The Overlook with Matt Peiken

In this dual episode, we have separate conversations with dancemakers Vanessa Owen and Gavin Stewart and emerging rap artist Luicya.

Stewart Owen Dance makes duets, dances for larger ensembles and out…

The Steep Canyon Rangers embody and evangelize the Asheville sound as much as any musical artist. They’ve certainly had success with it.

Their collaborations with the actor, comedian and banjo player …

If Asheville crowned a reigning native queen, Libby Kyles would certainly fall into the city’s royalty. She has lived all over the city, led educational efforts here as a teacher, administrator and n…

It’s no secret—Asheville has a housing crisis. Among the strategies to combat that, city planners are looking more closely at developing what’s called “middle housing.” These are townhouses, duplexes…

One of the most pitched rivalries in all of sports is probably taking place in your neighborhood: Tennis players vs. pickleball players. Outdoor public courts that tennis players had to themselves si…

Rebekah Todd is a seasoned songwriter and performer who moved from Wilmington to Asheville two years ago. On Aug. 22, she posted a video to social media talking about unwanted communication from an u…

North Carolina legislators recently legalized sports betting in the state. Once enacted, that could funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue each year to the athletics programs of UNC-Ashev…

Passenger trains haven’t rolled through Asheville since 1975, but there’s a serious plan from the North Carolina Department of Transportation to bring them back. Daniel Walton's recent story for Moun…

When the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill sounded its final whistle on June 8, 115 years of continuous operation in Canton came to an end. 1,100 jobs were lost and some heavy questions remain about what w…

The Overlook Live with Matt Peiken is my show's first event in front of a studio audience. It happens Wednesday, Sept. 27, inside the Tina McGuire Theater at the Wortham Center. I’ll be recording thr…

Marcy Gallagher and her husband owned Kilwin’s Fudge and Ice Cream in downtown Asheville for 13 years before handing the store off during the pandemic. Then Gallagher did something a little crazy: Sh…

The renovations needed at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium were well-known for many years to anyone who’s worked or performed there. Now, with the heating and air conditioning system out of order, the auditor…

Homes and land with the highest market values are systemically under-assessed and under-taxed, while properties at the lowest market values are over-taxed. That's at the heart of findings uncovered b…

In college, Lauren Yero found a way to marry up her interests in creative writing and ecological science. A handful of years later, Yero wed both those commitments into her debut novel for young adul…

In 2022, less than 3 percent of North Carolina workers belonged to a union. Only South Carolina had a smaller percentage. Still, in Asheville, food and beverage workers are organizing and seeing mome…

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority just approved a budget of nearly $40 million for the next fiscal year. By state law, the TDA will steer about a third of that into a sort of discreti…

This is the first in a two-part conversation with Vic Isley, president and CEO of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority.  We roll out Isley’s own background in tourism marketing, the TDA’…

The Overlook spent last weekend at The Big Crafty. Matt Peiken roamed the floors and talked to local artisans, asking "How do makers make it work in Asheville?" A handful of makers offer up their sto…

Hendersonville author Meagan Lucas is an emerging voice in the literary niche called Grit Lit.  Her newest collection of stories is titled “Here in the Dark.” Much like her earlier work, these storie…

The North Carolina legislature has voted to turn school board elections into partisan affairs. That means, in Buncombe County, future candidates will have to run in specific districts as opposed to o…