The Overlook with Matt Peiken Matt Peiken

Choral groups were among the hardest-hit and slowest to rebound from the pandemic. Two of the region’s enduring choirs are still finding their footing both artistically and in the wider public.
Today, we hear from the choirs’ two artistic directors—Kyle Ritter of Asheville Symphony Chorus and Emily Floyd of Asheville Youth Choirs. They’re performing together April 27 at First Baptist Church. 

We talk with the choral directors about the challenges of surviving and rebounding from the pandemic. Kyle goes into detail about his choir’s relationship to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and building an identity of its own. Emily talks about balancing the sacred and the secular. Both weigh in on marketing choral music to today’s distracted public, adapting pop music into choral music and the future of the world’s oldest art form. 


SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast.
SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
Support the Show.
Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!

Advertise your event on The Overlook.

Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlook

Listen and Subscribe: All episodes of The Overlook

The Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.

Podcast Asheville © 2023

Just as Asheville’s arts community has evolved, so too has ArtsAVL. It changed its name just a year and a half ago from the Asheville Area Arts Council and, even before the pandemic, refocused its mission from service to advocacy.

My guest today is Katie Cornell, executive director now in her fifth year with ArtsAVL. We talk about that mission shift and the work that goes into gathering the data to inform her advocacy with elected officials at the city, county and state.

We also talk about where arts tourism fits into the city’s marketing efforts and how rising real estate costs are potentially pushing artists’ workspaces and arts organizations out of Asheville.

01:32 Shifting Focus: From Small Town Model to Community Support
02:36 Data-Driven Decisions: Navigating Through the Pandemic
07:08 Advocacy and Funding: Transforming Arts Support in Asheville
11:02 Creative Economy Insights: Jobs, Impact, and Future Challenges
16:20 Arts and Tourism: Navigating New Challenges
23:40 Affordable Spaces for Artists: A Growing Crisis
29:15 Looking Ahead: Solutions and Strategies for Asheville's Arts Community


SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast.
SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
Support the Show.
Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!

Advertise your event on The Overlook.

Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlook

Listen and Subscribe: All episodes of The Overlook

The Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.

Podcast Asheville © 2023

Want to know what’s happening with McCormick Field, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and the Western North Carolina Nature Center? My guest has the answers.
Chris Corl is General Manager and Director of Community & Regional Entertainment Facilities for the City of Asheville. We go into detail about the upcoming trip around the bases for McCormick Field’s renovation, including what’s being done to turn the stadium into a year-round facility. We also go through changes at the nature center, the city’s municipal golf course and how the city managed to patch Thomas Wolfe up enough to get back into business. Will the deeper renovations needed or a completely new facility ever happen? I ask that question too.


SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast.
SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
Support the Show.
Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!

Advertise your event on The Overlook.

Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlook

Listen and Subscribe: All episodes of The Overlook

The Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.

Podcast Asheville © 2023

Asheville is very much a music town—not just for musicians, but also for fans, as evidenced by the six record stores dotting the city. As we approach the annual Record Store Day, April 20, we talk with Mark Capon of Harvest Records, Jesse McSwain of Static-Age Records and Morgan Markowitz of Earth River Records. 

We talk about the evolution of their shops—for instance, Static-Age is now also a bar/restaurant and live music venue—the risky and speculative nature of the vinyl record business and the unique approaches each is taking to carving a sustainable life in music.


SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast.
SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
Support the Show.
Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!

Advertise your event on The Overlook.

Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlook

Listen and Subscribe: All episodes of The Overlook

The Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.

Podcast Asheville © 2023

Downtown business owners, workers and residents spent a lot of 2023 imploring Asheville officials to get a handle on crime, trash and vagrancy. All along, many were pressing to take matters into their own hands by working with city leaders to form what’s called a business improvement district.

A business improvement district—or BID—is a tax assessment that pays for services on top of what cities and counties already provide. Talk of a BID has been in the Asheville air for decades, but could well soon become reality. There’s a vital public hearing at city council set for April 23 and potential council votes in May and June that could launch the BID with the next fiscal year.  

My guests today are Zach Wallace, vice president of public policy with the Asheville  Area Chamber of Commerce; Hayden Plemmons, executive director of the Asheville Downtown Association; and Dana Frankel, downtown projects manager with the City of Asheville. We talk through all the inner workings of the BID process, explore the history of these discussions and how a BID would work day-to-day on downtown’s streets.


SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast.
SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
Support the Show.
Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!

Advertise your event on The Overlook.

Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlook

Listen and Subscribe: All episodes of The Overlook

The Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.

Podcast Asheville © 2023

D. Tyrell McGirt says his career path was blazed as a 10-year-old in Greensboro, when his mother signed him up for a lifeguarding class. He ran parks and recreation departments in Alabama, Arizona and Alaska before moving two years ago to lead the department in Asheville.
In this conversation, McGirt talks through his department's recent decision to keep Malvern Hills Park Pool closed this year and balancing the needs of pickleballers and tennis players. We also talk equity, tracking park usage and his call for the public’s voice in shaping a comprehensive plan that will guide his department's decisions for the next 10 to 15 years.
SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast.
SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
Support the Show.
Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!

Advertise your event on The Overlook.

Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlook

Listen and Subscribe: All episodes of The Overlook

The Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.

Podcast Asheville © 2023