Your toes will tap while your mind expands during Rolling Thunder's cavalcade of scintillating speakers, provocative poets and masterful musicians. Take a look at what's in store:

SPEAKERS

Jim Hightower National radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of If the Gods had Meant us to Vote They Would Have Given us Candidates, Jim Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be--consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks. Twice elected Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Hightower believes that the true political spectrum is not right to left but top to bottom, and he has become a leading national voice for the 80 percent of the public who no longer find themselves within shouting distance of the Washington and Wall Street powers at the top.

Patch Adams Patch Adams of the Gesundheit Institute, a doctor, a clown, and a social activist, who wants to change the healthcare system. He founded Gesundheit! in 1972 as a creative response to the health care crisis in America: spiraling costs, dispirited care givers and alienated patients. Adams is the doctor whose unorthodox good-humored approach to medicine was made famous in Robin Williams' film portrayal, and he has used his fame to bring fun, friendship, and the joy of service back into healthcare. Patch says, "When a dream takes hold of you, run with it!"

"Granny D" Doris Haddock Doris Haddock, a. k. a. Granny D, is the 93-year old activist who walked 3,200 miles across America in 1999 to call attention to how money is corrupting the U. S. political system. During the debate over the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform bill in 2001, she walked continuously around the Capitol for seven days, stopping only for cat-naps and food. In a recent birthday speech, Granny D told supporters: "Aren't we privileged to live in a time when everything is at stake, and when our efforts make a difference in the eternal contest between the forces of light and shadow, between togetherness and division? Between justice and exploitation? Oh, be joyful that you are a warrior in this great time!"

Eric Alterman Eric Alterman currently writes the "Stop the Presses" media column for The Nation and the "Altercation" web log for MSNBC. com. In recent years, he has been a contributing editor to, or columnist for: Worth, Rolling Stone, Elle, Mother Jones, World Policy Journal, and The Sunday Express (London). His Sound & Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy won the 1992 George Orwell Award and his It Ain't No Sin to be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen, won the 1999 Stephen Crane Literary Award. He is also the author of Who Speaks for America? Why Democracy Matters in Foreign Policy, What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News, and When Presidents Lie: Deception and Its Consequences.

John Hayes John Hayes is director of Asheville's Empowerment Resource Center and president of the Asheville Chapter of the NAACP.

MUSICIANS

Laura LoveLaura Love has an uncanny knack for getting an audience to listen beyond their own boundaries. This unique facility is largely a function of being that rare recording artist who is at once deeply rooted and broadly cultured. While Laura, an African-American gifted with an astonishing voice, draws her most profound musical influences from folk and funk, her writing, playing and performing bear unmistakable watermarks from a life deeply touched by a variety of traditions including blues, bluegrass, jazz, gospel, reg-gae and country. In the past, the songstress and bassist has referred to her pastiche-style as "folk-funk", "Afro-Celtic" or "Hip-Alachian." Regardless of description, through her life and work she reminds us that the true power of America and its music springs only from wells as richly diverse and vital as the artist herself. Welcome To Pagan Place, Laura's eighth CD and KOCH Records debut, finds the veteran singer-songwriter and intellectual leading light on a new millennial mission to make your foot tap, your head think, and your soul awaken. Says Love, "I'm really excited about this new release because it combines all of my favorite musical genres: funk, bluegrass, and despising the Bush administration!"

Braidstream From Celtic to Baltic, classical to the edge of jazz, medieval dances, legends of Ancient Greek mythology, Gregorian chant, Native American songs . . . all come together in a Braidstream concert. An eclectic mix of musi-cal styles, backgrounds, and cultures coming together, Braidstream creates a new sound for a new time--a whole greater than the sum of its parts. An evocative mixture of themes and dreams that will excite and inspire Braidstream wraps the audience in an aural tapestry that elegantly blends the spirit of ancient recognition with bold innovation.

The Carlos Salvo Band A fusion of eclectic melodies and rhythms from the world over, The Carlos Salvo Band brings forth the unification of many cultures in a setting of their own original music and creativity. Grounded with its roots from the folk tunes of Chile, the music also spans through the dynamism of Cuba, Nicaragua and American Jazz, encompassing the free-dom and Spirit of World Music. Carlos was born in Chile during the years of various movements of cultural assertion. Inspired by the New Song artists who dedicated their work to the expression of their people's needs and struggles, he headed for Argentina where he became a well-known composer and performer of songs that celebrated the daily lives of the Latin American peoples. Carlos continues to play and to write songs, and he has formed a new band in which he is currently traveling with.

