Arts, Crafts and Music
Arts and Crafts
Western NC is home to a wide variety of potters, sculptors, painters, glass blowers, crafts persons, woodworkers, fiber artists, blacksmiths and more.
Marshall is home to the Flow gallery which offers a rich selection of locally created art. Just down the street and across the river are the Marshall High Studios located in a recycled High school building on Blannahasset Island in the middle of the French Broad river.
The world famous Penland School of Crafts is located near Bakersville, NC approximately an hour away. If you visit, be sure to visit downtown Bakersville and the galleries located there. On the way be sure to stop at the Toe River Arts Council gallery in downtown Burnsville.
The River Arts District in Asheville has a great selection of artist studios as well as some great restaurants. The Southern Highland Crafts Guild is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville and has a great selection of art and crafts.
Music
Madison county is lucky to be host to an array of incredible musicians. Wednesday night is open mic night at Zuma Coffee shop starting at 7 pm. Every Thursday evening Zuma Coffee becomes a crowded bluegrass and old-time music venue. North Carolina’s Grammy-winning fiddling legend and local resident, Bobby Hicks often hosts the weekly bluegrass jam sessions. Those who want to get a seat inside the place should arrive a good bit earlier than the 7 p.m. start time.
Friday nights the music moves to the old Southern Railway depot in Marshall. At this community music and dance gathering‚ local fiddlers‚ singers‚ guitarists‚ and banjo pickers perform old-time and bluegrass favorites. The arrangement here is informal. Some of the groups play mostly old-time‚ some play exclusively bluegrass‚ and others play everything from country standards to the latest country pop hits.