The Orange Peel

What a great little venue to see some iconic acts. The town of Asheville has so much to offer and this venue is no exception. If you have the opportunity to see a show here, do yourself a favor and go. It's a small intimate venue with general admission standing room only. Tickets are reasonably priced. Parking is plentiful around the site for a reasonable fee. You won't regret seeing a show at this historic building in the middle of Downtown Asheville. Plenty of adorable little bars and restaurants nearby to enjoy before or after the show too.

An awesome venue and place to visit for an event! The Orange Peel has so much character and history to it. Use saw Larkin Poe there and we had an exceptional time. Lots of awesome posters along the wall when you walk in of all the artist that have played there. 2 bars to choose from + the ‘pulp’ downstairs that has a full liquior bar. Tons of bourbon to choose from, even pappy van winkle. Not a lot of seating where the venue is but lots to sit and hang out down stairs at the Pulp.

This venue is my favorite in town, there’s no bad place to be in the crowd. Pretty much a good view from anywhere! Love the basement bar, and how you can see the acts perform on a screen while grabbing drinks. I usually hit the bar during the openers so it’s nice to still be able to watch. Upstairs they have beer, wine, and seltzers so that’s great too! I’ve been to a handful of shows here and am never disappointed.

I think the venue is nice and quaint for a local area who brings in good music. Merch table is typically as soon as you enter the bar is into the left. Bathrooms are large with lots of stalls and are clean. Workers have been friendly. Lights and sounds are always great. Enjoy your space towards the back of the stage or get ready to be in front to rage. ENJOY THE SHOW :)

We attended The Amity Affliction’s show on 3/14/25 and had an incredible time! Public parking was convenient to the venue, and the will-call check-in for VIP was quick and efficient. I have to commend security on a job well done for this night. I never saw a crowd surfer fall, I saw them escort one rowdy person out, and they made sure everyone at the barricade was hydrated during the show. My group made small talk with a couple of different security members between sets and they were so kind and welcoming to us as visitors to the area. Thank you to everyone on the Orange Peel’s team who made this a welcoming environment! It was an unforgettable experience!

No words. This is hands-down my favorite venue in the country (and I’ve been to quite a few). I love the convenience of it being settled into one of my favorite mountain towns. I live just over the mountains in East Tennessee and frequently drive over for shows. The bourbon bar in the basement is suave, and I love the pizza parlor. They also offer CBD/THC seltzers which is great as someone who doesn’t drink alcohol. Highly recommend catching a show here - comedy, music, movie night, anything. I love the OP and look forward to my next visit!

Saw Phantogram and Glu (Mikey Shoes) at The Orange Peel on 2025-02-01; an absolutely fantastic show at a great venue! The staff at The Orange Peel were friendly, helpful, funny, courteous, and professional! The acoustics at The Orange Peel were top-notch! I could actually understand the lyrics, unlike my usual experiences at larger venues! The Orange Peel was clean and tidy, with good ventilation which kept the air fresh even after the sold-out crowd packed itself in, and with by far the nicest bathrooms of any musical venue I’ve been to in recent years! To top it all off, the tickets were very affordable by 2025 standards! I cannot recommend The Orange Peel highly enough!

First off, I was in a wheelchair, so I had an interesting experience. I was first greeted and sent the manager. She asked if I had notified them that I was coming. (To note, I didn't find anywhere on their site that said I needed to do so). I did notify them but only because I was questioning what I needed to do as I am newly in a wheelchair as of the week of the show. So I don't think they had time to actually get to my email yet. Anyway, she told me the accessibility area was full, but that we were going to figure something out. She was super nice and helpful. She decided (and made sure I was completely ok with it) to attempt to get me down to the front. So we went and I got there and parked. The show started and I realized all I could really see were the butts in front of me. 😂 I was considering just moving to the back where at least I could have some wiggle room but there was a lovely woman next to me that had a quadriplegic nephew and she took me under her wing for a bit, moved me where I could at least see a little. As the main show was about to start the manager came back and moved me up right next to the stage so I could see the singers. (Pic) It was a pretty good spot. They said they would help me find my way through the crowd to the bathroom when needed too. The staff was super nice and tried to accommodate the best they could. I was impressed...but I learned to always notify in advance if you need any accessibility support.

