By Cameron Lee
June 17, 2025
Photo: The Orange Peel
Western North Carolina is regaining its stride after the devastation of Hurricane Helene, reaffirming Asheville’s reputation as a premier regional destination for concerts, restaurants, and outdoor adventures. Although the River Arts District still bears visible scars — and the loss of the beloved Salvage Station remains painful (more than $100,000 has been raised since its closure) — downtown venues have been welcoming visitors back for months.
Robb McAdams, digital marketing manager at The Orange Peel and an 18-year Asheville resident, says the city’s main thoroughfares are fully operational again.
“All major entry points into Asheville — and most of western North Carolina — are back to normal,” he said. “You can get in and out of town with no problem.
Since reopening in October, The Orange Peel has sold out multiple shows like Thee Sacred Souls, Shakey Graves (two nights), Sharon Van Etten, BadBadNotGood, and more. Yet McAdams concedes that broader tourism figures remain sluggish.
“We’re just starting to get the spring numbers in and things are down, for sure. The hotel stay rates are down…We’re helping bring in bands that people will travel for, and once they find that band…we welcome the support,” McAdams said.
At a June 4 press conference, Explore Asheville CEO Vic Isley confirmed the data: lodging sales from July 2024 through April 2025 fell 26% year-over-year, and room demand dropped by 7%. But lodging is just one part of the picture — according to Isley, 70% of visitor spending in the community goes to local restaurants, breweries, music venues, retail shops, art galleries, and transportation.
Tourism has long fueled Buncombe County’s economy, accounting for roughly 20% of its GDP. Despite misleading social media chatter suggesting a stalled recovery, McAdams emphasizes that downtown infrastructure — and nearly all of its prime establishments — are back in business.
Asheville’s stages are alive with sound and spirit — from cornerstone venues like The Orange Peel and Asheville Music Hall, with its cozy sister space The One Stop, to The Grey Eagle’s 550-seat warehouse and Sierra Nevada’s expansive outdoor amphitheater. Burial Beer Co. adds to the mix with its music hub, Eulogy, and its Forestry Camp location, while Highland Brewing’s Meadow offers open-air shows in a laid-back setting.
The newly rebranded Asheville Yards (formerly Rabbit Rabbit) and the expansive ExploreAsheville.com Arena bring national tours, while intimate newcomers like AyurPrana Listening Room, Fitz and the Wolfe, and Third Room provide fresh spaces for new discovery.
With 11 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway reopened in Buncombe County and new river access points along the French Broad, it’s the perfect time to plan a summer road trip.
We’ve put together a list of several concerts in Asheville in the coming months — an opportunity to support our neighbors and soak up live music, local fare, and mountain scenery for a fun summer getaway.
Summer Concerts in Asheville:
June 19 – Bones Owens at at The Grey Eagle
June 19 – Fred Armisen at The Orange Peel
June 20 – Seth Walker at The Grey Eagle
June 20 – Valley Maker at AyurPrana Listening Room
June 20 – Magenta Sunshine at Asheville Music Hall
June 20-21 – Papadosio at Pisgah Brewing Company
June 20 – Empire Strikes Brass at Sierra Nevada Brewing
June 20 – The Get Right Band at Highland Brewing Co.
June 21 – The Black Angels at Burial Beer Co. (Forestry Camp)
June 21 – U.S. Girls at The Grey Eagle
June 22 – Florry at The Grey Eagle
June 22 – Gyasi at Asheville Music Hall
June 23 – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats at Asheville Yards
June 23 – Adrian Younge at The Grey Eagle
June 24 – Steep Canyon Rangers at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium
June 25 – Rakish at The Grey Eagle
June 25 – Billy Woods at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
June 26 – Blondshell at The Orange Peel
June 26 – This Will Destroy You at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
June 26 – Meschiya Lake at at Highland Brewing Co.
June 27 – Dustbowl Revival at Asheville Music Hall
June 27 – Pink Beds at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
June 28 – The HeadTones at Sierra Nevada Brewing
June 28 – Pleasure Chest at Highland Brewing Co.
June 28 – Stephen Kellogg and Pat McGee at The Grey Eagle
June 28 – Rainy Eyes at The One Stop
June 29 – Mavis Staples at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium
June 29 – Band of Horses and Jenn Champion at The Orange Peel
June 29 – Moonshine State at Sierra Nevada Brewing
June 29 – Lillie Syracuse at Highland Brewing Co.
June 29 – Tumbao at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
July 2 – Three Wheels Turning at The Grey Eagle
July 2 – Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol at Burial Brewing (Eulogy)
July 2 – Steel Pulse at French Broad River Brewery
July 3 – Vaden Landers at Highland Brewing Co.
July 5 – Dis-N-Dat at Highland Brewing Co.
July 7 – Gary Clark Jr. with Joy Oladokun at Asheville Yards
July 10 – Lettuce at Sierra Nevada Brewing
July 10 – Brody Hunt & The Handfulls at Highland Brewing Co.
July 11 – Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country at Asheville Yards
July 11 – Fireside Collective Sierra Nevada Brewing
July 11 – Lil Darkie at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
July 12 – The Constellations at Fleetwood’s
July 12 – Sam Bush Band at Pisgah Brewing Company
July 12 – Samantha Crain and Jess Nolan at The Grey Eagle
July 12 – Canon Tyler & The Spare Parts at Highland Brewing Co.
