Rudy's Bluegrass Revue
2025-11-08 20:00 - 22:00 UTC | The Purple Onion, 16 E Main St, Saluda, NC, 28773, United States
Rudy’s Bluegrass Revue delivers a health and happiness show, with upbeat songs and positive energy. Five-time, Four Corner States, banjo champion, Rudy is a singer/songwriter, as well as multi-instrumentalist on banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. ?Rudy’s music spans a variety of? original compositions, from bluegrass, rhythm & roots, Americana/country, classical, to world chants. The nucleus of the band includes Rudy Cortese and Elizabeth Kronlage on harmony vocals, tenor guitar, cello. The award winning duo presents a traditional and energetic bluegrass mountain experience.

Michael Flynn
2025-11-13 19:30 - 21:30
Michael Flynn is an Americana-adjacent singer/songwriter based in western NC. Though some have likened his style to that of the “Neo-pop” genre. Either way, his music is appealing in its ability to take you on a journey. One moment you will be chuckling along with a quirky turn of phrase and the next closing your eyes to the somber tones flowing from both piano and Flynn’s vocals. There is no denying Flynn’s talent, with songs featured on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Shameless, and not to mention his numerous awards. Lyrically strong, intimately beautiful, and full of varied song craft, Flynn’s music is playful even when it hurts, bright when it’s bruising, and as catchy as it is clever. In short, his music is like life, a full experience.

Peggy Ratutz and Kelly Jones
2025-11-15 20:00 - 22:00
Local faves Kelly Jones (guitar & vocals), praised as one of the best and most versatile players on the scene and 10 times best in Blues award winner Peggy Ratusz (singer songwriter & percussionist), combine their exceptional talents for an intimate early evening 2-set showcase of their favorite acoustic Blues, Classic Country and Pop Rock covers and originals. Expect to hear a heaping helping of Bonnie Raitt’s early classics as well as scaled down and evocative arrangements from the superb library of the late, great Piedmont guitarist and songwriter, Sean Costello. They call themselves Downtown Duo Delux, and together they’ve been seducing new and faithful fans for nearly two years.

Michael Reno Harrell
2025-11-20 19:30 - 21:30
Michael Reno Harrell is an award winning songwriter, as well as a veteran storyteller and entertainer, and he’s from the South. One could compare Michael’s performances to his granddaddy’s pocket knife: well worn and familiar feeling, but razor sharp, and with a point. His original songs and stories have been described as “Appalachian grit and wit” but, as his writing shows, Michael’s awareness is much broader than the bounds of his boyhood home or even the Southern Experience. Between the approachable, feel-good nature of his music, and vivid story-telling that leaves you smiling, Michael creates an auditory experience that has to be witnessed in person.

Songs of the Folk
2025-11-22 20:00 - 22:00
A.T. and Lauren Cason channel the spirit of American folk and blues with storytelling that’s both timeless and deeply personal. Their sound blends Simon & Garfunkel–style harmonies with early Dylan lyricism, Leonard Cohen’s introspection, and the authentic fingerstyle blues of North Carolina’s Piedmont tradition. Well-crafted lyrics and intricate instrumentation come together to create songs that feel like chapters in a book—vivid, unfolding narratives you’re eager to hear next. Their debut full-length album, Sun-Scorched Land, brings band arrangements to songs they’ve performed live for years, played by real musicians and recorded with heartfelt authenticity. Together, they craft music that resonates long after the last note fades.

Reedy River String Band
2025-11-29 20:00 - 22:00
Reedy River String Band has taken the Southeast of the United States by storm the past few years with their fresh take on Appalachian roots music. Reedy River’s sound is modern bluegrass with foot stompin’ elements of jam and rock n’ roll inspired by the various touring and recording experiences of its members. In any given show, Multi-instrumentalist Sterling Waite interchanges mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and harmonica to bring a range of textures to the band’s live performances. With Rush Morgan on guitar and Mark Dye on upright bass, all three of the members are songwriters and lead singers, lending a depth and variety of original material beyond the band’s relatively short time together.

Jack Lawrence w/ Adam Lawrence & Steven Davidson
2025-11-30 19:00 - 21:00
Jack Lawrence, a master of flatpicking guitar, has been a cornerstone of bluegrass since the 1970s. Best known as Doc Watson’s longtime musical partner, Lawrence blends tradition with a distinctive style shaped by influences like Clarence White and Django Reinhardt. From his early days with the Bluegrass Alliance to acclaimed solo albums and collaborations with legends such as Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and the Del McCoury Band, Jack carries forward the heart of Appalachian roots music with grace, soul, and unmatched technical skill.

