The Overlook with Matt Peiken

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen have spent many years building lives for themselves in contemporary dance. Not long ago, they believed they largely had to perform and teach around the country to make it sustainable. Now, fueled by artistic residencies in Western North Carolina and the embrace of the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, the couple hopes Stewart-Owen Dance can become a fixture for Asheville dancers and audiences.This conversation happened just after a rehearsal inside the Wortham's Tina McGuire Theatre, where the company performs a string of performances there, May 9-19. We dissect their artistic process, how they translate concepts into movement and what sustainability looks like in today’s ecosystem of contemporary dance.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!David Brendan Hopes has written more novels, poems and plays than he can count. The river of writing hasn’t slowed at all since his retirement from UNC-Asheville, where Hopes taught English and creative writing for more than three decades.Hopes’ newest play is titled “A God in the Waters.” The Sublime Theater in Asheville is premiering it May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater. We’ll talk about the play in the second half as part of a larger conversation on answering the call of creativity. But first, we take an unplanned dive into the financial troubles at UNC-Asheville and what Hopes views as the root causes.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Talks of establishing a business improvement district in downtown Asheville stretch back to the 1980s. But over the past year, those talks have gained a lot of momentum, and some civic leaders are lobbying city council to approve it before the start of the next fiscal year.A chorus of critics are also reaching a crescendo with their opposition, pushing back against what they see as vague details, a lack of accountability and oversight and a process they say has been anything but thorough and inclusive.Today is the second half of a two-part conversation. My guests are Rebecca Hecht, owner of Shining Rock Goods; Susan Griffin, a 20-year downtown resident who co-chaired a previous effort to pass a BID; Karen Ramshaw of Public Interest Projects and Patrick Conant, founder of Sunshine Labs, a relatively new Asheville organization pushing for greater accountability and transparency in local government.Over the course of this conversation, we dissect some of the details, or lack thereof, of the proposed BID, including the subjective discretion of people hired to patrol the streets on behalf of the BID. We also talk about the potential economic impacts for residential renters and small business, the proposed power structure of the BID’s governing board and criticisms of a process led by the Chamber of Commerce and Asheville Downtown Association.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!There’s seemingly a full-court press from certain civic leaders to push Asheville City Council to approve a business improvement district for downtown. This BID would tax property owners, and by extension downtown commercial and residential tenants, to pay for a supplemental workforce to help the city’s efforts to clean up downtown and make it safer for the people who live, work and visit downtown.Amid this push, a pushback is developing steam from people with deep histories and stakes in the city. They smell vague details, a lack of accountability and oversight and a process they say has been anything but thorough and inclusive.A couple weeks ago, I produced an episode featuring the voices of advocates for the downtown BID. Today, in the first half of a two-part conversation, I talk with people with many concerns about the proposal on the table: Rebecca Hecht, owner of Shining Rock Goods; Susan Griffin, a 20-year downtown resident who co-chaired a previous effort to pass a BID; Karen Ramshaw of Public Interest Projects and Patrick Conant, founder of Sunshine Labs, a relatively new Asheville organization pushing for greater accountability and transparency in local government.Our talk dissects some of the details, or lack thereof, of the proposed BID, including the subjective discretion of people hired to patrol the streets on behalf of the BID. We also talk about the potential economic impacts for residential renters and small business, the proposed power structure of the BID’s governing board and criticisms of a process led by the Chamber of Commerce and Asheville Downtown Association.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Choral groups were among the hardest-hit and slowest to rebound from the pandemic. Two of the region’s enduring choirs are still finding their footing both artistically and in the wider public.Today, we hear from the choirs’ two artistic directors—Kyle Ritter of Asheville Symphony Chorus and Emily Floyd of Asheville Youth Choirs. They’re performing together April 27 at First Baptist Church. We talk with the choral directors about the challenges of surviving and rebounding from the pandemic. Kyle goes into detail about his choir’s relationship to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and building an identity of its own. Emily talks about balancing the sacred and the secular. Both weigh in on marketing choral music to today’s distracted public, adapting pop music into choral music and the future of the world’s oldest art form. SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Just as Asheville’s arts community has evolved, so too has ArtsAVL. It changed its name just a year and a half ago from the Asheville Area Arts Council and, even before the pandemic, refocused its mission from service to advocacy. My guest today is Katie Cornell, executive director now in her fifth year with ArtsAVL. We talk about that mission shift and the work that goes into gathering the data to inform her advocacy with elected officials at the city, county and state.We also talk about where arts tourism fits into the city’s marketing efforts and how rising real estate costs are potentially pushing artists’ workspaces and arts organizations out of Asheville.01:32 Shifting Focus: From Small Town Model to Community Support02:36 Data-Driven Decisions: Navigating