Concerts by the Steep Canyon Rangers and David Holt will highlight the first-ever UNC Asheville Arts Fest, April 10-13, 2014.

This new four-day festival will feature music, theater, art and new media exhibitions, interactive sculpture, prose and poetry. All UNC Asheville Arts Fest events will be open to the community and while some events will be ticketed, many will be free.

The Steep Canyon Rangers won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album last year for Nobody Knows You. Their new album, Tell the Ones I Love, is at No. 8 and rising on the Billboard sales list.

An exhibit of Holt’s photos of the late Doc Watson, Grandpa Jones, and many others will be on display in the Lipinsky Hall lobby throughout the Arts Fest. Holt, who plays traditional music on ten acoustic instruments and often tells traditional tall tales during his concerts, won Grammy awards for his recordings with Watson. He appeared in the movie, O Brother Where Art Thou, and hosts the popular public television program Great Scenic Railway Journeys.

Other UNCA Arts Fest highlights include TheatreUNCA’s staging of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and performances by UNCA’s Percussion Ensemble and the String Quartet. The UNCA Quad will host interactive sculpture and other outdoor events and art exhibits on Saturday, April 12. The variety of literary events will range from a “College vs. High School” poetry slam, to readings by local prose writers, to a keynote by state poet laureate, Joseph Bathanti.

If You Go: The Steep Canyon Rangers perform in Kimmel Arena at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, 2014. Tickets range from $11.50 to $34.50, and are available online and at the Kimmel Arena box office.

David Holt and the Lightning Bolts perform at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Lipinsky Auditorium. Tickets range from $5 for UNCA students to $20 for the general public.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://arts.unca.edu/ARTSfest.