Live-music venues worth the trip in Asheville, North Carolina

ExploreAsheville.com Arena is the main arena inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville, and its own site calls it “Asheville’s ideal venue for large concerts, sports, conventions and expos”, with a capacity of up to 7,200.

Asheville Yards is an outdoor concert venue on Coxe Avenue in downtown Asheville, rebranded from its previous identity as Rabbit Rabbit, and its own site says, “Our primary function is to host large outdoor concerts, which we produce and promote throughout the summer months.”

Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is the auditorium inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville, and its own site calls it “the most well known event venue in Western North Carolina”; it brings in major national acts alongside an annual symphony season and has a stated capacity of 2,431.

The Orange Peel is a music club on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville, and its own site calls it “one of the Southeast’s preeminent concert venues” with a sellable capacity of 1,050.

The Grey Eagle Tavern and Music Hall is a music venue in Asheville, and its own site says, “Today, the Grey Eagle is Asheville’s longest-running all-ages venue”.

Asheville Music Hall is a downtown Asheville venue that holds 360 people and has been open since 2011, and its own site says it “provides an intimate, live music experience for all music fans”.

Fleetwood’s Rock-n-Roll Wedding Chapel is a bar and wedding chapel on Haywood Road in West Asheville, and its own site says, “When not having weddings Fleetwood’s hosts bands from all of the world.” It also schedules “Karaoke, DJ Nights and live bands during the week”.

Highland Brewing Company, founded in 1994, is a brewery on a 40-acre campus in Asheville that hosts “live music four nights a week”.

New Belgium Brewing’s Asheville Liquid Center is a brewery taproom on Craven Street in Asheville that hosts a seasonal “Live Friday Music” series on Friday nights from April through October.

One World Brewing Downtown is a speakeasy-style taproom below street level in downtown Asheville, and its own site says, “Sip on beers from our original brew tanks while catching a small show or playing Sjoelbak games.”

One World Brewing West is a brewery taproom on Haywood Road in West Asheville that hosts live music, and its own site says it “offers a spacious outdoor area equipped with an outdoor stage, seating, and bar.”

The One Stop is a neighborhood music room on College Street in downtown Asheville, and its own site says it brings “the best Local, Regional and National music” that fits its room.

Wedge Studios is a “100-year-old triangular three-story building” of artist studios in Asheville’s River Arts District with a brewery on its dock level, and its own site announces a “Fall Live Music Lineup” presented by Records in the RAD.