Cecil Bothwell Essayist, editor, poet, environmentalist, major appliance repairperson, builder, gardener and stalwart friend to small furry vertebrates, Cecil Bothwell is Managing Editor of Asheville's weekly Mountain Xpress, founding editor of the environmental journal Heartstone, and publishing magnate behind the curtain at Brave Ulysses Books. His work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country and his radio scripts have been recorded by Jane Goodall and William Least Heat Moon. He also sings (heaven forfend).

Chris and Aaron Would Be Fine Chris and Aaron Would Be Fine is an Asheville-based, acoustic, percussive duo. Chris and Aaron recently came together in musical collaboration to create a collection of original music intermingled with songs from various inspirational sources. The result: funky folk with a bluegrass twist.

Current Invention Current Invention resonates with the spec-trum of Daniel Barber's musical passions, including rhythms that come from Africa, melodies from Ireland, and voices from American folk and jazz. Whatever genre they're playing, their music stirs the spirit coming from within.

Dazuluzad Dazuluzad is a middle eastern fusion group founded by Thomas Moore who composes all the original pieces on the oud. Dazuluzad is a bridge between Western and Eastern music. Instruments may vary from oud, saxophone, tablas, electric guitar and bass. They have played art festivals, North Carolina Stage Co and will be performing at the Blue Jean Ball.

Michael Farr Experiencing the music of singer/ songwriter Michael Farr is as much a treat for the spirit as it is for the ears. Combining an earthy guitar style, intuitive lyrics and sweet, soulful singing, Michael creates a sound that is fresh and serves to open the heart as well as the mind. Michael has recently performed at the Flat Rock Music Festival, as well as Asheville's Bele Chere Festival and Earth Day celebrations. He has shared the stage with such luminaries as Peggy Seeger, Chris Rosser, Chuck Brodsky, Christine Kane, David LaMotte, Jimmy Landry, Bill Mize and many others. Michael is a long-time artist member of the popular web label folkweb. com. His upcoming CD "Thankful" will be released May 22.

Fruit of Labor The Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble is the cultural arm of the civil rights and worker rights organization, Black Workers for Justice. We, the Fruit of Labor, are celebrat-ing our 20th year of organizing in our com-munity and workplaces! Twenty years of writing songs and creating music from our people's and co-workers struggles! Twenty years of performing, inspiring, educating and raising funds for the freedom and workers rights struggles in the South! Our songs are a chronology of popular peoples movements for social change. Through African-American people's various music styles of rhythm & blues, gospel, reggae, jazz, folk, work songs, chants, etc., we document working class tra-dition, history culture and legacy. Our music speaks to the unfolding historical challenges of war, women's oppression, our youth, our history of fighting oppression and racism. It also speaks to the need to continue work-place organizing and build solidarity as an act of necessity not an act of charity.

Aaron Gunn A. R. Gunn was a violinist for the Orlando-based Celtic band, Gael Rising for over three years. After moving to Boston he hid in his dorm for another three years and picked up the bass and guitar to stave off ennui. A fledgling song-writer, he is a recent addition to Asheville and to the locally-based band, The Road Dawgs.

Hillcrest High Steppers Hillcrest High Steppers is a nationally-recognized drum and majorette corps made up of Asheville youth.

John Hayes Gospel Group John Hayes Gospel Group has recently formed to provide music for the new low-power FM station which has been licensed to the Empowerment Resource Center.

Ada Khoury Ada has composed an impressive repertoire of songs, many in collaboration with her mother. Sensitive and engaging lyrics fuel several musical categories including country, folk, rock and blues with subjects ranging from romance to environmental and social issues. One of the most striking aspects of Ada's music is this uncommon diversity of style, genre and content, in which Ada kicks on both electric and acoustic guitar, while her voice has been compared to Patsy Kline and k. d. lang's by regional music critics. She released her latest album Fairy Tales in 2001.

Lance Kurland Lance is a singer/ songwriter and has appeared in many national venues. He is on the Board of Pure Food Partners. He ran for the NC Statehouse in 2000 on the Reform/ Natural Law Party ticket. He is a 3rd degree Reiki Teacher, Rebirther, Certified Flower Essence Counselor and if that is not enough, he opened the Whole Life Center of Healing before moving to Black Mountain.

David LaMotte It's been twelve years since David LaMotte has had a real job or a real haircut. In that time he has released seven CDs and per-formed over sixteen hundred shows in forty-one states and ten countries. Along the way, he has shared stages with Arlo Guthrie, Shawn Mullins, Buddy Miles, Gillian Welch, John Gorka and David Wilcox. When people on airplanes ask David what he does for a living, he says, "Mostly drive and fly, and occasionally stop and play music for people." When they ask the inevitable follow-up question, "what kind of music?" he has a hard time answering, as it falls in the margins between many different genres. The Washington Times recently described it as "guitar spanking open-tuning grooves as well as gentle folk-tinged pop." That's broad enough for us.