Through the Pandemic07:08 Advocacy and Funding: Transforming Arts Support in Asheville11:02 Creative Economy Insights: Jobs, Impact, and Future Challenges16:20 Arts and Tourism: Navigating New Challenges23:40 Affordable Spaces for Artists: A Growing Crisis29:15 Looking Ahead: Solutions and Strategies for Asheville's Arts CommunitySPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Want to know what’s happening with McCormick Field, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and the Western North Carolina Nature Center? My guest has the answers.Chris Corl is General Manager and Director of Community & Regional Entertainment Facilities for the City of Asheville. We go into detail about the upcoming trip around the bases for McCormick Field’s renovation, including what’s being done to turn the stadium into a year-round facility. We also go through changes at the nature center, the city’s municipal golf course and how the city managed to patch Thomas Wolfe up enough to get back into business. Will the deeper renovations needed or a completely new facility ever happen? I ask that question too.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Asheville is very much a music town—not just for musicians, but also for fans, as evidenced by the six record stores dotting the city. As we approach the annual Record Store Day, April 20, we talk with Mark Capon of Harvest Records, Jesse McSwain of Static-Age Records and Morgan Markowitz of Earth River Records. We talk about the evolution of their shops—for instance, Static-Age is now also a bar/restaurant and live music venue—the risky and speculative nature of the vinyl record business and the unique approaches each is taking to carving a sustainable life in music.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Downtown business owners, workers and residents spent a lot of 2023 imploring Asheville officials to get a handle on crime, trash and vagrancy. All along, many were pressing to take matters into their own hands by working with city leaders to form what’s called a business improvement district.A business improvement district—or BID—is a tax assessment that pays for services on top of what cities and counties already provide. Talk of a BID has been in the Asheville air for decades, but could well soon become reality. There’s a vital public hearing at city council set for April 23 and potential council votes in May and June that could launch the BID with the next fiscal year.  My guests today are Zach Wallace, vice president of public policy with the Asheville  Area Chamber of Commerce; Hayden Plemmons, executive director of the Asheville Downtown Association; and Dana Frankel, downtown projects manager with the City of Asheville. We talk through all the inner workings of the BID process, explore the history of these discussions and how a BID would work day-to-day on downtown’s streets.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!D. Tyrell McGirt says his career path was blazed as a 10-year-old in Greensboro, when his mother signed him up for a lifeguarding class. He ran parks and recreation departments in Alabama, Arizona and Alaska before moving two years ago to lead the department in Asheville.In this conversation, McGirt talks through his department's recent decision to keep Malvern Hills Park Pool closed this year and balancing the needs of pickleballers and tennis players. We also talk equity, tracking park usage and his call for the public’s voice in shaping a comprehensive plan that will guide his department's decisions for the next 10 to 15 years.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Seventy years ago, Black Mountain College was a petri dish for experimental art, sound and performance. It was also the birthplace of so-called “happenings”—events where practitioners strived to transcend the bounds of existence and expression.Today, the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center throws an annual “(Re)Happening.” The 12th (Re)Happening is April 20. Artists who embody the ethos of old are descending on the former college campus at Lake Eden for a day and night of hard-to-define experiences.Today, we preview (Re)Happening with separate conversations with two Asheville artists—Claire Elizabeth Barratt and Madalyn Wofford, a founder of a Swannanoa-centered creative collective Swannatopia. We’ll talk about what they’re bringing to Lake Eden for (Re)Happening and how they’ve built lives and communities in the arts.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Middle housing is all the rage in planning and urban development circles—that is, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, clusters of homes with no garages but maybe a shared park, in walkable neighborhoods close to transit. Basically, it's housing with many of the functions of traditional single-family homes but developed with equity, the environment and affordability in mind.This past week, the Asheville nonprofit Mountain True convened a panel to discuss what’s called the "missing middle"—the absence of the kind of developments proponents believe can turn the tide of Asheville's affordable housing crisis. That conversation happened in front of about 100 people inside Ferguson Auditorium at A-B Tech. The Overlook with Matt Peiken recorded it and is posting it here in its entirety.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!The Buncombe County District Attorney’s office prosecutes dozens of cases every week, from capital murder to trivial infractions. But DA Todd Williams seems at least a bit frustrated by the public’s lingering interest in what, on paper, resulted in guilty verdicts for misdemeanor trespassing. Some are holding up the charges as veiled attacks on freedom of the press.Williams, in his 10th year helming the office, talks in depth with me about the charges leveled at two people who produce work for the online media outlet The Asheville Blade. That dovetails into a larger conversation about the news media and the conduct of journalists. We also talk about the importance of his department’s relationships within the Asheville Police and with judges, along with the application of prosecutorial discretion.00:00 A Surprising Encounter at the Polls: DA's Political Involvement01:45 Exploring the Political