Arts + Entertainment
If I could share your company: A conversation with Willis Alan Ramsey
In truth, there are two camps when it comes to Texas singer-songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey: you’re either completely obsessed with his music, with his tunes becoming a pillar of the soundtrack of your life, or you’ve never heard of him.
A night at the opera: WCU composer debuts performance based on the work of Ron Rash
Ron Rash has never been to an opera. But later this month, he’ll sit down to enjoy an opus based on stories and poems he wrote about the Southern Appalachian mountains he calls home.
“Shelton Laurel: An Appalachian Opera” takes place over a few years around the Civil War. The opera, which will see its world premiere later this month, tells the tale of farmers in Madison County’s Shelton Laurel, not far from Western Carolina University’s Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee where the work will be performed.
Some kind of wonderful: Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad
In the 1970s, Grand Funk Railroad was one of the bestselling American rock bands on the planet. To that, in 1971, the Flint, Michigan, trio broke the Beatles ticket sales record at New York’s Shea Stadium, a feat coinciding with GFR having six platinum albums and seven gold within the original lineup’s short tenure (1969-1976). Oh, and another thing — the songs still rock, too.
A year in review: The best albums of 2025
Editor’s Note: Since August 2012, Garret K. Woodward has held the position of arts and entertainment editor for The Smoky Mountain News. In December 2018, he also became a contributing writer for Rolling Stone.
Below are a handful of excerpts from my Rolling Stone travels this year covering some of the best albums of 2025, excursions that took me from Western North Carolina to Montana, Florida to Colorado, Tennessee to Utah and then some — always in search of all things beautiful and true, especially when it comes to the sacred, ancient act of live performance.
Lighting the fuse: New album showcases historic 1925 ‘Asheville Sessions’
A century ago, a record producer from New York City headed into Western North Carolina in search of the sound of Southern Appalachia. Landing in downtown Asheville, Ralph Peer set up a recording space in the former George Vanderbilt Hotel and began work on a series of field recordings that would forever change the course of American music.
'Ice Fest' takes over Haywood
Celebrating the beauty of winter in the mountains of Western North Carolina, “Ice Fest Weekend” will take place Jan. 29-Feb. 1 at various places around Haywood County.
• “Ice Fest” will kick off with a “Cool Jazz Concert” featuring the Ben Rosenblum Trio at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
Disappointing reads, or ‘Lit in the Pits’
Since 1999, hundreds of my reviews have appeared in The Smoky Mountain News. Of those, I would guess that less than 25 were negative. The cause of this disparity is simple enough. My good editor at the SMN lets me choose the books I review, and so I generally pick ones I expect to enjoy.
Ready to celebrate Robert Burns?
The annual “Burns Night Supper” will be held from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28, at The Scotsman Public House in Waynesville.
Scots all over the world celebrate the birth of Robert Burns, national poet of Scotland, largely noted for saving the old melodies by adding new words to well-known tunes.