Cool venue. I attended a Heavy music festival here and they did a good job running the event smoothly. The event was almost sold out so packed. They checked people in quickly, the drink lines were quick. They have a huge fan over head, so you stayed fairly cool and comfortable through. The bands sets started on time. everyone was supper friendly. We will be back.

I really enjoyed this venue. I've been meaning to get to it, and I finally went this weekend to see the band Joseph. It is a small venue, and we got in around 30 minutes after the doors closed and got a spot just a few rows back from the stage. The band was incredible, and the acoustics were great. The venue is conveniently located close to a lot of things in downtown Asheville. It is right next door to Wicked Weed, where we went for dinner and drinks beforehand. There are also parking garages within a short walking distance.

Not too shabby for a venue for Boys Like Girls / Grayscale. I liked that they served a lot of craft beer options and I thought the sound was great, especially as someone who's sensitive and normally has to wear earplugs the whole time. The coat check was not in use because it's summer so we had to hold our raincoats, and I thought the liquor lounge rules were super confusing and weird. You can get liquor downstairs in the special designated room, but you can't bring drinks in or out. But, you can watch the show on a livestream if you want to stay in the lounge to drink. Who goes to a concert venue to sit in a lounge and watch TV with a cocktail?! They even said "if you want to make it quick, take shots" ... don't love the encouragement of quickly getting drunk, either... but I don't drink often so it's just overall not my vibe at all.

Super awesome venue in Asheville. Great selection of beer, liquor, and NA options as well. Very spacious inside, and there's a speakeasy bar downstairs as well. Always a pleasure seeing a show here.

Wow! What a cool venue. We came here to see 49 Winchester. Great show! Small enough to always have a good spot. But still a good sized venue. Great beer selection with great service. There is a cool bourbon bar downstairs. The only issue is that you cannot bring it upstairs. And beer cannot come downstairs. Probably some dumb ordinance.

Modeled at a sold out runway show here for charity. It was amazing! I love Asheville. Have also seen many concerts here. Always good times.

Always a good spot in the house. Quality sound. Long time crew members make things operate smoothly. All around great space for listening to your favorite band. Super great pizza on the way out... what more could you ask for?

We've lived here for three years and no longer being late-night partiers, have been waiting for the right opportunity to visit The Orange Peel. Asheville's inaugural AVLFest musical festival was a success, and we saw our new favorite band Saturday afternoon. Mama and The Ruckus warmed up the crowd here before playing a set at another venue later in the evening. They also have a great selection of beverages.

This is a clean and great club. We went to the 80s vs 90s show. The speakeasy downstairs was great. There is a fun vending machine there.

I am being generous with a 3 star. I was so excited to watch a show here. I had high hopes. We went for the bouncing souls show last week and the sound was horrific! So bad that I could hardly make out what song was playing and sometimes I couldn't. The sound booth was beside the stage, which is the worst place for it, and the audio guy was mixing with headphones!!! For a live show!!! What a joke! If you're going to have a music venue your top priority should be... the music. It was also weird that you had to go downstairs to get a mix drink. The staff were all friendly expect for the downstairs bartender but she was your run of the mill "too cool for you" bartender, which is really a dumb way to be if you're working for tips. Also, let her know that garnishing whiskey or bourbon with fruit is a sin unless it's a cocktail. I feel like she needs to know that. Put your downstairs door girl behind the bar, the tall cute one, She has a great personality!

We came to see Movements again. We hung out in the lounge until they took the stage as that's the only place for cocktails. The show was great. The Krewe is very attentive.

Great venue, always enjoy shows there. Staff is friendly and courteous. Fun vibes, good times.

What a great place for a concert . Just happen to be walking by and got to enjoy old dominion thanks to The Orange peel .