Nature of the District Attorney's Role04:08 The Intricacies of Relationships in the Legal System06:27 The Aston Park Case: Journalism, Law, and Public Perception18:07 Navigating the Complexities of Journalism and Law Enforcement21:15 The Evolution of Cannabis Laws and Prosecutorial Discretion22:52 Reflecting on a Decade in Office: Changes and Challenges25:28 The Relationship Between the DA's Office and APD27:08 Embracing New Media and the Future of Court SystemsSPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Barbie Angell is a poet and storyteller, children’s book author and emcee. Threading all of it, she’s a survivor. She’s candid about the range of abuse she experienced throughout her youth, and a quarter-century of ongoing psychological abuse she alleges from a domestic partner.The last few years have been particularly difficult for my guest today. While the pandemic brought its own fears and isolation for  Angell, recent health issues have taken a toll. In the week before our conversation, she spent four days in the hospital. Of course, Angell has always leaned on her traumas for her artistic expression. Several years ago, The Magnetic Theatre premiered “Death By Sparkle,” Angell’s autobiographical play deriving its name from a time she drank window cleaner in a suicide attempt. We’ll hear about all of it, along with two vignettes from her upcoming self-fundraising show, "Uncensored"—March 27 at LaZoom.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!If the nonprofit world awarded medals for bravery on the battlefront, the counselors and volunteers for the SPARC Foundation could be the most decorated in Asheville. SPARC works with people who’ve committed child abuse, domestic abuse and street violence to find other paths of behavior.My guest today is Jackie Latek, the founding executive director of the SPARC Foundation. We get granular about how she and her team work to change behaviors that can span generations. Latek talks about racial and economic inequities and other circumstances that often fuel violence in the home, and the societal perceptions that make solutions more challenging. We also talk get into the role of law enforcement and more holistic community interventions, along with how anybody listening to his episode can make conversation can make a difference.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Just last week, Asheville City Schools voted to merge Montford North Star Academy into Asheville Middle School. The move will reduce the district’s $4.5 million budget shortfall by as much as half, but it also raised a lot of anger, sadness and questions from affected parents. My guest today is Greg Parlier, a reporter who covers education for the Mountain Xpress. We look backward and forward at this decision, along with underlying trends that loom large for public schools everywhere. We talk about the impacts of charter and private schools, where things stand with a potential merger of Asheville City Schools into Buncombe County Schools and the troubled history of Asheville City Schools around issues of equity.  SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Chris Jehly says he used to mock artists who painted the natural landscape. At the time, he was a graffiti artist inspired by BMX and metal music. Since his move to Asheville, he’s become one of the artists he used to dismiss.The plein-air paintings documenting his local hikes and other sojourns into the woods are on through the end of March at Tyger Tyger Gallery, in the River Arts District. We talk about his path from graffiti artist to plein-air landscapes and how he sees himself as documenting specific places and time.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Watch any of his performances or study his visual art, the easy takeaway on Edwin Salas is he's one disturbed artist. And how could he not be?When I profiled him in 2019 for Asheville's public radio station, he told me about the rape he suffered 30 years earlier and about the murder of his mother when he was just 5 years old. Indeed, much of his creativity blooms from what he labels his “dark happy place” and is directly shaped by those traumas. The Asheville Fringe Festival is just around the corner, and Edwin Salas is about as Fringe as it gets in Asheville. He’s presenting his twisted version of “Hansel & Gretel” in two performances of puppetry, with dolls he carved himself.We’ll talk about why he never shields his audiences from death, even in his works for children. We’ll get into his recent artistic explorations through virtual reality programming and Edwin’s insistence that, despite his art, he’s far from a scary person.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Last year, the North Carolina Department of Transportation began the process of claiming properties through eminent domain for the widening of Interstate 240 and construction of the I-26 Connector. Rob and Sarah Shearan noticed the NCDOT offering their neighbors full replacement value on their properties. Not so for them. While the project maps show construction and expansion happening within mere yards of their property, NCDOT right-of-way agents said they only need a “partial take," offering less than $100,000.Rob and Sarah talk about their ongoing battle with NCDOT, their emotional and financial turmoil, what they see as the impersonal nature of the eminent domain process and the broader impacts on their community and quality of life.The episode featuring my conversation with Nathan Moneyham of the NCDOT posted Dec. 4, 2023.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Noah Bendix-Balgley is a revered violinist—concertmaster with the Berlin Philharmonic and a soloist who performs with orchestras internationally. He’s also a native of Asheville.I talk with him about the details on his ambitious, weeklong residency with the Asheville Symphony, beginning March 11. We  talk about his training and career path and how his Jewish roots play into his music-making. We also talk about his long connection to ASO music director Darko Butorac and the personal significance he feels in showcasing a broad range of violin-centered works in his native city. SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater.  Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023