Ashely Chambliss, Below

There’s no denying it.  One way or another, September signals the end of summer. Sometime between Labor Day and the autumnal equinox, fall arrives as the light leaves and the leaves fall.  But that doesn’t mean the fun ends or the music stops playing.  In fact, September is going to be one very full month of fun.

Here are some of my picks with the women (lesbian, bi, queer and trans) in mind.

On Saturday, September 6, Organicfest 2008 will fill up the Battery Park area of Downtown Asheville will a celebration of everything green and organic.  From 10am to 6pm, there will be live music, dancing, giveaways, and an Organic Street Market overflowing with organic food, refreshments, vendors, and natural arts and crafts.  Organicfest’s Green Street features green businessesand organizations offering a wide array of products and information on green living, organic gardening and farming, and much, much more.  For more information, visit www.organicfest.org.

If you’re looking for a lot of entertainment in one place for one reasonable price, head over the The Grey Eagle Tavern on Clingman Avenue in Asheville on Sunday, September 7 for In The Round.  In The Round features three singer/songwriters (one is a duo so it’s really four); Ellery, Ashley Chambliss, and Kyler England.

Ellery is the husband/wife team of Justin and Tasha golden.  Their first CD, Lying Awake was nominated for three Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and showcases amazing musical and lyrical craftsmanship.

Ashley Chambliss is an Asheville native who was born with music in her heart.  She has an innate intuitive understanding of harmony and the voice to do it all.  She will blow you away with her profound lyrics and keyboard skills. 

Kyler England is based in L.A. these days but she has graced Asheville with her songs before.  Kyler’s music a little bit organic pop delivered with a soulful voice that soars and lifts your heart and leaves your breathlessly waiting for another verse.  And it’s not just her voice that will win you over.  Kyler’s songwriting in deceptively simple but are fully formed with deep emotions and filled with wisdom.

For only $7 at the door of They Grey Eagle, you can hear all three (four) of these amazing singer/songwriters in the round.  The show starts at 8pm and seating is limited so you might want to go a little early.  If you want more information, visit www.thegreyeagle.com.

Now, this next item would mean a bit of a road trip but with a couple of friends to help cover gas on the way, it will be more than worth it.

Phase 1 Lounge in Washington, D.C. is the oldest continuously operating lesbian bar in the country.  Their doors have been open since 1970. Now Phase 1 is the producer and sole venue for PhaseFest, an annual queer music and arts festival.  PhaseFest will feature national and international queer and queer –allied artists, musicians, crafters, performance artists, comedians, and even activists.  PhaseFest is being billed as the “East Coast’s Largest Queer Music and Arts Festival” and from looking a t the line-up, I think that’s accurate. The schedule for the entire festival, September 10 through 13 includes Bitch, Alix Olson, Athens Boys Choir, and Crys Mathews to name a few.  Tickets are available for each day of PhaseFest for $10 or $15 depending on the day.  You can also buy a pass for all four days for only $50!  Now that’s a great deal for enough queer entertainment to keep you smiling and humming for at least six months. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.phasefest.com. And to learn more about Phase 1 Lounge in Washington, D.C., go to www.phase1dc.com.

If D.C. is too far to travel, consider going to Durham instead.  On Friday, September 12, The Dykes of Hazard Comedy Tour will be rolling into Club Steel Blue on South Miami Boulevard in Durham.  The Dykes of Hazard will keep you laughing well into the next week.  And Club Steel Blue is worth the trek into the Triangle.  Club Steel Blue was voted the “Best Lesbian Bar in the Triangle” by the readers of The Indy and it’s probably the hottest LGBT club in the Triangle.  For more information about Club Steel Blue, visit www.clubsteelblue.com.  And to learn more about the Dykes of Hazard Comedy Tour, you can find them on MySpace at www.myspace.com/dykesofhazardcomedytour.

Next on my list is a musician who you, like me, may have been introduced to as part of the Four Bitchin’ Babes about 20 years ago.  Christine Lavin actually started her recording career at about the same time Ronald Reagan moved into the White House.  Christine is a New York-based singer, songwriter, and promoter of contemporary folk music. She has an incredible sense of humor that comes through in her music, lyrics, and stage presence.  Her songs swing between emotional meditations of romance and outright and outrageous comedy (Sensitive New Age Guys and Bald Headed Men for example). And the New York Times has described Christine as, “a comic observer of contemporary manners.” Christine will be performing at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Downtown Asheville on Saturday, September 13 at 8pm.  For information and tickets, go to www.dwtheatre.com.

If you like a lot of variety in one night out on the town, check out The Yard Dogs Road Show coming to the Orange Peel in Asheville. The Yard Dogs are a vaudeville style troupe of performers billed as a “hobo cabaret.”  They performances include sword swallowers, dancing dolls, fire-eaters and hobo poetry, all animated by the live sounds of their “cartoon heavy band.”  The Yard Dogs create a timeless space where ancient theatrical alchemy merges with modern pop culture. In addition to all of that fun and frivolity, Indigo Belly Dance will be on the stage with them for this September 13 show.  And you can experience it all for just $16 in advance or $18 at the door.  For more information and tickets, go to www.theorangepeel.net.