Mosby After a brief stint singing Christmas carols in Las Vegas, Jen Hamel, Vickie Burick and Emily Poe came back home to Asheville, North Carolina (where the good music comes from). The girls agreed that all really great bands start with one thing: a great name. They agreed that all really great house pets start with a great name as well. Combining these two unassailable truths, they named themselves after Emily's family cat: Mosby (Note: no animals were harmed in the writ-ing of this biography).

Richard Shulman Composer, keyboardist, and recording artist, Richard Shulman dedicates his music to the expression of love and the embodiment of spiritual essence. His latest CD: Camelot Reawakened: A Vision Fulfilled, is a nine-movement symphonic work, portraying the fulfillment of Dreams of the Heart for indi-viduals and society, and modeling a positive, abundant society at one with the land.

Peggy Seeger Born in 1935 into one of North America's foremost folk music families, Peggy was well schooled in the classic European music traditions. Between the ages of 12 and 35 she learned to play piano, guitar, five-string banjo, autoharp, Appalachian dulcimer and English concertina. Now considered to be one of North America's finest revival singers of traditional songs, she has also written music for films, television and radio. She has collaborated on books of folksongs with Edith Fowke, Alan Lomax and Ewan MacColl. She has made 19 solo LPs and collaborated with other perform-ers (Tom Paley, Mike Seeger, Guy Carawan, Ewan MacColl) on more records than she can remember. In the mid-1970s she began to concentrate on feminist and ecological issues. Her best known songs are "The Ballad of Springhill" and "I'm Gonna Be an Engineer". She produces a new album every 18 months, the latest being a collection of romantic love songs, Love Will Linger On and, Almost Commercially Viable.

Shiva Shiva has existed in many different forms and sounds. The music Shiva is currently cre-ating draws upon many diverse influences including: jazz, devotional chanting, world fusion, prog rock, hip hop, ambient and folk. Shiva consists of Peter Motika, vocals, pipes guitar and tongue drum; Chris Barron, drums percussion and sampling; Sherman Hoover, keyboards and vocals; Jug Yon, vocals and percussion; and Jason Everett Doggett, Chapman Stick.

Sidhe Sidhe, is a four piece women's vocal and percussion group, founded and directed by Asheville-based singer/ songwriter, Dawn Humphrey. Their name is derived from a Gaelic word for a type of fairy, and is pro-nounced "She". They deal in sweet melodies, thick harmonies, and foot-stomping rhythms, and perform originals and covers in the gen-res of protest songs, spirituals, blues, pop, folk, and traditional ethnic music from around the world.

Jeffery Hyde Thompson It has been said that Jeffery is as much a poet and a storyteller as he is a songwriter, as the quality of his lyrics could stand on their own as text. Ranging from the pro-foundly tragic to the goofily comedic, his songs run a wide gamut of emotions. His voice has been called both ethereal and earthy. His vocal range spans over three octaves and often incorporates fluid shifts between a bold chest voice and a bell like falsetto. He has just released his first CD, entitled "stillsmall voices," and is touring regularly to promote it. He also does a killer Michael Jackson impersonation.

Ginnie Waite Born in the year 1957 in the month of the popping trees (Dec. 29), Ginnie is of Native American descent, and her songs reflect her > spirit. She was 12 when she began to write songs and play the guitar and has been seen lending her voice to many causes, such as conservation, human rights and freedom of expression. She lives in Old Fort and enjoys playing at local festivals and clubs. Her voice warmly invites your heart to listen.

Womansong Womansong's music spans an almost infinite array of themes as we celebrate women's lives. Our empowerment, our spirituality, our relationship with the Earth, our healing and our humor. Many of our songs are original pieces composed by members of our group. We proclaim our unity and honor cultural diversity in song.

POETS

Greg Brown Greg Brown was named in Asheville's Mountain Xpress as one of the city's Unknown Celebrities. He is one of the co-organizers of the Asheville Poetry Shoot-Out. His previously published works include the chapbook Ex-Girlfriend Haiku.

Drew Dellinger is co-founder of the band Sweet Acidophilus, a rap artist and a member of Poets for Global Justice. A Tar-heel by birth, he comes to Rolling Thunder/ Asheville from Oakland, California, and has performed at other stops on the tour.

Carrie Gerstmann Carrie is a spoken word artist, a dynamic passionate voice for peace. Champion of several individual slam contests and a semifinalist in the National Slam. She has a CD--transcendental floss. Carrie is the mother of a beautiful girl-child.

Kam Parker Kam is a former Marine and an eloquent and outspoken defender of the U. S. Constitution. Her poetry enlightens and touches the heart.

Annabeth Watts Annabeth is a native to Asheville in her heart. Mother of four sons and recently mar-ried, she believes that healing comes through silence as well as words.