ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The second annual Asheville music extravaganza AVL Fest returns Aug. 1, bringing dozens of bands to 22 local venues across four days.
Meet one of the headliners:
Tyler Ramsey
Recent release: “New Lost Ages,” Feb. 9, 2024
Genre: Indie Rock
Hometown: Asheville, N.C.
Performance: 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 2, The Outpost
Tyler Ramsey is a singer-songwriter and former “Band of Horses” indie rocker that has made Asheville his home for decades.
“I don’t know whether this city embraced me or if I embraced it and was stubborn enough to stick around,” Ramsey joked. “I watched it grow and become more diverse and drawing a lot of people in because it’s such a beautiful place to be. The music aspect of this town has always been a big part of its identity.”
Asheville has always been a big part of Ramsey’s. The guitarist made The Grey Eagle his home base in the Asheville music scene early on. Over the years, he established a thriving friendship with Jeff Whitworth, the organizer of AVL Fest and talent buyer for The Grey Eagle.
“Jeff and I have known each other forever,” Ramsey said. “He’s watched me grow and change and go through different various phases of my music career and I’ve watched him grow and change and go through different phases of his music business career.”
His relationship with Whitworth and affection for Asheville led to Ramsey granting an easy yes when asked to play AVL Fest, where he will be performing at 8 p.m. Friday at The Outpost, 521 Amboy Road, before The New Pornographers.
The music Ramsey will be bringing to the stage will include work from his most recent album, “New Lost Ages,” released Feb. 9.
“I went out and recorded it in Seattle, and it was produced by Phil Ek, who has done ‘Fleet Foxes’ and ‘Shins’ and all kinds of huge records,” Ramsey said. “So it’s definitely my proudest moment so far.”
Though Ramsey is excited to play his music live, he also thinks there is something to the act of listening intentionally to “New Lost Ages” at home.
“Put it on, listen to the first few tracks, see what you think. There’s a song called ‘These Ghosts’ that opens it. I sequenced it in a way that hopefully will keep people’s attention,” Ramsey said. “I think we all have lost attention spans, but I would say press play and see what happens at the end. See if you can make it through to the end.”
Ramsey certainly is not at the end of his musical journey. “New Lost Ages” is not only his latest album. According to Ramsey, it is his definitive work so far.
“It’s my best album,” the singer-songwriter said. “I’m super proud of it.”
Tickets to see Ramsey and the rest of the AVLFest lineup can be found on the festival website, www.avlfest.com.