Coming to the Evening Muse in Charlotte on Satruday, September 20 is a musician I have just discovered.  Adrianne (that’s it, just Adrianne…no last name) is an award-winning singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles.  Her voice is as unique as it is beautiful.  Her songs are rooted in truth and will continue to play in your mind long after you hear them.  Adrianne has been a performing songwriter for more than ten years and has shared the stage with artists like Bonnie Raitt, Michelle Malone, Melissa Ferrick, and Kristen Hall to name a few.

“Every once in a while you run across a musician who takes you by surprise, who draws you in, lulls you with her music and makes you smile. Adrianne is that act. Tough but gentle, smart but simple, intense yet laid-back…” – Jenny Sherwinn, Gay.com

And here’s a really cool thing, if you show up at one of Adrianne’s shows with three or more friends you can get reimbursed for the ticket and get a free CD.  How cool is that? For more information about Adrianne and this awesome deal, visit her MySpace page at www.myspace.com/adriannemusic.  For more information about the Evening Muse in Charlotte, go to www.theeveningmuse.com.

If you’re interested in hear Adrianne but the 20th or Charlotte won’t work for you, she is also playing earlier in the month, on September 5th, at Club Steel Blue in Durham.  She is also playing a house concert in Asheville on September 14th, for more info about that contact Katie Larue, katielarue@hotmail.com.

The North Carolina Arboretum will host the Heritage Crafts Weekend on the 20th and 21st of September.  Spend a beautiful fall day in the Arboretum’s Heritage Garden and take in demonstrations by basket makers, broom makers, paper makers, natural dyers, weavers, jewelers, and wood carvers.  There will also be plants for sale and live music.  And you can grab a bite to eat or a cup of coffee and the Arboretum’s Savory Thyme Café.

Laura Blackley and a long line up of other musicians will perform at The Grey Eagle Tavern in Asheville on Saturday, September 27. This is an afternoon Fundraiser Feat for D.A.N.N. (Differently Abled News Network). D.A.N..N., through various media venues, celebrates the lives of differently abled individuals in WNC, provides information and promotes public awareness, education and community connections.  Laura Blackley, Velvet Truckstop, Dawn Humphrey, Peggy Ratusz, Eddie Mahaffey, John Engle and Yannick Brewster are all confirmed to play along with differently abled musicians. The cost of tickets for this Noon to 4pm benefit show is $10 in advance or $12 at the door; a great price for a great cause.  Go to www.thegreyeagle.com for more information.

The big, statewide event in September is NC Pride 2008 on Saturday, September 27. This is North Carolina’s 24th annual gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender pride festival and parade.  The festival will once again be held on the Duke University’s East Campus in Durham, NC.  OIA will have a booth under the lovely old shade trees, so stop by and say hello to us.  For more information about NC Pride, visit www.ncpride.org.  Some of the schedules have yet to be announced but there will be plenty happening for and around Pride that weekend.

Club Steel Blue has a full slate of events for Pride Weekend.  Someone’s Sister will play there on Friday night before the Late Night Drag Show.  Steel Blue will be swinging and dancing on Saturday starting at 5pm with Wine and Jazz; at 7pm DJ LV will start spinning hits from the 70s through the 90s; and at 10pm the Pride 365 Dance Party gets started. And there’ll be more fun on Sunday, too.  If you’re going to be in town for the whole weekend, consider making Club Steel Blue your home-base of sorts and purchase one their All Access Pride Passes for only $60.  It’ll gain you entrance to all their events and a few VIP perks as well.  You can get all the info you need at www.clubsteelblue.com.

If you’re not completely partied out by the end of the month, put the 11th Annual Carrboro Music Festival on your calendar. This is whole day, free festival on Sunday, September 28th features music and musicians at more than 20 venues, inside and out but all around the town of Carrboro. The list is way too long for me to even start including performers here but I will tell you that Crys Matthews is on it.  Carrboro is an interesting town in North Carolina’s LGBTQ history; Carrboro elected the first openly gay mayor, Mike Nelson, in the state and was also the first municipality to offer domestic-partner benefits to same-sex couples.  For more information about the Carrboro Music Festival, visit www.carrboromusicfestival.com.

And that brings us to my last noteworthy mention of the month, which will take place next month on October 4th: The Asheville AIDS Walk.  The Asheville AIDS Walk, though organized by WNCAP (Western North Carolina AIDS Project), is not a fundraiser for WNCAP.  The AIDS Walk event is designed to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in Asheville and the surrounding communities of WNC, to educate people about HIV/AIDS, and to encourage HIV testing.  Participants are encouraged to bring donations of canned-goods and non-perishable items for Loving Food Resources, a food bank serving people with HIV/AIDS.

The Asheville AIDS Walk will begin at 11am in the Ferguson Auditorium on the campus of AB Tech with speakers who are HIV+ addressing the question, “Why are they here today.” If you are interested in participating or sponsoring or volunteering for the Asheville AIDS Walk, contact Keisha Hightower at WNCAP, khightower@wncap.org or 828-252-7489 or toll-free 800-346-3731.

That’s all for September.  I’ll be back next month with more live music and fun things for lesbians and queers to do across the Carolinas.  Until then, I’ll see you on the other side of barstools.