Time Sawyer
2025-12-04 19:30 - 21:30
Time Sawyer’s name reflects the pull between the past and the future. The character Tom Sawyer evokes the rural background and love of home that the band shares. Time is a muse for songwriting; it’s the thread that runs through life, bringing new experiences and giving us a sense of urgency, while still connecting us with our past. A folk-rock band whose songs call out the attitudes and behaviors that lead to our divisions – the way that we show understanding to our friends and family, without thinking about how folks outside our social circle are experiencing their own problems, and are, at heart, just like us.

Swamp Rabbit Bluegrass
2025-12-06 20:00 - 22:00
Homegrown grassers putting out a fresh cut sound!The Swamp Rabbit Bluegrass Band is a brand new venture that is bursting onto the scene with their fresh cut sounds of “homegrown grass.” This four-piece ensemble is pushing the limits of acoustic music while encompassing the foot stomping drive of authentic bluegrass in tandem with invigorating original music. Based in the Upstate of South Carolina, the ultimate desire of the Swamp Rabbits is to bring the community together while providing a musical atmosphere that is ripe for good times. This cast contains musical veterans that have each shined on major stages such as Albino Skunk Fest, the Houston Rodeo, Camp Springs, Fall for Greenville, and other notable billings. Now joining forces, they are eager to broadcast their newfangled creations to the local scene and beyond. As they like to say at SRB, let’s get weird!

Seth Walker
2025-12-11 19:30 - 21:30
Over the past 15 years, Seth Walker has become recognized as one of the most revered modern roots artists in the United States; a three dimensional talent comprised by a gift for combining melody and lyric alongside a rich, Gospel-drenched, Southern-inflected voice with a true blue knack for getting around on the guitar. Having lived all along the East Coast, he’s used those experiences imparted by many heritages wisely, soaking up the sounds and absorbing the musical lineage of these varied places. With a bluesman’s respect for roots and tradition, coupled with an appreciation for—and successful melding of—contemporary songwriting, Seth sublimely incorporates a range of styles with warmth and grace.

Florencia and The Feeling
2025-12-13 20:00 - 22:00
Florencia & The Feeling are a pop-funk fusion quintet out of Johnson City, Tennessee, electrifying audiences with spirited grooves, lush harmonies, and joyful energy. Since forming in April 2021, the band—led by Florencia Rusinol on vocals, joined by Andrew Kramer (guitar), Isaac Ratliff (keys), Nick Castro (bass), and Austin Herron (drums)—has been lighting up stages across the eastern U.S. with a sound that blends funk, jazz, Latin flair, Nu Soul, pop, indie rock, and roots. Their debut album Birthday (2023) was independently released and praised as “pure, unadulterated fun,” and they’ve since won the 2024 MerleFest Band Competition and the 2025 FloydFest On-The-Rise contest. With sweeping four-part harmonies, heartfelt songwriting, and danceable rhythms, they deliver music that feels like celebration.

Cowboy Judy Xmas Extravaganza
2025-12-14 19:00 - 21:00
A return performance quickly becoming a tradition at the Purple Onion, this energetic group of ladies is an event you don’t want to miss. Cowboy Judy always brings the show to, well, every show they perform. Couple their infectious stage presence, melodic songs, and penchant for grooving tunes you can’t sit still to? Exhilarating. Throw in some holiday cheer and festive motifs? Pure Magic.
Female fronted super group, Cowboy Judy (formally Sweet Claudette,) is the bringing together of worlds, in the best of ways. Singing an upbeat hybrid of country and motown, you would be hard pressed to find another group as gifted with their harmonies and charisma as you have here.

The Wilder Flower
2025-12-18 19:30 - 21:30
The Wilder Flower is an Upstate SC and Western NC based trio, featuring Danielle Yother on guitar, Madeline Dierauf on fiddle, and Molly Johnson on banjo. Playing throughout the Carolinas, the group has traveled and toured as far as Ohio, Alabama, and Georgia. Their collaboration flexes between folk, Americana, bluegrass, and Old-time tunes. Vocally, the trio thrives on three-part harmonies and originals.

Autumnwüd Holiday Special
2025-12-20 20:00 - 22:00
The Autumnwüd Holiday Special arrives at The Purple Onion in Saluda, bringing Eric Congdon & Friends together for an evening of festive acoustic magic. Showing true to the Blues and Americana roots of the region, Eric Congdon continues to establish his reputation as one of the area’s most engaging artists. A multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, collaborator, producer, and virtuoso guitarist, he brings remarkable talent to every performance. Recently voted #1 Guitarist in Mountain XPress, his musicianship consistently captivates audiences no matter what he’s playing.
This special holiday concert features the Autumnwüd trio—Eric Congdon, Hope Griffin, and Paul McIntire—blending guitar, mandolin, violin, and rich harmonies into a warm December soundtrack. Guests can expect crowd favorites and seasonal classics in an intimate setting perfect for celebrating the season.

