ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — This weekend, Hellbender by the Orange Peel, the newest music venue in Asheville, will open its doors to the public for the first time. Before Band of Horses and Dinosaur Jr. take the stage on Friday, we took a tour of the outdoor concert space. Here is a sneak peek.

Where is Hellbender?

Hellbender is located along the Swannanoa River at 151 Thompson St., Asheville, between Biltmore Village and South Tunnel Road.

Parking at Hellbender

There is no free parking at the venue, but concertgoers can pay for the following parking options:

• $30 – Salamander Lot, 40 Simpson St.
• $20 – Water Dog Lot, 99 Thompson St.
• $15 – Swannanoa Lot, 208 Swannanoa River Road

The lots open one hour before the gates, and will remain open until 11 p.m. after each show.

There will also be a complimentary shuttle available from the nearby Asheville Mall. Five free shuttle buses will run continuously from one hour before gates open until 10 p.m. Pick-up will be near the back entrance to the former JCPenney, just past Belk Department Store.

From Helene to Hellbender

Thompson Street was heavily impacted by Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024. The Swannanoa River flooded during the storm, dumping dirt and debris over the present site of Hellbender.

Liz Tallent, Orange Peel co-owner and marketing director, said that almost everything at the venue now has come after months of hard work by the Orange Peel team.

“It was not a field. 
It was just a dirt pile. We had to remove all the dirt from Helene from three acres,” Tallent said. “
Run power, run water, run sewer. There’s a lot of infrastructure under the ground.”

The grassy meadow at the venue is all newly-planted grass. The light poles, buildings and cement pathways are fresh additions to the property, or else renovated entirely, as in the case of the Hellbender offices.

“This building has literally, I’m not exaggerating, been used for a short film that local filmmakers were doing,” Tallent said. “A zombie apocalypse movie. It was perfect for it. I mean, it was completely destroyed. It was just the brick wall. 
Everything out there was, like, mattresses and mud everywhere.”

The new building is completely restored and houses several artist green rooms, a kitchen, additional storage, staff offices and even a foosball table.

Despite the devastation the Orange Peel team was faced with on Thompson Street, Tallent said that she had a good feeling about the location from the start.

“There’s all these things that I felt like checked the box,” Tallent said. “Certainly, there was still a lot of vetting and conversations we had to have, and due diligence we had to do to make sure we were going to be able to make all the elements work, but when I first saw it, I thought, hmm, it has potential, you know?”

A guide to navigating Hellbender

There are two audiences gates at Hellbender. The first, for shuttle riders and rideshare users, is located at the south end of the property, next to the box office and to the left of the stage.

The second is located at the north end of the property, down a pedestrian path accessible from the Salamander parking lot.

After entering from the south gates, concertgoers will encounter artist merch stands, Hellbender bar counters, food trucks and an ADA-accessible viewing platform. There will be four rotating food trucks at Hellbender shows, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be served from the can at each bar top, including a special Devil’s Foot beverage, “Hellbender Spicy Mango Ginger Beer.”

There are several places to watch shows at Hellbender. Concertgoers are invited to bring blankets or cushions to sit in the grass anywhere in the property meadow. Rentable folding chairs will also be available from the box office area. Several hammocks will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Audiences who pay for standard and premium seating will be able to take a chair in the rows directly in front of the stage.

The back end of the Hellbender campus, located by the north entrance, features a mulched, shaded area just above the Swannanoa River, several fairy light-adorned trees and the bathrooms.

The first Hellbender shows will be held this weekend. At 7 p.m., Friday, July 17, Band of Horses and Dinosaur Jr. will kick off the season. At 6 p.m., Saturday, July 18, Watchhouse will take the stage, with special guests Fruit Bats and Two Runner.

For tickets and information about other upcoming shows, visit www.hellbenderavl.com.