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Lovers Leap & Bill and the Belles
- Date:
- Thursday, January 16, 2020
- Time:
- 8:30PM
- Venue:
- The Main Stage
- Price:
- $15 Advance // $15 Door
- Status:
- Tickets on Sale Now
- Details:
- Main Hall Seated - Limited Tables Available with a Dinner Reservation :: All Other Seating is First Come First Serve General Admission :: Please Call Venue for Dinner Reservations
Lovers Leap returns to Asheville! These NC and TN acoustic music powerhouses put on a performance together that is not to be missed.
Bill and the Belles will open the evening — their freewheeling, lighthearted approach to music has endeared them to listeners of every generation. With a spirited sound that falls somewhere between old-time country and vaudeville, the group puts its own spin on a golden era of music, specifically the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.
Lovers Leap
Lovers Leap began as a musical blind date between Grammy-nominated bassist Shelby Means (formerly of Della Mae) acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Lucey (formerly Biscuit Burners) award winning guitarist Joel Timmons (Sol Driven Train) and slide guitar pioneer Billy Cardine (Acoustic Syndicate and Biscuit Burners). They balance lush harmonies with provocative solos.
Bill and the Belles
https://billandthebelles.com/home
“We like old music and some of us are consumed by it,” says lead singer and guitarist Kris Truelsen with a knowing laugh. “But we don't have a desire to copy it. We want to sound like ourselves and tell our story.”
As a result, a majority of the material on DreamSongs, Etc., is original, from the upbeat number, “Wedding Bell Chimes,” through the yearning ode to youth, “Back to My Childhood Days.” While Truelsen’s distinctive tenor anchors the project, the Tennessee-based band’s trio harmonies gleam against a backdrop of banjo, fiddle, accordion, ukulele, and clarinet.
“The title seemed appropriate in that a lot of the songs are about dreaming for something better, better days, better lovers, better whatever it may be,” Truelsen says. “Not to mention many of the songs we chose to sing are about the sentimental dreamer.”
The band takes its name from Bill and Belle Reed, performers from the 1920s who recorded the songs “Old Lady and the Devil” and “You Shall Be Free” in Johnson City, Tennessee. Truelsen says, “That was the first time I heard ‘Old Lady and the Devil,’ and since then it’s become clear to me why it’s stood the test of time. Simple, plaintive, stripped-down but incredibly expressive, tough as nails and funny as hell. I first heard that side on the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music, a collection that continues to inspire. Our band’s name is a way to honor their music, the music of this place, and this region in general that we’ve come to call home.