People from the community packed Main Street in Sylva, Thursday, Sept. 10, with the hopes of getting just a glimmer of the returning hometown band, Mountain Faith. Firetrucks, Triple Threat dancers, and finally Mountain Faith paraded down Main Street toward Bridge Park. The band was welcomed with open arms by approximately 1,500 people, according to […]
New Music Monday: Hiss Golden Messenger
Hearing a song by Hiss Golden Messenger for the first time, you might think you’re listening to someone from the Greenwich Village Gaslight Cafe Bob Dylan-y scene of the early 60s. The country/jazz/rock/folk sound of the band comes from a collaboration of singer/songwriter M.C. Taylor and recording engineer Scott Hirsch. Like one of the […]
Show Review: An Evening with Avidity
I can’t think of a better way to kick off my time as a staff writer for The Western Carolina Journalist than to review a show put on right in our neighborhood. Those of us addicted to concerts know that that’s a big deal because we are used to driving to Asheville to get our […]
“Spread It Heavy” with Porch 40
From house party to premier venue, Porch 40 is increasing the size of their performances, as well as their unique repertoire. Porch 40 is a college town band taking the local music scene in western North Carolina to a new level. Andrew Duncan, Carter McDevitt, Spencer Bradley, Scott Burr and Mitchell Metz formed the progressive/funk/rock group […]
Mountains inspiration for artistic soul
Around this time last year, Abigail Taylor was celebrating graduating from Western Carolina University with Motion Picture degree and a ton of memories. She returned to her hometown of Hickory and realized that something had changed since she left for college for the first time. What had once been a boring town to her had […]








