Martin Sexton Packs Woodstock Arts Lantern Series; Balsam Range Brings Bluegrass May 2

Woodstock Arts closed out another Lantern Series concert Saturday night the way the best ones end, with a packed room, a performer who earned every bit of the applause, and an audience that clearly didn't want to leave.

Singer-songwriter Martin Sexton was the draw, and he delivered. Photos from the show, captured by photographer Alisha McKellar of Alisha McKellar Portrait Design, show Sexton working the stage under sweeping purple and pink lighting, guitar in hand, with a full house silhouetted in front of him, the kind of image that makes you wish you'd bought a ticket sooner.

Sexton's path to that stage is the sort of story that makes his music feel earned. A Syracuse, N.Y., native, he built his early following busking on the streets of Boston before word-of-mouth and relentless touring turned him into one of the more respected acoustic artists working today. His fan base has a reputation for following him from city to city, and Saturday night in Woodstock was no exception, the crowd's energy, by all accounts, matched Sexton's own.

That kind of turnout is exactly what the Lantern Series was designed to produce. Woodstock Arts' signature indoor concert program brings nationally touring musicians into a setting where the performer is close enough that you can read the setlist on the floor. For Cherokee County residents, it fills a real gap: professional live music at a community scale, no interstate required. The series has grown into one of the more anticipated recurring events on the local arts calendar, and Saturday's show added another chapter to that reputation.

Next up is Balsam Range, taking the Lantern Series stage Friday, May 2. The Western North Carolina quintet has spent the better part of two decades becoming one of bluegrass music's most decorated acts, earning multiple International Bluegrass Music Association awards, including Entertainer of the Year, on the strength of tight harmonies, instrumental precision and a live show that tends to win over audiences who didn't know they liked bluegrass until they heard it. For fans of the genre already, it's a rare chance to catch a top-tier act in an intimate room.

Tickets for the May 2 show are available through the Woodstock Arts website and social media pages. Given the demand Lantern Series events tend to generate, waiting on this one carries some risk.