Daniel Johnston coming to the Orange Peel in June

Jason Sandford

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

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I cannot tell you how excited I am about the news that Daniel Johnston is coming to play the Orange Peel next month. I first learned about Johnston last year, when I happened to catch a documentary about him on Starz or something. (The documentary was screened at Sundance in 2005 – “The Devil and Daniel Johnston.”) His is a fascinating story of a man battling manic depression, and making some intriguing music at the same time.

Johnston flirted with fame back in the 1980s. He got noticed in Austin, Texas, for handing out his own mix tapes. Bands like the Butthole Surfers loved his stuff. Kurt Cobain wore a T-shirt sporting some Johnston artwork and talked up the guy.

Johnston’s music is spare and melancholy and, for me, strikes a nerve of stripped-down truthfulness. I think his music is amazing, and I can’t wait to see him at the Orange Peel.

Here’s his upcoming shows:
6/20 Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY
6/21 TBA, New York, NY
6/22 Popped Festival Philadelphia, PA
6/24 The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
6/25 Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN
6/26 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
7/18 Sticky Fingers Stockholm, Sweden
7/19 Berns Gothenburg, Sweden
7/20 Rockefellar Oslo, Norway
7/23 The Old Fruit Market Glasgow, UK
7/24 New Century House Manchester, UK
7/25 Indig02 London, UK
7/27 Whelans Dublin, Ireland
7/28 Whelans Dublin, Ireland