Not great. The seats were just uncomfortable church seats sat up in lines. Get ready for warm and disgusting beer sold for $10 a plastic cup that tasted like a wet fart probably tastes.. They do not sell mixed drinks, or just normal drinks like soft drinks. There is no air conditioning so bring a sweat rag and wear deodorant. The staff were helpful and friendly, and talked to many of them. The sound system was great and comedy show was enjoyable. I'll probably come again if it's the only place I have choice of, but I'm going to avoid it if I can due to the stuff mentioned above.

First and Last experience: Tried to see GWAR here in 2023. After sitting through 3 other bands, my wife felt sorry for a girl with a cane and tried to go to the bar to get the girl a Sprite. Returning from the bar. Their black shirted goons got between my wife and the crowd. They did not identify themselves as security, and their shirts read only Krewe in small letters in the front. Without explaining why, they started herding my wife towards the door. The bathrooms are also in that same general direction. My wife only knew some rando guy was pushing her towards the bathroom. With his hand on her lower back right over her bottom! She panicked and threw the Sprite in his face. Other security nearby jumped in before I could break free of the crowd. They had her outside and in tears. Their only explanation was that she threw a drink at him. She was defending herself! Reading through comments on many other sites, this is common. The Orange Peel is not safe for women alone or even with their spouses.

Cozy venue, fab atmosphere, great owner, lovely backstage and second floor window view... seen some of the greatest musicians here. Always cool - big fans!

Loved this venue!! The space felt big, yet also intimidate? We saw Courtney Barnett play and the sound was simply incredible. I'm embarrassed to say that I even cried during one of her songs. Time flew by while we were here. I could have stood in the middle of that floor looking up at Courtney on stage for hours. We stayed at The Foundry Hotel down the street and walked both to dinner and to the show. It was epic. I hope to see more shows here in the future.

Incredible venue. I was able to see Chelsea Wolfe while in town, visiting from Dallas. The sound and ambience was excellent. Sound engineer is spot on and the space feels simultaneously spacious and intimate. Great space for music.

What in the world!!!!! Paid $$ for a Fleetwood Mac cover band and are having to endure the PAIN of a warm up band that is NOTHING bust noise. If I wasn't looking forward to some great music I would leave! AWFUL AWFUL Give us what we paid for.

I've been here for several shows and I really don't want to go back. It's really disappointing that the shows are so full you can barely walk. I'm assuming that they oversell the shows. It's a drag when you just run into people the whole time and can't dance and people spill their drinks on you because we are all crammed in like sardines! I won't 'be going back..unless Taylor Swift comes to town.=)

This is an excellent venue and place to see live music in Asheville in an intimate setting. The sound is fantastic and it's just the right size to not feel overly crowded. Staff is always friendly and professional (one even gave us each a bottle of water this evening as we were leaving!) Can't really ask for more!

Great place for a venue music or entertainment! We saw Trae Crowder and it was very good.

Amazing ambiance, the performance was just amazing. The bouncer was also really nice. Got my mom and I waters as we were about to leave when he noticed I was over heated.

I don't have a review. I want to know if anyone else has had only 2 drinks there and got so plastered they ended up in ER, they were only there an hr and a half. Staff had to pick this person up off the floor. ER did not draw blood to see if this person was drugged. Anyone else have this happened to them there? Thanks

Ok so we stopped in for open mic comedy night recently and it was terrible. Some of the comedians were engaging and we did enjoy their short acts. That said they let ANYBODY up on stage u fortunately. One guy read lines off a piece of paper that we're just mean spirited. One had something to do with free sex with dead prostitutes. We like the bar. Just wish they'd vet the folks coming onstage a bit.

I wish I could give negative stars for this venue. The building itself and amenities are excellent but it's not enough to make up for its staff and how they treat their patrons. Queuing went well but once you're in the building it's a disaster. Staff are short, rude and consistently aggressive. unfortunately management doesn't seam to want to make changes based on the history of this venue in relation to staff assaulting patrons.