July 12 – Tan & Sober Gentleman at Asheville Music Hall
July 12 – Iron & Wine and I’m With Her at Asheville Yards
July 12 – Patty Griffin and Rickie Lee Jones at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium
July 13 – Queen Bee and the Honeylovers at Highland Brewing Co.
July 16 – The Gaslight Anthem at The Orange Peel
July 17 – Greensky Bluegrass at Asheville Yards
July 17 – Julia Sanders at Highland Brewing Co.
July 17 – Lyle de Vitry and Joe Westerlund at AyurPrana Listening Room
July 18 – The Get Right Band with The Feels at Asheville Music Hall
July 18 – Flipturn at Asheville Yards
July 18 – Deep Sea Diver at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
July 18 – In Plain Sight with Marley Carroll at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
July 19 – Andrew Scotchie at Sierra Nevada Brewing
July 19 – The Budos Band at Hatch Amphitheater
July 19 – Truphonic at Highland Brewing Co.
July 20 – Sunny Sweeney at The Grey Eagle
July 22 – The Head and The Heart at Asheville Yards
July 22 – Hotline TNT at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
July 23 – Badd Wolf at Asheville Music Hall
July 23 – Rose City Band at AyurPrana Listening Room
July 23 – Yuja Wang at Brevard Music Center Orchestra
July 24 – Jonathan Scales Fourchestra at The Grey Eagle
July 24 – Angela Perley at Highland Brewing Co.
July 24-26 – Widespread Panic at Explore Asheville Arena
July 25 – LVDY at AyurPrana Listening Room
July 25 – The Psycodelics with Kanika Moore at Third Room
July 26 – Erick Baker at The Grey Eagle
July 26 – Washed Out with Neon Indian (DJ Set) at Burial Brewing Co. (Forestry Camp)
July 26 – Big Something at The Orange Peel
July 26 – Photon at The One Stop
July 26 – Jurassic Park in Concert at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium
July 27 – John R. Miller at The Grey Eagle
July 27 – American Aquarium at The Orange Peel
July 27 – Fancy & The Gentleman at Highland Brewing Co.
July 29 – Silversun Pickups and Girl Tones at The Orange Peel
July 31 – Couch at Sierra Nevada Brewing
August 1 – Dangermuffin at Sierra Nevada Brewing
August 1-2 – STS9 and Beats Antique at Asheville Yards
August 2 – Vandoliers at The Grey Eagle
August 6 – Todd Snider at The Orange Peel
August 7 – Deer Tick at Pisgah Brewing Company
August 7 – Sarah Hennies and Tristan Krause at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center
August 9 – The Moon Unit at The Grey Eagle
August 9 – East Forest at The Orange Peel
August 10 – Blackberry Smoke at Asheville Yards
August 10 – Larry Keel & Jon Stickley at Asheville Music Hall
August 12 – Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox at The Orange Peel
August 16 – Luke Henry at The Grey Eagle
August 16 – Bela Fleck at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium
August 17 – Clipping at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
August 20 – Tyler Hilton at The Grey Eagle
August 21 – Andy Frasco & The U.N. at Pisgah Brewing Company
August 22 – Fitz and The Tantrums at Sierra Nevada Brewing
August 25 – Sixpence None The Richer at The Orange Peel
August 29 – Caamp and Fruition at Asheville Yards
August 30 – Ethel Cain at Asheville Yards
September 3 – Lucero at The Grey Eagle
September 6 – Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Hatch Amphitheater
September 6 – The Stews and Pink Beds at The Grey Eagle
September 6 – Frankie Cosmos at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
September 6 – Andrew Wakefield at Sierra Nevada Brewing
September 6 – The Brian Jonestown Massacre at The Orange Peel
September 7 – Christone “Kingfish” Ingram at The Orange Peel
September 7 – Sugar Bomb at Sierra Nevada Brewing
September 8 – Mary Lattimore at AyurPrana Listening Room
September 8 – The Brook & The Buff at The Orange Peel
September 10 – James McMurtry at The Grey Eagle
September 10 – Lea Bertucci + Olivia Block at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center
September 10 – Pixies and Spoon at Asheville Yards
September 11 – Gong at The Grey Eagle
September 12 – Drake White at The Orange Peel
September 13 – Michael Franti & Spearhead at Asheville Yards
September 14 – Tinsley Ellis at The Grey Eagle
September 14 – Sierra Ferrell at Asheville Yards
September 16 – Vance Joy at Asheville Yards
September 16 – Runner at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
September 16 – Panda Bear at The Orange Peel
September 17 – Turnstile, Mannequin Pussy, and Speed at Asheville Yards
September 17 – Bonny Light Horseman and Angela Autumn at The Orange Peel
September 19 – Hazlett at The Orange Peel
September 19 – Ethan Regan at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
September 20 – Joe Pug at The Grey Eagle
September 20 – Artist Talk with Stereolab at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center
September 20 – Stereolab at The Orange Peel
September 20 – The Mountain Goats at Hatch Amphitheater
September 21 – Father John Misty at Asheville Yards
September 21 – Trombone Shorty & New Orleans Avenue at Sierra Nevada Brewing
September 21 – MICO at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
September 23 – Lucy Dacus at Asheville Yards
September 23 – Woods at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
September 23 – Frankie and The Witch Fingers at The Grey Eagle
September 24 – Brooks Nielson (The Growlers) at The Orange Peel
September 24 – Mt. Joy at Explore Asheville Arena
September 24 – River Shook at Burial Brewing Co. (Eulogy)
September 26 – Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors at The Orange Peel
September 27 – Molly Tuttle at The Orange Peel
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