as well as tunes from his long solo career.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, an Asheville real estate agent who definitely wants tickets.

For yoga practitioners, visiting local studios is one of the most rewarding parts of travel. Asheville offers many options, with four companies clustered near each other in the Downtown area, and a total of eight throughout the city.

It’s certainly a yogi’s kind of place, with many a “Namaste” bumper sticker on the local vehicles. One local teacher, Stephanie Keach of Asheville Yoga Center, frequently teaches on the national conference circuit. Many others are well respected in their own right.

Here’s a Google map of all the local studios and some related business. These are the ones located in the center of town:

Asheville Yoga Center - 239 S. Liberty

Lighten Up Yoga - 60 Biltmore Avenue

Namaste - 57 Broadway

One Center Yoga - 120 Coxe Avenue, Suite 3A

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, an Asheville real estate agent who wants to perfect his headstands.

Have you ever been to a farmers’ market and wondered what to cook with some of fresh produce you may be used to? If so, then the “Shop with a Chef” in Downtown Asheville is just for you.

The Asheville City Market, one of the premiere venues in town for local food, holds this event twice per month, bringing in different chefs each time. This Saturday, at 9 a.m. and 10:30, The Marketplace’s Mark Rosenstein with gather with visitors, peruse the booths, and pick a variety of ingredients. Then, he’ll put on a cooking demonstration with the very food he just bought. Best of all, there will be a tasting!

The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project hosts the program. The Marketplace, a downtown restaurant, offers gourmet dishes prepared from local, organic and in-season meat and produce. Much in the same school as Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in Berkeley, the distinguished fixture has been written about in the New York Times, Southern Living, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and the Wine Spectator.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, an Asheville real estate agent and local food enthusiast.

Quite often, our vibrant little city scores big with national theatre companies and internationally acclaimed troupes. The heart and soul of our local theatre scene, however, is made up of independent playwrights, directors and truopes. The Immediate Theatre epitomizes this community.

Their latest offerings, reviewed recently in the Asheville Citizen-Times, looks promising. Perhaps most interestingly, the company is putting on two shows per evening. Guests can choose one or both.

The Immediate Theatre is more than just a local Off-Off-Broadway gig. As part of a national network, the project aims to establish independent shows in smaller cities such as Asheville so they can be shipped off to larger epicenters such New York City.

With so many transplants in Asheville from these cultural capitols, the program has been a success, and just proves how metropolitan and culturally sophisticated our little mountain city really is.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, an arts supporter and Asheville real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Kasey & Associates.