Bele Chere Saturday night: biggest night ever for Ashvegas music?

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Here’s an interesting post from the Citizen-Times’ Bele Chere blog. The photo is from the WLOS 11 o’clock news, where they just had a quick blurb on Blues Traveler:

Has there ever been a bigger night for live music in downtown Asheville than Saturday? Think about it. Blues Traveler and the Derek Trucks Band was a huge hit for Bele Chere with thousands of fans paying $15 to see the show at the Delta Air Lines Celebration Stage at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel parking lot. Meanwhile, Sam Bush, the mandolin man, had a big crowd going on Biltmore. The Drive-By Truckers also had an enormous audience on Coxe Avenue. And the Orange Peel Club had a sold-out show by Ben Harper. We’ve never seen anything like it, in 21 years of covering this festival.
And one more word here: the Blues Traveler crowd was incredibly well-behaved. A lot of skeptics wondered if Bele Chere could actually charge for a show and get people to pay. Now we know that they can. Almost certainly, they’ll do this sort of thing next year. It was a gamble, but it’s one that has paid off and may take this festival to another level.

I think there’s no question – Bele Chere’s music lineup this year was a winner, probably one of the best years ever in terms of the music offered. Everywhere I went, I heard tight bands and saw massive crowds jammin’ to the tunes.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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