This win might have something to do with the amount of miles Toubab Krewe has logged. As if touring from Asheville to Mali wasn't enough, the band seems to live on its bus. Between the band's Bele Chere performance/homecoming and this printing, the guys will have traveled from Wilmington to San Francisco and from New Orleans to the Brooklyn Bowl, and played more festivals (PetZoo! Catskill Chill!) than most of us have even heard of.
But that doesn't necessarily mean Toubab Krewe's tastes run only to the exotic. "Playing Bele Chere was a massive and inspiring experience for us," says guitarist Drew Heller of the band's summer homecoming. "Asheville is our true home. For five years, our residence has primarily been on highways. We arrive and depart cities constantly. Asheville is immediate family. It is the community that we were raised in and the community that continues to sustain us."
The band found time to drop its second studio album, TK2, which was released by the National Geographic world-music label, and has strong local ties — it was recorded in Asheville at Echo Mountain and mixed in Asheville at Upstream Productions.
— Alli Marshall
