The Beer Guy writes today about a story that I've been blogging for days - that Rolling Stone has named The Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club one of the top 5 rock clubs in America.

I wrote about it here on Saturday and here on Friday.

Here's the Beer Guy:

ASHEVILE — The Orange Peel music club has hosted some surprising big-name shows — concerts by Bob Dylan, the Indigo Girls, Ben Harper, the Flaming Lips and a nine-show residency by the Smashing Pumpkins. Now, it’s been named one of America’s top five music venues by Rolling Stone magazine.

The magazine lists the Peel alongside venues in New York, Detroit, Austin, Texas, and Norfolk, Va., in its “Best of Rock” issue, coming Friday. No one at the magazine could be reached for comment on Monday night.

Reporters from Rolling Stone contacted Orange Peel management “to get information about the club, and they told us it was going to be a ‘best clubs’ article. But we didn’t realize it was such a small number,” said club spokesman Liz Whalen. “It’s a big honor. It’s amazing. I think (the club’s momentum) has built on itself over the years.”

The news surprised Knoxville-based promoter Ashley Capps, who has booked shows into The Orange Peel since it opened in 2002. “That’s awesome,” said Capps, who also brings many shows to Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and around the Southeast, and stages the huge annual Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn.

“We have always been excited about the Orange Peel since the beginning,” Capps said. “It is a place that is just right. It’s a great experience for the artists and a great experience for the audience. It really is one of the finest music venues in America.”

The honor “completely makes sense,” said Asheville musician and music publicist Will Bradford of the band SeeeopleS. “It’s a venue that caters to the diversity of the community, which is tough to do. A lot of clubs fit a niche. The Orange Peel pretty much covers everything. I love going as a fan and it’s my favorite place to play.”