Musicians come to Britten Olinger's aid

The Holden Dixon Band and The Karma Mechanics will perform at a Saturday, April 28 fundraiser for the Britten Olinger family.

Olinger, a Montreat College track coach, was paralyzed from the chest down on Feb. 27, 2016 when his car was struck by another in downtown Black Mountain. Since then a number of groups and individuals have held fundraisers to help the Black Mountain family cope with the incredible costs. Tickets to the April 28 show at White Horse Black Mountain are $10 advance, $12 door and $5 students.

White Horse owner Bob Hinkle describes The Karma Mechanics as “rough-edged rock with a brain.” The original lineup coalesced around regulars at White Horse open mic nights. United by their love of tough classic rock artists like the Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young with Crazy Horse, they rehearsed original material and carefully chosen covers.

When ex-Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle came out of the audience to jam at the debut show of The Karma Mechanics’ new lineup, the band knew that it was onto something. The band consists of guitarists Sal D’Angio and Dave Landy, bassist Hamza Vandehey and Scott Jones on drums.

Also on hand will be The Holden Dixon Band. The band’s namesake is an Asheville singer/songwriter who was previously the founder and lead singer for the band Seaborn. Dixon is a freelance songwriter, producer and touring performer who cites John Mayer, Adam Young, Nick Littlemore, John Mellencamp and Kenny Loggins as influences. He’s just released a new single, “Keep Moving On.”