After attending Heavy Mountain - Music & Beer Fest this past weekend, the Orange Peel quickly became one of my favorite live music venues. First and foremost, the sound of the bands was stellar. We saw some truly heavy bands, i.e. High On Fire, Black Tusk, Inter Arma, etc. and the sound was compulsive in the best way. I felt the meaty chunky riffs all the way down to my soul. The general admission venue houses a "Big Ass Fan" so it's not as hot indoors as it appears when you walk in. They tried their best to keep the place cool. Bathrooms were relatively well kept and surprisingly filled with stalls. To top it off, we had the chance to purchase local brews from next door's Wicked Weed. There was even a food vendor slinging burgers and dogs outside on the terrace. Security were pretty chill, they even allowed us to leave the venue and return. Music venues are a difficult business to run, I think Orange Peel has it figured out! Maybe you'll find your new favorite act when you're visiting Asheville.

How best to describe this place: if Amazon sold music venues, this would be available same day locker pickup. It looks like it should, but once you "peel" back the skin, the substance is cheap, knock-off trash. It's like they are trying really hard to be a Live Nation venue while pretending they're not. Saw a few people get thrown out for being a little drunk, saw a family get threatened with arrest just because they were standing towards the front, security gets up with flashlights the instant someone crowd surfs. Either they've been sued for injuries or management is genuinely afraid of their customers. Been to huge venues with crowds of unruly people who were treated with better respect than this. The sound is decent, but the actual experience is truly lacking. The staff is so obnoxious and over-the-top reacting to anything, save for two decent dudes (older and more reasonable with better judgement). Parking is a bit of a pain, since it's street parking on hills. Not sure what the a"peel" is of this place, really don't.

Awesome experience at the Lead Zeppelin cover show. The staff was awesome. Kelly and Jeff get a solid thumbs up for going above and beyond. Thank you Kelly! Thank you Jeff!

I really enjoyed this venue. It's a nice size and the downstairs cocktail bar is really cute. The bartender was so nice and gave us an extra drink.

The Orange Peel is a nice, clean venue with excellent sound. They book a good variety of touring bands, and I've had a good experience every time I've gone. The beer selection is decent, and there is a really good Japanese-style street food restaurant on the property, called Hashi Hana. My only complaint is that most shows are standing room only, so seating is very limited. Otherwise, highly recommended!

There has to be less expensive bars in Asheville. 14 bucks for wine. In an can!!! First time and last. The Orange peel can rot for all I care.

Fabulous venue for music! We went to see Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors concert at this hall and it was my first visit. Amazing scene and very convenient to downtown AVL. We enjoyed the band and the VIP meet and greet when we could hear two unplugged songs and meet Drew!! He's truly a kind and easy going man who plays incredible music. I loved this venue because they had good sound, fair prices for beer & hot pizza, which was yummy! About $4 a slice but good for when you need a bite. We walked from our hotel but there are parking garages nearby.

I saw Men I trust here. Great vibes and right beside places to get a drink and something to eat. Asheville is just beautiful. Had a much better time at this venue compared to other smaller ones in Raleigh and Charlotte.

Indoor mask policy (city wide mandate) is not being actively enforced. Just from where I was standing near the back, I saw at least ten people wearing their mask on their chin or not wearing a mask anywhere on their face. I could not enjoy or focus on the show because I was so uncomfortable with the number of people not wearing their mask. They do require either vaccination card or negative pcr covid test within the last three days but neither is as effective as enforcing mask wear in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

I came here for the beach bunny concert and I will definitely be coming back! Everything was perfect and I love that they handed out water!

I go to 65-75 shows a year, mainly in my hometown of Knoxville. But I love to travel to Asheville, Nashville, Atlanta to see concerts. Amazingly, had not made it to The Orange Peel until recently. Boy, have I been missing out! What a great venue. It's big enough to where everyone isn't elbow to elbow, but also intimate enough to not have a bad vantage point. The bar areas are vast, and it's got a primo location. Most of all, the sound at The Orange Peel is absolutely perfect. I saw a band that went from loud to quiet from song to song, and it was wonderful throughout. Will return!

