Asheville Guitar Bar

Yesterday, Friday 18 October, was the three week anniversary of losing our little intimate music venue in the rising of the French Broad River and Hurricane Helene. Since September 27th, during these three weeks, Mark and I have gone through so many emotions, mental changes, and physical challenges. The process for us both has been one of grief while dealing with the death of the Original Asheville Guitar Bar.

We both feel like we’ve aged a decade having gone through this process. Through the shock of the reality of losing our business that we’ve spent over ten years building. Through our instincts of collecting all we could from what the river left behind, trapped under a foot of clay and silt, hoping to find our family heirlooms, guitar bar memorabilia, and our hand created and painted artwork which documents the history of Mark’s and my lives. All things from our personal journeys, that we brought into the guitar bar to display and to share with our customers and friends.

I’ve checked out over the last two weeks, not staying in touch, not sharing anything more, until I had the mental strength and clarity to do so. I write journals to offload my thoughts and emotions through words and stories, and in each moment, my entire physiology can go from calm and clarity, to panic, heartbreak, and uncontrollable sobbing.

Keeping our eyes and our minds on you, our support team, who are helping us get through, and by focusing on the busy work of cleaning and organizing our salvaged possessions, brings us back to calm. The physical work of gathering our things, organizing them, cleaning as best we could without running water, finding place for each item, has kept us focused and our minds peaceful.

Our Cotton Mill building owners Jannette and Rich, and their Guajiro Cuban Comfort Food team led the way through cleaning up, managing heavy lifting, mucking, pressure washing and sanitizing, all the while engaging us in hope for the future. In this end, they shared with us warmth and caring, great strength, and a vision of a new beginning. We’re so proud of them, and proud to be part of their circle of community in Asheville and the River Arts District.

Today, I'll share photos of the last days of The Original Asheville Guitar Bar. We have all left the building including Elvis. But the building is still standing, beckoning all to a brighter future filled with food, friends, music, community, togetherness, hope, welcoming hugs, and love.

We ‘will' gather again on the other side of this tragedy, because from this chaos and change, the space to create a new experience has opened.

Sending Our Love and Deepest Gratitude to All of You.
Julia & Mark

Thank you to all who have donated so far. We are almost halfway to our goal! The outpouring of generosity is humbling and very much appreciated. Mark and Julia have been using these funds to help pay the bills that did not stop with the flooding and devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

We’d like to send a special thanks to Tom and Beth Biltz and the “Decatur Porch Fest” who posted a link to our go fund me and have helped us raise over $400 in the past 2 hours! Your support is amazing, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

We are all looking forward to tomorrow’s benefit concert to support the Asheville Guitar Bar and Mark and Julia’s recovery efforts. If you are in the area, here is a link to the event:
https://www.facebook.com/share/pHCToCFqaDev2FMx/?mibextid=9l3rBW

Please continue share the go fund me link with all your friends and fans of music. We appreciate your continued support!

Donate to Benefit for Mark and Julia and the Asheville Guitar Bar, organized by Kenneth Horgan Mark and Julia Goldthwaite created the Asheville Guitar Bar in … Kenneth Horgan needs your support for Benefit for Mark and Julia and the Asheville Guitar Bar

A go fund me link has been set up to support Mark & Julia and the Asheville Guitar Bar. We appreciate all the support!

Donate to Benefit for Mark and Julia and the Asheville Guitar Bar, organized by Kenneth Horgan Mark and Julia Goldthwaite created the Asheville Guitar Bar in … Kenneth Horgan needs your support for Benefit for Mark and Julia and the Asheville Guitar Bar

For reasons we can't determine, we are not able to receive your donations from Zelle. They are returning your deposits. Please try again through Paypal, Venmo, POBox listed below, or email [email protected] for other options. We're sorry for your inconvenience.

Thank you to all who are helping the Asheville Guitar Bar through these initial phases of adjusting to life without means to help ourselves.

To our Guitar Bar family from around the globe, your requests for a way to help us with immediate expenses is greatly appreciated, desperately needed, and brings us to tears. Thank you.

