Orange Peel to Open 6,000-Seat Hellbender Riverside Concert Venue July 2026

Hellbender by the Orange Peel will open a limited season in July 2026 on a roughly three-acre bend of the Swannanoa River and will accommodate about 6,000 attendees, organizers announced March 3, 2026. The project reuses the former Cursus Kĕmē brewery parcel and is being developed by Big Picture Concert Group LLC, the new ownership team behind the Orange Peel.

Plans on file call for a mix of general admission lawn space and premium and standard seating that together create an approximate 6,000-seat capacity, with permits framing the number as a maximum crowd size. The main stage shown in development documents measures about 82 feet by 40 feet, and the site layout relies on modular, flood-resistant elements including multiple repurposed shipping containers for beer sales, merchandise, box offices and restrooms because the property sits entirely in a floodplain and has flooded in the past.

City planning administrators completed an initial review of the site plan in October 2025 and required resubmittal to address landscaping, access and drainage details. The Design Review Committee gave unanimous design approval at one review stage but urged a fuller landscaping and tree canopy plan, improvements to the arrival and entrance sequence and stronger site lighting, and it cautioned against creating a “cattle yard” look as the team refines materials and layout. Parking and coordination on a potential street closure near Thompson Street were prominent issues raised during review.

Big Picture Concert Group LLC completed the purchase of the Orange Peel from its founding owners and identified Liz Whalen Tallent as head of marketing and a co-owner of the Orange Peel and Hellbender. Tallent framed the project as rooted in local history: “The Orange Peel's 24-year history as a locally owned live music business, deeply connected to our community, is central to everything we do. We love bringing people together for live music, and we love Asheville, and Hellbender will be a reflection of both.” Tallent also said, “Together, the seven of us have overseen every aspect of the Orange Peel’s operations and all its related projects and venues since 2006, and for the last six months our focus has been creating a new home for the Peel’s outdoor shows,” and “Despite the extreme difficulty of 2024 from the challenges that Helene brought, and those we faced as a small business, our team has stuck together and made the deliberate choice to keep our local staff together.”

Organizers have scheduled a high-profile opening lineup for the venue, with a first concert listed for Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026 featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Mavis Staples and Mary Chapin Carpenter with support from Hurray for the Riff Raff; organizers simultaneously describe a limited July 2026 activation period, leaving the July-versus-August schedule detail to be clarified as ticketing and event dates are finalized. The team plans to expand Hellbender into a permanent, full-season riverside venue by spring 2027, subject to completion of floodplain permitting and the remaining city approvals.