This was our third time seeing Grace Vanderwaal, and it was by far the worst of all three venues. One of the hottest days this summer and NO air conditioning! JUST one big fan in the middle of the room. It did help that they had water jugs at the bar, but unless we were going to bath in the water jug, I don't feel we got our moneys worth. Grace kept saying "are you all feeling ok, I can't believe how hot it is" She only played for 45 minutes, and I hv a feeling she was done with the heat, what an insult to her, to show up to such a cheap medal building, with NO AIR! To make matters worse, their sound was TERRIBLE. She would try to give a song intro, but they wld never turn down the instrumentals, so we cldnt understand her, the instruments were SO loud, drowned her out. In my book, it was A TOTAL fail and waste of money.

I loved the venue. Was definitely a nice set up with amazing sound. Unfortunately I cannot give a good rating though because I picked up very quickly there is a system in there. At first I had noticed a girl trying to pick pocket me. Caught her multiple times and even when calling her out she just acted oblivious. I continued to watch her and realized she was with three other people and she was snagging phones and wallets and handing them off to someone wearing a sizable leather jacket with a girl dancing on him. I continued to watch and watch and even after calling them out for having their hands in my pocket they played stupid. At the end of the night the whole group accumulated and quickly I realized that the Orange Peel was a TOXIC venue. They had a group of some odd twenty people, even including a girl that had come on to me in the very beginning. I enjoyed the show but honestly wouldn't return due to sticky fingers. If you go here, keep you items under check!

My only complaint is there's no elevated standing area so if you're short and it's a packed show, get there early or upgrade to VIP. If it's available. Liquor is served downstairs. Great variety of beer and cider upstairs. Prices are reasonable as well. Depending on the show and the crowd, security can be a little tight. Just don't do anything you shouldn't be doing + don't drink too much and you should be fine. They do serve food and I've herd it's pretty good. They do accept cards. Sound + lights are pretty good and they get some awesome artist, overall a great venue!

This is my favorite music venue in the southeast. They pull so many great musicians and have events and movie showings all the time. It's fairly small which is great because shows feel so much more intimate. You can expect a GA/Pit type of experience which in my opinion is so much better than all the amphitheaters and theaters in the area. They have a full bar with a ton of beers on tap. It's also located right next door to Wicked Weed and they allow re-entry for people over 21. So you can go next door and have a beer and get back into the show. There is also a private cocktail bar downstairs for members. They are very active on social media and keep you updated about upcoming shows through email if you join their email list. They also have a Spotify playlist with music from artists that are playing in upcoming shows.

The Orange Peel has the most amazing variety of musical performances. The actual venue is nothing to write home about, just your typical giant square room with a stage and bars on either side but the calendar of wonderful music makes this place a five star joint. The only reason I gave it four stars is because in order to get liquor, one must go downstairs to the members only bar and enjoy their cocktail there. I am a whiskey girl so this doesn't really fly with me. I suppose that's not too important though. My years in Asheville I have been lucky enough to see tons of amazing performances here such as Del the Funky Homosapien, Lotus, RJD2, Bela Fleck, Die Antwoord, Ratatat, Rubblebucket, Skrillex...I could go on and on and on..... Many awesome memories have been made here

Great small venue location in downtown Asheville. You can see all kinds of bands here. The floor is wooden with bathrooms in the back, stage front and center with bars on both sides. There is a smoking deck accessible from the inside. Also attached is a food venue. You can buy tickets on their website. I advise this if it's a popular band.

This place is awful nasty employees very rude didn't enjoy my time here. Wouldn't recommend going here when visiting.

This is the go to music venue in Asheville in my opinion. It really has it all, wide selections of artists, a comfortable space to watch the show, large capacity and multiple bars to make drink acquisitions easy and quick. They are slightly expensive tho, which could probably be expected at a music venue where liquor is one of the only products they sell. I've always been able to get a good view of the stage, even as a little guy despite the large crowd the venue holds. And with acts from Earl Sweatshirt of odd future to country music groups, they work hard to accommodate every type of music fan they can think of and actually do it well. If I have any complaints it's about the difficulty parking on Biltmore Ave right by the wicked weed. It's never easy and usually takes a few passes or a cpl block walk or paying for a garage, something i hate doing. Don't let that deter you though. This approximately 1000 person capacity standing room only music venue is easily Asheville's best and if u have the chance check it out.

