This week at An Appalachian Summer Festival, July 16-21, there’s a little something for everyone — from violin, piano and cello, to funk, soul, R&B and more. The festival, now in its 40th year, runs through July 27 and features a diverse mix of music, dance, visual arts, and film programming. For information and tickets, visit AppSummer.org.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT SERIES: TCVA Faculty Biennial
Tuesday, July 16 | 2pm | FREE
Turchin Center Senior Curator Mary Anne Redding moderates a panel discussion with Appalachian State University Art Department faculty members featured in the current biennial exhibition. Learn about the work and practice of App State’s esteemed artists and professors, with an opportunity to ask questions and view the galleries.
PERFECT DAYS
Tuesday, July 16 | 7pm | $10
Academy Award nominee for Best International Feature Film.
In Japanese with English subtitles / Japan / Rated PG / Directed by Wim Wenders / 2023 / Drama / 123 minutes
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, reading books, and taking photos of trees. Equal parts meditative and melancholy, Perfect Days is a deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us. Directed by German master Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire; Paris, Texas) with a luminous performance by acclaimed Japanese actor Koji Yakusho (who took home the top acting prize at Cannes Film Festival).
BELL-DENK-ISSERLIS TRIO
Thursday, July 18 | 7pm | $10-$55
Hailed as a “dream team of performers” (Strings Magazine), world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell, pianist Jeremy Denk and cellist Steven Isserlis will offer an unparalleled evening of chamber music by Debussy (Cello and Violin sonatas), Fauré (Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120), and Mendelssohn (Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49). This summer marks the trio’s first U.S. appearances since their debut tour in 2019, where they received widespread praise for their “fresh and cohesive sensitivity and superb technical polish” (Boston Classical Review). These three longtime musical collaborators and friends are masters at the top of their crafts.
ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONESwith opener HARPER O’NEILL
Saturday, July 20 | 8pm | $25-$50
Founded in Birmingham, Alabama in 2011, the eight-piece soul ensemble burst onto the scene with their 2014 debut, Half the City, establishing a swampy Southern-fried sound with tight horn lines that quickly became a calling card and landing the band a slew of major festivals, including Lollapalooza, Coachella and Glastonbury. Known for their electric, soul-rattling performances and showmanship, the band has been hailed as “one of the most authentic soul-revival sextets around.” Critics have called frontman Paul “St. Paul” Janeway’s voice “an amazing thing. Part James Brown, part Al Green, part lunatic hellfire preacher. …It’s a controlled falsetto shriek and a silky, woozy croon. It’s the sort of voice that leaves a room emotionally wrung out but willing to listen to its very last gasp. It’s simply remarkable.”
The group has continued to expand its sound with every record, branching out well beyond old-school soul into sleek summertime funk and classic disco on albums like 2018’s Young Sick Camellia. The band’s most recent LP, Angels in Science Fiction, stretched their limbs further, building on the shadowy psychedelia and intricate, experimental R&B of 2022’s The Alien Coast.
With special appearance by opening act HARPER O’NEILL, whose debut album, Dark Bar Daisy, was hailed by Billboard for its “wisened vocals, which expertly bends notes and imbues the lyrics with the husky realism of someone who has lived, loved, lost and seen a few things.” The Nashville-based singer-songwriter has cultivated a fresh take on Texas soul music: a smokey and signature “night cap country sound.” O’Neill has recently been on the road with Abraham Alexander, Lainey Wilson, Corey Kent, and Ashley McBryde.
SIMONE DINNERSTEIN AND AWADAGIN PRATT, TWO PIANO
Sunday, July 21 | 2pm | $10-$40
View the full schedule at AppSummer.org. Purchase tickets in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts box office (733 Rivers St), online at AppSummer.org, or by phone at 828.262.4046.
Tickets for An Appalachian Summer Festival
With ticket prices ranging from $10-$125, as well as several free events and discounts for both children, students, and App State faculty/staff, the festival offers unique opportunities for residents and visitors alike to create arts experiences suited to their individual artistic tastes and budgets.Purchase in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts box office (733 Rivers St), online at AppSummer.org, or by phone at 828-262-4046.
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