ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The second annual Asheville music extravaganza AVL Fest returns August 1, bringing dozens of bands to 22 local venues across four days.
Meet one of the headliners:
Recent release: “Dance Me Down Easy: The Woodstock Sessions EP,” January 18 2024
Genre: Alternative Country
Hometown: Asheville, N.C.
Performance: 6:30 p.m., Friday, August 2, The Outpost
“Town Mountain” started in a mountain town.
“Next year’s the 20th anniversary of the band. It’s been in Asheville since its existence,” said “Town Mountain” bassist Zach Smith. “The band is named after an actual landmark in the middle of downtown. We have a lot of Asheville pride, and I think it definitely means a lot to all of us to be a part of this festival that’s celebrating the Asheville music community.”
The band began their own journey in the Asheville music scene at The Grey Eagle.
“Definitely attribute a lot of ‘Town Mountain’s’ early success to The Grey Eagle crew,” Smith said. “Just for having them on opening slots, and then giving them headlining spots, and just really supporting the band since day one.”
Those early Grey Eagle shows were a far more bluegrassy version of the band. “Town Mountain” was founded by guitarist Robert Greer and mandolin player Phil Barker as a bluegrass group. It has grown to include fiddler Bobby Britt, Silas Hamilton on the pedal steel, drummer Camry Harris and Smith.
The style of their music has grown with the group. “Dance Me Down Easy,” the newest “Town Mountain” record, is the furthest from traditional bluegrass the band has gone yet.
“This is by far the biggest departure,” Smith said. “It’s full-on drums, full-on pedal steel. I did play stand-up bass on a few tunes, but it was mostly electric bass. It was very much the new sound through and through.”
Though “Town Mountain has evolved over the years, it has remained a source of inspiration for younger bluegrass musicians in Asheville. Smith himself still admired his older bandmates.
“I’ve been with the band nine years, and I was a fan long before that, but in my mind I kind of see myself as a newbie still,” Smith said. “When I moved to town and got the gig with these guys, it was very cool to go to jams and see how ‘Town Mountain’ has impacted the bluegrass scene and really helped younger artists succeed. Younger artists look up to the band, and being a part of that is really cool.”
As for their own influences, the biggest hit “Town Mountain” has had to date is their cover of the Bruce Springsteen song “I’m On Fire.” The band loves to take songs they love and breathe new life into them, Smith said. According to his calculation, an average “Town Mountain” show will be 70% original work and 30% covers.
That formula might be a little different at AVLFest, however.
“This is a super important show for us because it’s in our hometown,” Smith said. “We’re gonna try and pull out some special hits that maybe we don’t always play. We’ve got this tune that’s gonna be on our upcoming record that we are hoping to put out next year. It’s an ode, it’s kind of like a love song to Asheville.”
Tickets to see “Town Mountain” and the rest of the AVLFest lineup can be found on the festival website, www.avlfest.com.