Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
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Y’all come out to the show! Here’s the full press release:
Songstress Jane Kramer brings her heartfelt ballads to the Altamont Theatre, one of Asheville’s most intimate and quality listening rooms, on Saturday, July 23, alongside an all-star cast of musicians.
The line-up joining Kramer includes percussionist River Guerguerian and guitarist Chris Rosser, two well-known musical masters of the Asheville band Free Planet Radio, as well as bass virtuouso Will Beasley and Billy Cardine, one of the most accomplished and sought-after dobro and banjo players.
Saturday’s show will be Kramer’s first performance at the Altamont Theatre, known for its amazing acoustics.
“The best way to experience my music is in a setting where people can really tune in and hear it’s poetry,” Kramer says, “so to be able to play in one of the most intimate and exquisite listening rooms in Western North Carolina is really exciting.”
Earlier this year, Kramer released her second full-length album, Carnival of Hopes, to positive reviews stateside and internationally. Her CD release show sold out at the Grey Eagle in Asheville earlier this year. Since then, Kramer has taken her tunes on the road, from the prestigious Wayne Henderson Music Festival to the Crimson Moon Cafe in Dahlonega, Ga., where she shared the stage with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. Kramer’s song of insight, regret and gritty self-reflection have been warmly received at all stops.
This mid-summer’s night dream of a singer-songwriter showcase will also showcase the musicianship and harmonies of a relatively new group of players on the Asheville scene, Honey Be Nice. The trio weaves together piano, guitar, Appalachian strings and vocal harmonies to create their own original folk music.
Based in Asheville, Honey Be Nice is made up of Billy Sheeran on piano and vocals, Hannah Furgiuele on violin, guitar and vocals, and Nikki Reid on viola, guitar and vocals. Sheeran and Furguiuele met a wedding, where Sheeran was he was playing piano and she was photographing the event. Reid and Furgiuele first connected over their mutual love of farming and food, then got together to play music after serving together on the Madison County Arts Council.
“We hit it off immediately and had a musical chemistry that was fun and light and positive,” Furgiuele says. “We laugh and smile all the time and the different backgrounds we each bring to the band have made it exciting.”
The band gave their first performance to a packed house of over 200 women at the Black Mountain Women’s Correctional Facility in February 2016. It was a memorable start, and the trio is excited to be booking shows and sharing their music in Western North Carolina and across the Southeast.
Jane Kramer, with Honey Be Nice
8 p.m. on Saturday, July 23 at The Altamont Theatre in Asheville
Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door/ Tickets are $15 for VIP seating in the theater’s first three rows
