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Psychedelic Circus at Asheville Music Hall, Friday Night

If you haven’t heard of The Snozzberries and you live in Asheville, NC, then you must be under a rock. For the last year or so they have elbowed their way into the local consciousness by creating a live event that rivals anything any out of town band is bringing. This Friday night they will be at Asheville Music Hall for their Psychedelic Circus, and they’ll be bringing more than just their world class jams with them.

The Snozzberries are inviting out all of their friends, from hoopers to fire spinners to dancers. They’ll be putting on a true experience, including live art and body painting from Theresa Coggiola, whose artistic career began as a hair stylist in Chicago more than 11 years ago. Still, she always kind of knew she would use her talent and her training to branch into other kinds of expression.

“I grew up in an artistic family that was accepting of me expressing myself in different ways,” Coggiola explains. “When I was younger it was dance, and that moved into doing hair which I have done eleven years now. As I got more comfortable with that I wanted to express myself in different ways, not have it confined to one specific idea of art.”

Coggiola, who first made a name for herself in the live and event art worlds of Chicago, came to Asheville this past spring for the same reason so many of the rest of us have. Asheville, more than most other cities, offers dreamers hope and dreams nourishment.

“I have extended family in Asheville and when I started visiting a few years ago I realized it was a place I could start to balance my art and hair,” she reminisces. “When the time came when I felt called to get out there I set a date of April 1 and just wanted to get here before summer hit in Chicago. The city can be very distracting.”

She continues, “Asheville is a place I was drawn to, to gain some balance in my life, to be in the mountains and to do some self healing.”

Coggiola has gotten right down to it since arriving here. She quickly built a solid a reputation in Asheville through her work at The Sly Grog and local events.

“Rather than try to stick the norms in life like, ‘I do hair or canvas or live art,’ I’m exploring how to expand. I like to create a space for the people that come to get creative with me, or even just watch me paint. I also have started sitting with people one-on-one and hearing them, then painting intuitively what I felt in the conversation on their skin or face,” she says.

“It’s a way to sort of have my art create my life, and I’m trying to move with my energy.”

Between the excitement The Snozzberries bring, the art happening in the same room, and what is guaranteed to be a close-to-capacity crowd at Asheville Music Hall, there should be plenty of energy to share in and enjoy.

The Screaming J’s, Salvage Station, Saturday Night (Late)

The hettiest chicks, whose Facebook pages have been silent for several months, are all posting pictures of them and their friends again, which can mean only one thing. We are due for some motherfucking Screaming J’s. And those cats aren’t just playing anywhere, they are posting up over at The Salvage Station, whose September/October schedule is shaping up to be pretty phenomenal.

If you love piano boogie-woogie, explosive energy, trap-rock, and an amazing time then this is probably the place you want to be. Known for their powerful stage presence, their rabid fans, and the way they cling to the stage like a 4-year-old clinging to the door frame at bedtime, this is a trip worth taking.

It’s going to be an all-out, all-night, judgement-free dance party. If you have seen them before, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, then I hope this steers you that way, because like Stonehenge and The Great Pyramid, The Screaming J’s are just one of those things you need to see in your lifetime.

They are on the bill for 10 p.m., and I would expect a late start, because “the night-time is the right-time,” and they live for that life.

(Pro-Tip: Hang out afterward and and chat with their fans for an invite to the after-party, which will guaranteed be raging until after the sun breaks that goddamn beautiful Asheville skyline.)

Reggae Sunday’s at Highland Brewing (afternoon)

Every Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. you can catch one of the longest term reggae/roots bands from Western North Carolina, as Asheville-based Chalwa hosts a good vibes Sunday afternoon. On the outdoor stage in good weather, and inside when it rains, Highland Brewing is such a wonderful place to bring your kids and dog and family, and Chalwa’s commitment to positivity and kindness in their lyrics and music jives perfectly with that environment.

The show is free and happens every Sunday.

The Rahm Squad at One World West Saturday Night

Saturday night The Rahm Squad, featuring Jaze Uries, freshly back from a successful year in Los Angeles, is playing at One World West. Or to put it bluntly: it’s a free show within walking distance for probably half of the people that read my column.

It also promises to be outstanding. Rahm Mandelkorn is recognized as one of the premier guitarists in this town, but even more than that, he is known as someone who can bring great musicians together in epic jams. With all-stars playing with him and a new environment I expect him to lead a jazzy, technically stellar trio to all of the right places.

They play at 9 and, if you live West and want something phenomenal in your back yard, this is the place to be.

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