This new album authentically reflects Appalachia. She sings about Hurricane Helene, her grandmother slipping into dementia, a cash-only saloon full of characters, and gratitude for life, despite its hardships.

We kick off Black History Month with this powerful one from Queen Esther. Blackbirding is a reclamation-driven Black country soul album that roams the Gettysburg battlefield to create songs that dismantle myths and assumptions about what happened there -- and to explore the reasons why, like slavery, the Civil War has never really ended.

Based in Nashville, Cordovas have often drawn comparisons to the Band, Grateful Dead, and Crosby, Stills & Nash; see what influences you hear on this fifth strong album of theirs. One track, “Wings,” features a surprise appearance by saxophonist Kamasi Washington!

Thursday, February 26, 2026 | Bon Secours Wellness Arena | Greenville, SC

She’s been a Colorado resident for a dozen or so years now, but Emily is originally from Greensboro, where a Nanci Griffith concert she attended inspired her to pursue songwriting herself. She then attended Furman University and lived in Cedar Mountain, Brevard, and Hendersonville before moving out to Telluride. On her latest album, Appalachia, she sings about Hurricane Helene, her grandmother slipping into dementia, a cash-only saloon full of characters, and gratitude for life, despite its hardships. “There’s this thing I do with every record I make,” she says. “I knit a prayer into it, and I ask for all these songs to find their way to everyone who needs them. I ask these songs to be of service, to help people find and experience joy.”

The Austin by Way of Appalachia Group Embarks on the Second Leg of Their Musical Journey

Wednesday, April 1, 2026 | Thomas Wolfe Auditorium | Asheville, NC

Friday, March 27, 2026 | Neighborhood Theatre | Charlotte, NC

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, playwright, retreat teacher… Dar Williams has been a fixture in the modern folksinging community since the 1990s. It’s been a long time since she last visited WNCW, but she reached out to us to say hello, and we asked her to come on back! Dar is in our area for a show Wednesday evening at the Booth Playhouse in Charlotte, and Friday at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville.

Saturday, March 21, 2026 | The Orange Peel | Asheville, NC