Tina and Her Pony
2025-12-27 20:00 - 22:00
Indie, Appalachian-folk band, Tina & Her Pony, was formed in 2009 in Asheville, North Carolina by Tina Collins. Internationally known for their tight, sweet, smooth harmonies and simple, exposed, crafted instrumentation on cello, tenor ukulele & guitar, Tina and Her Pony has a fresh, palatable, sound that is bewitching. With warm smiles and honest simplicity, Tina & Her Pony bring a unique sound to the American folk tradition, featuring original songs that echo the sound of Appalachia, while creating new waves with radical, queer lyrics, uncommon instrumentation and vocals tighter than your mamas’ brazier.

The Feels Trio
2026-01-10 20:00 - 22:00
Offering a more intimate, stripped down version of the feels, The Trio plays many of the same soulful original tunes from the 6-piece band – along with others that Sarah and Lange have written just for the trio. With Lange on guitar and vocals, Sarah on ukulele and vocals, and Matthew on a cajon (hand drum), the focus is on tight vocal harmonies, original songwriting, thoughtful lyrics, and connection with you!

Redd & The Paper Flowers
2026-01-15 19:30 - 21:30
Redd and The Paper Flowers craft a sound that is both haunting and uplifting, weaving together threads of Americana, folk, and rock with striking emotional depth. At the heart of the band is Redd, whose soulful vocals and poignant lyrics unfold like pages from a diary, balancing vulnerability with strength. The Paper Flowers bring those stories to life with lush instrumental textures, harmonies that shimmer, and rhythms that drive each song forward. Their music is at once intimate and expansive—songs that linger in the heart while stirring the spirit. Whether it’s a gentle ballad or a powerful anthem, their performances invite listeners into a world of raw honesty and unforgettable beauty.

My Magnificent Trio
2026-01-17 20:00 - 22:00
My Magnificent Trio is an eclectic, genre-bending group featuring James Kylen (drums/vocals), Chuck Lichtenberger (keys/vocals) and Jonathan Pearlman (guitar/vocals). All three contribute original material along with diverse covers by artists as The Beatles, Ozzy Osborne, Radiohead, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and much more, with a generous dose of jazz standards by the likes of Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Wes Montgomery and more. You never know what to expect!

Jackson Grimm & Friends
2026-01-22 19:30 - 21:30
Jackson Grimm marries folk pop melodies with the lonesome sound of traditional Appalachian music. In a region with a strong music culture, it is no surprise that Grimm’s songwriting is representative of his musical birthplace: Asheville, NC. His songs run the gambit from an homage to a traditional country waltz in “If Not For You”, an unrequited love song driven by a Beatles-esque melody in “I’d Hold You (But I Don’t Wanna Hold You)”, to a drunken partygrass song à la Old Crow Medicine Show in “Last Train Home.”

Get Right Band
2026-01-24 20:00 - 22:00
Rock Away the Winter Blues! Dress in your favorite Hawaiian shirt or hula skirt and join us for a night of summer-themed festivities. Enjoy tropical cocktails, seasonal dishes, and vibrant summer decorations as we turn up the heat and dance the night away. The Get Right Band is a psychedelic indie rock power trio from Asheville, NC. They are a band focused on following their muses to honest self-expression, to whatever excites them and pushes them into unexplored territory. Proudly carrying the torch for a long line of genre-bending power trios from Cream to The Jimi Hendrix Experience to The Police. It’s the space between the notes, the rawness and the maneuverability, that makes a power trio, well, so damn powerful. The Get Right Band has tight and diverse jams along with a distinctive, intellectual – but accessible – worldview.

North State Grass
2026-01-29 19:30 - 21:30
North State Grass (formerly the Charlotte Bluegrass Allstars) are stepping into a new chapter with fresh faces, renewed energy, and the same deep love for bluegrass. Rooted in tradition but unafraid to stretch beyond it, the band blends tight picking, rich harmonies, and influences that span rock, blues, jazz, and jam-driven spontaneity. With familiar favorites alongside new bandmates bringing their own spark, North State Grass delivers a sound that’s grounded, evolving, and unmistakably alive. New name, same roots—and plenty of room to grow.