Here’s how to send Hurricane Relief Funds for the Asheville Guitar Bar to help Mark & Julia

Venmo: AshevilleGuitarBar
[ use # < 1871 > if needed ]

PayPal.me/AshevilleGuitarBar

Mailing Address:
Mark Goldthwaite
P.O.Box 5940
Asheville NC 28813

or email: [email protected] for other options

Please do not use Zelle. They are returning donations and not allowing our deposits.

Today Wednesday October 2nd, we need any local help available to pull out the heavy equipment, wood, & debris from the bar.
Mark at AGB 11:00 till dark. This is dangerous work in river muck conditions. If possible please wear rubber boots, rubber gloves, masks and safety glasses. Your physical help is much needed as Mark cannot do this bit alone. Thank you so much. Julia

For reasons we can't determine, we are not able to receive your donations from Zelle. They are returning your deposits. Please try again through Paypal, Venmo, POBox listed below, or email [email protected] for other options. We're sorry for your inconvenience.

Thank you to all who are helping the Asheville Guitar Bar through these initial phases of adjusting to life without means to help ourselves.

The Asheville Guitar Bar has touched the hearts of people from all around the world by sharing local music and community. It is coming back ten fold in our time of need.

To our Guitar Bar family from around the globe, your requests for a way to help us with immediate expenses is greatly appreciated, desperately needed, and brings us to tears. Thank you.

Here’s how to send Hurricane Relief Funds for the Asheville Guitar Bar to help Mark & Julia

Venmo: AshevilleGuitarBar
[ use # < 1871 > if needed ]

PayPal.me/AshevilleGuitarBar

Mailing Address:
Mark Goldthwaite
P.O.Box 5940
Asheville NC 28813

or email: [email protected] for other options

Please do not use Zelle. They are returning donations and not allowing our deposits.

Our beloved Asheville Guitar Bar, the Cotton Mill Building, and our neighbors 2nd Gear, are amongst the local businesses in the River Arts District to drown in the flood waters of the French Broad.

Mark and I are safe downtown. We’ll keep walking the tracks multiple times a day, to get updates on the water level. In the photos you can see the water line a foot above our windows. Presumably, everything inside is lost.

We’ve been asked not to enter the building until the city clears it for safety of electricity and gas, and stability of the structure.

We know there is much to do in Western Carolina to help our friends and neighbors. This is a worse disaster for us all than covid tried to be. So many businesses, artists, industry workers, and community, are struck down with no resources right now, and little to no hope of rebuilding or managing the responsibilities of daily life.

We don’t yet know what we need accept to get into the guitar bar and our new gallery space, to see if anything is salvageable. It’s a waiting game.

For the safety of all our guests, performers and staff, the Asheville Guitar Bar will closed this evening. The Ben Balmer performance scheduled for tonight will be rescheduled. We will continue to monitor conditions and re-assess tomorrow. Please follow our page for updates.

Due to staffing issues, tonight’s Mr Jimmy’s Friday Night Blues will not be live-streamed. We hope you can join us for the show in person at 8pm at the Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Dr, Suite D, Asheville NC 28806. Our next scheduled livestream will be Friday, 9/20. Thank you for your understanding and continued support!

join Mr Jimmy Music for some killer Southside Blues. Rumor has it that will be coming out to join the fun!

Send a message to learn more

This week's edition of Mr Jimmy's Friday Night Blues at the Asheville Guitar Bar will feature The Chicago Kingsnakes Trio reunion show. Jimmy was the founding member, lead singer / guitarist and main songwriter for the band beginning in 1983. Gus Gotsis on drums performed with the “Snakes” for 20 years, and Bruce Felgen has played scores of Kingsnakes shows on bass. Check out this artists spotlight video about Gus. Make the SCENE – Don't miss this show!!!

Friday September 13th at 8:00pm! LIVE and streaming online at Facebook.com/ashevilleguitarbar and YouTube.com/ashevilleguitarbar

Send a message to learn more