Hi! I am an Asheville native and have two tickets to the wood brothers show since April of 2020. It has been cancelled twice. Our tickets were supposed to be still good for tonight's show. There seems to be quite a large number of folks in the same boat, but apparently the orange peel doesn't keep records of ticket sells, but they say it's sold out. Isn't that a but contradictory? They are not willing to do anything about the number of people who paid for tickets but won't get to go because they don't keep records. This is not a good business practice especially considering your business is largely based off ticket sells and quite frankly doesn't make any sense at all.

Very cool and intimate venue. Right in downtown and close to lots of food and bars. We were right up front and the sound was top notch! They have great beers on tap but If you start a beer tab don't loose the card they give you or they will charge you $25 to replace it.

I had never been to Asheville or heard of this venue before until I saw something about Say Anything playing somewhat nearby Charlotte on 4/20/12, which happened to fall on my 27th birthday. I made a comment in passing, half-jokingly, that I should roadtrip out to AVL and see the show. Well, a friend of mine and my parents took it to heart and conspired to get me tickets and book a hotel room in the area so I could go see Say Anything as a birthday surprise. This was exciting and all, but once I actually got there, I was head-over-heels in love. The Orange Peel is huge and spacious, with an enormous open floor cooled by a giant ceiling fan that must be about 20 feet wide. From my experiences, the staff was super friendly. We didn't get searched or patted down by anyone like some reviews mention, and the door folks were kind and considerate. The bartenders were quick with a drink and a smile even though they must have been pretty rushed with the crowd being as big as it was. The acoustics were awesome. Every word was crisp and clear, and it was loud enough to be awesome but not too loud to where I couldn't communicate with my friend that was with me. The beer was a little overpriced ($4 for a 16oz Bud Light) but no more than it generally is in ANY music venue. I loved the fact that it was all open and cheap General Admission, so you were free to move about wherever you wanted and sneak up closer and closer to the stage at the end of each act when people would break to go to the bathroom, to the bar for drinks or head outside to smoke. By the time all the opening acts were done, we were probably less than 10 feet from the stage. Especially considering that we arrived late, I thought that was pretty epic. At one point during the show, we were all packed in like sardines and jumping up and down like crazy people but the giant fan did a great job of keeping us all cool, which is a huge help for someone that gets claustrophobic and has panic attacks when in that situation and hot and sweaty. Lastly, there are reviews that mention brevity of shows... Doors opened for this event at 7, music started at 8, and I didn't leave until after 12:30... I don't know if that is outside the norm, but it's certainly better than the hour/two-hour shows people have complained about here on Yelp. Again, this was my only visit to The Orange Peel so far, but I think that $17 tickets to see a huge national act and 3 great openers over the course of 4.5 hours is pretty darn good. Keep it up Orange Peel. This was for sure the best show I have ever been to, and I will be back, even with the 2.5 hour drive to get there!!!

OK, we live an hour away and have to come to The Orange Peel Social Aid & Pleasure Club several times each year. If I lived in Asheville, I'd be here pretty often. The only things that could make it better are liquor and more seats...they've taken care of both in the private club, but I'm not a member. This venue is serious about getting great acts and making the experience music-centric and rich. The sound is great, i recommend getting a "beer card" for a group or early in the night...it just goes faster when you need refills. We always meet cool people and it has a friendly small town hippie vibe. We usually order tix online and have them sent or pick up at the box office/will call. It's a serious venue for serious music lovers. Very intimate and you are close up from every spot in the room. Sometimes you can pay extra for the little seating area by stage right, other times it's closed or reserved for friends of the band. We always enjoy it here. Some of the best acts seem to come midweek on work/school nights, but that's probably out of their control.