Redbud
2026-01-31 20:00 - 22:00
Redbud honors traditional bluegrass while blending original tunes with stunning harmonies, hauntingly catchy melodies, and rhythms that will have you tapping your feet. This group of young musicians brings a fresh energy to the genre, with Lucas Ward’s steady guitar, Griffin Decker’s melodic mandolin, Addy Quinn’s vibrant fiddle, Dayne Watson’s banjo picking, and Chase Arden’s driving bass. Together, they create a sound that is both timeless and new, captivating audiences with everything from lively fiddle tunes to heartfelt ballads.

Lillie Syracuse
2026-02-01 19:00 - 21:00
In a velvet stream of joy, grief, and love, Lillie Syracuse’s voice and music pours deep from the heart of the in-between. Just as her heart was woven from tree, waterfall, birdsong, and red mountain clay, so was her song writing. Lillie’s hope, in song-craft, is to foster shifts towards a deeper connection with nature, community, authenticity, creativity, and magic in the lives of those who hear her music. Described as a sound worker and poet, alongsiside her talents as a singer and songwriter, Syracuse is a talent truly sculpted by the roots of these mountains.

CarolinAloha
2026-02-05 19:30 - 21:30
Where the music of Hawaii meets the Mountains. CarolinAloha is the melding of three loves: the Mountains, the Ocean, and Music. A North Carolina trio consisting of dobro/steel guitar virtuoso Billy Cardine, multi-instrumentalist Landon Lush, and actor/musician Zach Hanner, CarolinAloha explores classic traditional Hawaiian songs, Hapa Haole tunes and other adjacent styles. Enjoy the dulcet tones of the islands with this mellow trio.

Bob Sinclair and The Big Deals
2026-02-07 20:00 - 22:00
Bob Sinclair and the Big Deals is a North Carolina-based acoustic band with 15 years of performing original, upbeat, gypsy-jazz music. Using acoustic instruments this ensemble could be playing in a Paris café or a barn dance – comfortable, a little sophisticated, and more than a little fun! A thoroughly unique spin on country and jazz, Sinclair’s narrative coupled together with great melodies will have you looking for a dance partner in no time. At the heart of it ….Original Front Porch Swing Played By Happy People.

Hannah and the Wistfuls
2026-02-12 19:30 - 21:30
Hannah Kaminer is an artist and singer-songwriter writing songs about love, loss, and home. Raised in small towns in Western North Carolina, she fuses echoes of Appalachian and country traditions with wistful, Americana-style songwriting.

The Moon and You
2026-02-14 20:00 - 22:00
Valentine’s Day deserves music that feels like a love letter. The Moon and You—husband-and-wife duo Melissa Hyman (cello) and Ryan Furstenberg (guitar/banjo)—bring a sound that’s intimate, magnetic, and quietly powerful. Their harmonies have been praised as “voices that sound like they were made for one another,” but don’t mistake them for a simple folk act: with a rotating cast of friends and unexpected instrumentation, every show becomes a one-night-only experience. Reservation link in the bio. Scroll down to Experiences for the ticket link.

Anya Hinkle and Free Planet Radio
2026-02-19 19:30 - 21:30
Anya Hinkle is a force when it comes to storytelling through song. With arresting honesty and a beautiful voice reminiscent of whiskey – smooth with an alluring hint of smoke – Hinkle straddles the bounds of bluegrass and country, resulting in some of the best Americana Roots has to offer. Playing tunes that flutter through beautiful finger-picked themes, invoking folk melodies from the past, Anya Hinkle will walk you through an artfully crafted story, evolving into an unknown inner psychological and surreal music space. She is joined on stage by Free Planet Radio, bringing its exciting and innovative world-jazz-classical music blend. Free Planet Radio performances expertly weave the improvisatory element of jazz, and the subtleties and harmonic vocabulary of Western classical music,

Funky Junk Joy Peddlers
2026-02-21 20:00 - 22:00
Funky Junk Joy Peddlers, formerly known as The Shana Blake Band, is an innovative new take on the classic soul cover band. A Purple Onion favorite, the band’s sound is filled with energetic, danceable music of the Motown era through current hits. Throwing in deeper cuts you know and love from R&B, soul, and funk favorites. The group will have you grooving in your seats and keep you smiling with their infectious, upbeat vibes.

Newfound Gap
2026-02-26 19:30 - 21:30
Newfound Gap is an old-time sound string band from Leicester, North Carolina. Made up of siblings Bayla, Sylvie, and Judah Davis, the three have been playing music together since they were six years old. Newfound Gap has performed on the Kid’s Stage at IBMA World of Bluegrass, and at MerleFest, Folkmoot, Shindig on the Green, and on the Woodsongs Kids television/radio program. This youthful group blends traditional Appalachian music with progressive influences and is a show one would be remiss to pass up.
