Asheville live music best bets: Local funk rhythms, 'Big' jam, swing, more

Jordan Scheffer performs with Kinobe on Jan. 21, 2022, at Isis Music Hall.
Jordan Scheffer performs with Kinobe on Jan. 21, 2022, at Isis Music Hall.

After Jordan Scheffer completed her initial vocal recordings for her debut release, “Until We Try,” she wasn’t completely happy with the takes.

She had recorded in Winston-Salem and New Orleans, but decided to stay local to perfect the songs.

Scheffer ended up at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Studio to finish off the tracks. The album was released last year, and now Scheffer will celebrate its release with an 8:30 p.m. show Jan. 21 at Isis Music Hall.

“The recording process for me was very interesting and exciting. Since I’ve never recorded an album before, especially in a professional studio, it was a new and sometimes confusing, but overall, it was fun,” Scheffer said in an email interview. “The confusion comes from not being able to see and not to be able to fully understand what was happening on the computers and the sound boards.”

Scheffer, who is visually impaired and attended the prestigious Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, is currently a student at UNC Asheville. So far, the challenge to be a student and performer hasn’t been too daunting.

“I think that it’s been easy, however since my career hasn’t really taken off in a big way yet, it could become more challenging,” she said.

Scheffer has earned high accolades in recent years. She won the Blind Idol talent competition in Raleigh with contestants of all ages from around the country and in 2018, she was invited to sing at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem. She then was asked back to compete at the Amateur Night at the Apollo Competition, where she placed second.

Scheffer’s music combines American roots, West African and Afro-Caribbean-Funk rhythms and instruments into a unique vocal and musical style.

For her show at Isis Music Hall, she will perform with Ugandan musician, educator and philanthropist Kinobe, who has performed throughout his career with traditional African instruments.

“I met Kinobe in the spring of 2021, after he performed an amazing show at the bi-annual LEAF festival,” Scheffer said. “We instantly had a connection, and we both are very much about preserving African traditions and cultures as they have been centuries ago.

“I think his music will enhance the show by providing the setlist with something different, something cultural and a kind of sound that not many people really have heard before. The introduction of African rhythms and instruments into the music I preform is so magical and the beat, well it’s impossible to just sit still in your seats. You want to move, and you get drawn into the music. I truly believe there is a magical quality that transforms all of us from such beautiful, primal rhythms. Of course, we bring a blended contemporary experience to it all. It’s so much fun.”

Jazz-swing band plays downtown

Caravan Palace, a French electro-swing band, recently opened its North American tour and will play Asheville on the tour’s third date.

The group, which will perform at 8 p.m. Jan. 23 at The Orange Peel, is known for catchy hooks and has more than a billion streams across all platforms.

The group’s most streamed song on Spotify is 2015’s “Lone Digger,” which has more than 132 million streams.

These accomplished musicians mesh traditional jazz with modern club music to form its danceable tracks.

Local artists celebrate album release

It’s been only about two years since Jeremy Boger and the Golden Eagles began to play together, and the group has already dropped an album.

Boger and his bandmates released “The Race To Mars” last November and will celebrate its release at 8 p.m. Jan. 27 at The Grey Eagle.

The group is made up of Boger (who sings and plays a multitude of instruments), Kevin Rumley (vocals, drums, percussion), Billy Sheeran (vocals, piano, electric piano, harpsichord, organ, orchestral arrangements) and Joshua Carpenter (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar).

On the group’s Bandcamp page, it states that proceeds from album sales this month will be donated to the Buncombe County Veterans Treatment Court, which is directed by Rumley.

Big Something set for 2 nights

One night just isn’t enough for Big Something to play locally.

The Burlington-based group is set to start its six-week Escape From The Living Room tour with two nights in Asheville. The group, which released its sixth studio album in 2020, will play at 8 p.m. Jan. 21 and 22 at Salvage Station. Little Stranger will open the show.

The group recently released a nine-song collection of live recordings, which shares a title with the current tour’s name.

The six-piece Big Something mixes alternative rock and jam elements to its music and are known for a high-energy live experience.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville live music: Local funk rhythms, 'Big' jam, swing, more