Rock While Rome Burns

Asheville's Eclectic Rock Band

Rock While Rome Burns is an Asheville, NC-based rock band that blends diverse musical styles, including hard rock, acoustic rock, country, blues, jam rock, and even bossa nova. Founded in 2023 by singer-songwriters Alan Graf and George Gelish, the band aims to take audiences on a captivating musical journey with their adventurous and dynamic sound.

Upcoming Gig Dates

Sat July 12, 5-8 PM
(Weather Permitting)
Karolina Kremes
96 Etowah Center Dr.
Etowah, NC 28729
Thurs July 17, PM
(Rain or Shine)
Good Trouble Lives on Protest
Pack Square
Asheville, NC
Sat July 19, 5-8 PM
(Weather Permitting)
Karolina Kremes
96 Etowah Center Dr.
Etowah, NC 28729

Watch this space for additional "Pop-up" performances!

5/30/25 - More Rockin' for Democracy!

Rock While Rome Burns has been invited to play at the "No Kings" Pack Square rally on June 14. Appropriately enough, we'll be playing our song "No Kings!" See you there!

5/11/25 - New Dates Booked and Hitting the Street!

Fans of our band know that the street is a big part of our game. We love to go out busking on the streets, play our music and mingle with the people. Today we went out and played downtown in front of the Big Iron. This was our first outing since the ResistDance three weeks ago and it felt really good to air it out again. Asheville on the weekend can be a very competitive environment for buskers, but we love to see the way our music and our energy connects with the people. Now that the warm weather is here for a while, keep an eye out for us out on the street, and possibly at protest rallies this Spring and Summer.

In other news, we've added new bookings (see above). Keep an eye on this space for more new dates, to be posted soon!

4/20/25 - Rockin' for Democracy at the Resist-Dance!

We had a terrific time at the very first Resist-Dance at the One World Brewery West. The event was co-sponsored by Indivisible AVL and MOAC (Musicians Organizing Activist Commitee). We had lots of music, speakers, and a real feeling of solidarity with other folks like us who are worried about America going in the wrong direction!

O-Vad-Ya was amazing as always, with their truly unique sound. And of course, Sal Landers Party Rx rocked the house! Indivisible AVL President Robin Lively Summers and Asheville City Councilwoman Kim Roney got everybody FIRED UP!

Check out more pictures of the event here!

A BIG THANK YOU to One World Brewing, Indivisible-AVL, our MOAC team, the bands who played, the speakers and of course EVERYBODY WHO CAME! If you weren't there, you missed out! But MOAC says there'll be more, so you'll have other opportunities to come hear Asheville musicians "Rockin' for Democracy!"

Video

RWRB is a team of versatile musicians who play a wide variety of styles. Here are some of our more recent videos. Explore the "Rock," "Blues" and "Acoustic" sections of the site to see and hear the full range of the music our band makes.

For more RWRB video see our YouTube channel.

"No Kings"

RWRB performs our song at the "No Kings" protest 6-14-25. Martin Luther King Park, Asheville

"I'm Going Down"

RWRB performs the Freddie King/Jeff Beck classic on the street in Asheville, NC 5-11-25.

"Everything's Falling Apart"

Here we are playing the song from our album "Everything's Falling Apart" LIVE at the ResistDance, One World Brewery 4/19/25.

"And What Do You Have?"

Here we are playing the song from our album "And What Do You Have" LIVE at the ResistDance, One World Brewery 4/19/25.

"Outside Woman Blues"

Here we are rocking the Blind Joe Reynolds/Cream classic.

"No Kings"

Here's a song, written by Alan, about how we see things these days.

"Back Porch Hurricane Blues"

A song by Alan about the Great Hurricane of '24 that shows our acoustic side. RWRB plays "electric" and "acoustic" sets in different venues. Sometimes we do both at the same performance!