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The Orange Peel Sets the Beat for Asheville's Music Scene
by Bob Burnette
photo from website by Jon Leidel
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Downtown Asheville's most widely acclaimed music club, The Orange Peel, is showing no sign of slowing down whatsoever. With a sold out show of "The Bard" himself, Bob Dylan, recently selling out 949 tickets in under two hours, The Orange Peel has become the place for big name bands to play.
Every week you will see people waiting outside to get in - people from every walk of life. This may be due to the location in the center of Asheville's night scene, the range of music, and the overall ambience of the Orange Peel.
The Orange Peel has been hosting bands of great stature for more than a year now, and the people have spoken. At least once a week you will see the "Sold Out" sign on the box office for performers like Gillian Welch, The Flaming Lips, Ween, and Dark Star Orchestra. With a capacity of 1,000, it is certainly Asheville's largest private music venue.
The Orange Peel was conceived by Jack and Leslie Groestch after they moved from New Orleans in the belief that Asheville was a good place to settle down and raise a family. Before coming to Asheville they owned the Howling Wolf in New Orleans, a club comparable to the Orange Peel. When they looked at Asheville, they found a music scene but no really large clubs that could bring in top bands. They found out that the building where the Orange Peel is now was for sale, and they saw its potential. In previous incarnations it had been a soul nightclub, a roller skating rink, and a warehouse.
The Orange Peel has been able to draw bands to the area that were not coming before partly due to a relationship they have with AC Entertainment, based in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is the company responsible for putting on the huge summer concert festival Bonaroo, for the last two years. A lot of the bands that have played Bonaroo have played the Orange Peel, including Sonic Youth, Flaming Lips, Ween, Galactic, and many more.
The Orange Peel controls its own destiny by paying for the booking themselves and doing all their own promoting and marketing.
Orange Peel Manager Evan Ackerman deals with all of these departments. Ackerman is the essence of a lover of music and devotes his life to it. "By daytime I'm assisting with the booking of bands, working with marketing, and helping to promote the shows with about four or five more people. Then at night, I'm busy getting the bands settled, talking with the managers, and overseeing what is going on in general," Ackerman explained as the band Galactic set up in the background.
He knows the bands and the audiences they attract.. "Well, Ween is always going to be a good time. It's funny to watch these girls try to jump over the stage to get back there. The Flaming Lips was probably the craziest we have had here. When you have all kinds of different people running around in animal suits backstage, it's hard to figure who is who and exactly what is going on."
That same night at the Flaming Lips show, a young lady had a seizure due to the light show that they had. Wayne Cohen, lead singer of the group, jumped off the stage to assist her, as did all the crew at the Orange Peel. Ackerman said, "Yeah, I mean sometimes things are going to happen, but we make sure that this is a safe environment for everyone."
Along with Ackerman, the staff practices total quality management by helping out with everything. Bartenders come and assist in helping bouncers remove an unruly concert goer. Bouncers help with getting people into the club, and owners Jack and Leslie pop in to make sure everything is in order and going well.
No outside bags or drinks are allowed in past the door, and a good eye is kept on eveyone who comes in. There are places to sit at shows that are not sold out, and it is first-come, first served. For the rest, who like to get down when seeing some good live music, there is a huge dance floor; in fact the entire club is a dance floor with a bar.
A wide range of beer and wine is also offered, but no hard liquor is sold. Parking is like anything in downtown Asheville - good luck. There is paid parking nearby, but the Orange Peel does not have its own parking space for concert goers.
Ackerman believes the Orange Peel really doesn't have any competition in the area. "First off, our sound quality is the best sound system in North Carolina. Along with this, our presentation and light show are top-of-the-line as well. You might argue with our beer prices or whatever, but you are not going to get a better show in Asheville."
The Orange Peel is located on the corner of Biltmore Avenue and Hilliard Street in downtown Asheville, down hill and across from Barley's Taproom. Tickets are sold on the Web at www.ticketweb.com. Or call the box office at 828-225-5851. Also visit the club's website at www.theorangepeel.net for concert dates.
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