Here at Gary Hayes Country, we do not jumble a bunch of epexegesis and click bait together to generate hits on this site. In fact, we do a lot of direct information on our articles on behalf of all of the bands and venues.
I myself am an ardent advocate for ALL of the interdependent venues, located all over America. I have a ton of separate articles for these venues and festivals, and the thousands of bands that adorn their stages.
The Grey Eagle in Ashville North Carolina is another of the few venues we promote, that I have not been to yet. Time has always prohibited me from visiting this venue, as it has prohibited all of us on things.
The world of music is a vast, amazing mass of people and places that spans a large area. Getting the chance to get to all of these places, for all of these bands and artists isn’t always easy. In time, I shall indeed get to them all.
The Grey Eagle Announces Plans to Reopen Thursday, April 1st
Asheville’s longest running music venue and neighborhood taqueria will welcome guests for dining and socially distanced concerts after a winter hiatus
ASHEVILLE – Live music fans rejoice; Asheville’s beloved River Arts District music venue The Grey Eagle is set to emerge from winter hibernation this Thursday, April 1st. Following a short pandemic-induced hiatus, the city’s longest running live music establishment is ready to shake the frost off its bones and welcome fans back to its flagship location with heightened safety measures and a stacked calendar of socially distanced events on the horizon.
“We couldn’t be more excited to get back to it,” says venue owner Russ Keith. “Putting on shows and giving people the opportunity to enjoy live music in a safe environment is the heartbeat of our business; not to mention allowing artists the chance to perform and connect with their fans once again. Our industry has gone through a lot in the past year, but we’re relieved to have made it to this point, and now we’re just looking ahead toward the future.”
In anticipation of its grand reopening, The Grey Eagle has already announced a bevy of limited capacity, reserved seating events taking place both indoors (with generously-spaced tables and masks required) as well on its airy outdoor patio. Highlights include an intimate duo performance by Charleston’s Stop Light Observations (April 16 at 8:00 PM), a sold out double-header evening with Brent Cobb + Kendell Marvel (May 22 at 6:30 PM and 9:30 PM, respectively), and a special Father’s Day performance featuring Firecracker Jazz Band (June 20 at 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM). Following a string of successful off-site events, The Grey Eagle looks forward to reviving its drive-in series with Big Something + Too Many Zooz at Maggie Valley Festival Grounds (May 28), with additional drive-ins to be announced soon. For a full lineup of calendar listings, visit www.thegreyeagle.com/calendar.
Although The Grey Eagle’s brick and mortar site has been closed to the public since December, the venue and its taqueria counterpart have had a surprisingly busy year. In late 2020, The Grey Eagle Taqueria welcomed two new locations under its wing, linking arms with both BearWaters Brewing Company in Maggie Valley, NC and Big Pillow Brewing in Hot Springs for exclusive food programming.
Now in its 26th year of operation, The Grey Eagle continues to deliver top notch live music experiences and delicious latin-inspired cuisine to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Stay tuned for additional show announcements and mark your calendars for The Grey Eagle and The Grey Eagle Taqueria’s grand reopening on April 1st. For up-to-date information on all things The Grey Eagle, including show listings, safety protocols, and more, visit www.thegreyeagle.com.
This brings me to another subject I wanted to talk about, which was the long awaited album from Mr. John Moreland called Live At The Grey Eagle. Mr. Gordon Wilson and Mr. John himself make this album, that was released in 2020 an instant classic, and a must have in your collection.
He delves deeply into his older albums, while using material from his “Big Bad Luv” album. The songs “Avalon” from his first album Earthbound Blues, and his 2012 second album called ‘In the throes” included songs like “Blacklist” and also “3:59 am”.
While he is obviously focused upon his more current albums, he equally maintains the relevance of his older songs. He breaks the album up with ( what is in my opinion ) his greatest song he has ever released, with a whopping 4 and a half minute performance of that song.
His live shows are a quality of wordsmith and poignant guitar playing, that would be ruined by a full band. This man was meant to play an intimate and acoustic setting….like this album