Classical, Funk, R&B and more at An Appalachian Summer Festival

Classical, Funk, R&B and more at An Appalachian Summer Festival

Violin, piano and cello; funk, soul and R&B (and that’s only two concerts!), plus a “Perfect” film, visual arts, and one piano four hands take the stage July 16-21.

BOONE, NC — This week at An Appalachian Summer Festival, July 16-21, there’s a little something for everyone — from violin, piano and cello, to funk, soul, R&B and more. The festival, now in its 40^th year, runs through July 27 and features a diverse mix of music, dance, visual arts, and film programming. For information and tickets, visit AppSummer.org.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT SERIES: TCVA Faculty Biennial
Tuesday, July 16 | 2pm | FREE

Turchin Center Senior Curator Mary Anne Redding moderates a panel discussion with Appalachian State University Art Department faculty members featured in the current biennial exhibition. Learn about the work and practice of App State’s esteemed artists and professors, with an opportunity to ask questions and view the galleries.

PERFECT DAYS
Tuesday, July 16 | 7pm | $10

Academy Award nominee for Best International Feature Film.

In Japanese with English subtitles / Japan / Rated PG / Directed by Wim Wenders / 2023 / Drama / 123 minutes
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, reading books, and taking photos of trees. Equal parts meditative and melancholy, Perfect Days is a deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us. Directed by German master Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire; Paris, Texas) with a luminous performance by acclaimed Japanese actor Koji Yakusho (who took home the top acting prize at Cannes Film Festival).


BELL-DENK-ISSERLIS TRIO
Thursday, July 18 | 7pm | $10-$55

Hailed as a “dream team of performers” (Strings Magazine), world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell, pianist Jeremy Denk and cellist Steven Isserlis will offer an unparalleled evening of chamber music by Debussy (Cello and Violin sonatas), Fauré (Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120), and Mendelssohn (Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49). This summer marks the trio’s first U.S. appearances since their debut tour in 2019, where they received widespread praise for their “fresh and cohesive sensitivity and superb technical polish” (Boston Classical Review). These three longtime musical collaborators and friends are masters at the top of their crafts.


ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES
with opener HARPER O’NEILL
Saturday, July 20 | 8pm | $25-$50

Founded in Birmingham, Alabama in 2011, the eight-piece soul ensemble burst onto the scene with their 2014 debut, Half the City, establishing a swampy Southern-fried sound with tight horn lines that quickly became a calling card and landing the band a slew of major festivals, including Lollapalooza, Coachella and Glastonbury. Known for their electric, soul-rattling performances and showmanship, the band has been hailed as “one of the most authentic soul-revival sextets around.” Critics have called frontman Paul “St. Paul” Janeway’s voice “an amazing thing. Part James Brown, part Al Green, part lunatic hellfire preacher. …It’s a controlled falsetto shriek and a silky, woozy croon. It’s the sort of voice that leaves a room emotionally wrung out but willing to listen to its very last gasp. It’s simply remarkable.”

The group has continued to expand its sound with every record, branching out well beyond old-school soul into sleek summertime funk and classic disco on albums like 2018’s Young Sick Camellia. The band’s most recent LP, Angels in Science Fiction, stretched their limbs further, building on the shadowy psychedelia and intricate, experimental R&B of 2022’s The Alien Coast.

With special appearance by opening act HARPER O’NEILL, whose debut album, Dark Bar Daisy, was hailed by Billboard for its “wisened vocals, which expertly bends notes and imbues the lyrics with the husky realism of someone who has lived, loved, lost and seen a few things.” The Nashville-based singer-songwriter has cultivated a fresh take on Texas soul music: a smokey and signature “night cap country sound.” O’Neill has recently been on the road with Abraham Alexander, Lainey Wilson, Corey Kent, and Ashley McBryde.


SIMONE DINNERSTEIN AND AWADAGIN PRATT, TWO PIANO
Sunday, July 21 | 2pm | $10-$40



View the full schedule at AppSummer.org. Purchase tickets in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts box office (733 Rivers St), online at AppSummer.org, or by phone at 828.262.4046.

Tickets for An Appalachian Summer Festival

With ticket prices ranging from $10-$125, as well as several free events and discounts for both children, students, and App State faculty/staff, the festival offers unique opportunities for residents and visitors alike to create arts experiences suited to their individual artistic tastes and budgets. Purchase in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts box office (733 Rivers St), online at AppSummer.org, or by phone at 828-262-4046.

About An Appalachian Summer Festival

An Appalachian Summer Festival, a monthlong whirlwind of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and film programming, is one of the region’s leading arts festivals, bringing more than 27,000 visitors to the High Country each summer. Presented by Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts & Cultural Programs, this annual celebration of the performing and visual arts is held every July in venues across the university campus, and features an eclectic, diverse mix of music, dance, theatre, visual arts and film programming. An Appalachian Summer Festival began in 1984 as a chamber music series, and retains strong roots in classical music, combined with a variety of other programming geared to almost every artistic taste and preference. The festival has been named one of the “Top Twenty Events in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society. For more information, call the Schaefer Center Box Office at 828-262-4046, visit in person at 733 Rivers Street, or explore AppSummer.org.

Corporate Sponsors

Bonnie and Jamie Schaefer, App State Campus Store, Broyhill Family Foundation, Appalachian Home Care LLC, Explore Boone, Goodnight Brothers, HighStreet Insurance Partners/Chuck & Anna Eyler, Mast General Store, SkyBest Communications, Creekside Electronics, Grandview Catering & Events, Peabody’s Wine & Beer Merchants, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Courtyard by Marriott, Graystone Lodge, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Holiday Inn Express-Boone

Media Sponsors

WBTV, WCYB, PBS North Carolina, Our State Magazine, The Mountain Times, Watauga Democrat, WNC Magazine, Creative Loafing Charlotte, Yes! Weekly, Winston-Salem Journal, Greensboro News & Record, Triad City Beat, WZJS 100.7 and WATA 96.5, WHKY 1290AM and 102.3FM, WDAV 89.9FM, WFDD 88.5FM, WASU 90.5FM, and WKSK The Farm

Restaurant Sponsors

Coyote Kitchen, The Local, Lost Province, Pepper’s, and Timberlake’s Restaurant