Beto’s beat: O’Rourke first 2020 presidential candidate to hit Charlottesville
By Shrey Dua Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was greeted with a rock star welcome at UVA April 16. After being delayed by an hour, the Texas native and Woodberry Forest grad arrived at Nau Hall at 8pm to a mob of excited students. The event, hosted by the University Democrats, was held in a […]
Water works
By Bonnie Price Lofton If rainwater doesn’t seep, sponge-like, into the soil around us, it runs away somewhere. In Charlottesville, where much of the ground is covered with impermeable asphalt, it runs into stormwater drainage systems, ditches, and streams that eventually lead into the Rivanna River. That creates two problems: first, without earth to filter […]
ARTS Pick: Phosphorescent
Milestone milieu: It’s been a tumultuous five years for Phosphorescent (née Matthew Houck, left). He fell in love, had two kids, moved to Nashville, and “somewhere along the way, he nearly died of meningitis.” This life-altering period also sourced his critically lauded new album, C’est La Vie, another set of tunes elevated by Houck’s signature […]
ARTS Pick: #charlottesville and The Elephant in the Room
Unfolding history: Why did the traumatic events of August 2017 happen in the first place? Why did they happen here? Priyanka Shetty seeks answers to these questions in her new theater piece #charlottesville. Shetty crafted her script verbatim from conversations with Charlottesville residents who shared firsthand accounts about their experiences, and from the community’s response […]
ARTS Pick: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Spelling bound: Contestants in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee process their dreams and self-doubts through song in this quirky, Tony Award-winning musical created by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin. The cast gives words new meaning as students, teachers, and townspeople belt out numbers such as “The Spelling Rules,” “My Unfortunate Erection/Distraction (Chip’s Lament),” […]
ARTS Pick: Hoot & Holler’s Soundtrack of My Life
Backstage pass: Musically connected trans-formations are the theme at Hoot & Holler’s Soundtrack of My Life, an evening of storytelling that draws from personal experiences involving songs, concerts, and listening. Find out what happened at an after-hours hotel room party involving The Replacements and way too much tequila; hear how a banjo literally saved one […]
Just say no: As recycling becomes less feasible, efforts turn to reducing plastics
By Bonnie Price Lofton Now that China has closed the door to most of our garbage, recycling plants around the country are closing, or limiting what they’ll accept, and Charlottesville is no different. Starting July 1, the McIntire Recycling Center will no longer take Nos. 3-7 plastics, things like yogurt containers, plastic cups, and bottle […]
In brief: Plogging craze, Crozet shuttle, marathon man, and more
Plogging and other Earth Day events A combination of jogging while picking up trash—who wouldn’t want to go plogging? Easter Sunday, from 1 to 5pm, is your chance. “Instead of hunting for Easter eggs, we’re hunting for litter,” says organizer and self-proclaimed tree-hugger Brady Earnhart. He’s never been plogging, but was immediately intrigued when he […]
ARTS Pick: Equally Divine: The Real Story of the Mona Lisa
Behind the smile: Equally Divine: The Real Story of the Mona Lisa is a true-crime musical that explores gender identity and the artistic genius of Leonardo da Vinci. The story is told through one actor, accompanied by music from the Italian Renaissance provided by the Core Ensemble, and follows the origin of the famous image, […]
ARTS Pick: Jeff Dunham
Hand to mouth: In a show built around bad behavior and puppets, Jeff Dunham dishes out political and cultural commentary through multiple characters. As a ventriloquist, Dunham has carved out a unique space in comedy, and his act is hugely popular—he’s the third-highest-paid comedian in the U.S., behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. Peanut, Walter, […]
ARTS Pick: The Book of Will
Hindsight is 1616: It’s a battle to save the legacy of William Shakespeare when the Bard’s mates go on a mad scramble to gather up his disparate writings in Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will. At the time of his death in 1616, Shakespeare was well-off and popular, but had his friends John Heminges and […]
ARTS Pick: Red & The Romantics
Red rocks: The launch of the outdoor music season finds Red & The Romantics playing original tunes in the fresh air at Fridays After Five. Erik “Red” Knierim leads his band through joyful grooves that draw from Americana, blues, roots, and gospel. Friday 4/12. Free, 5:30pm. Sprint Pavilion, 700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 245-4910.
At long last: A Virginia fan looks back on 25 seasons
By Charlie Sallwasser It’s 1am on Tuesday, and Virginia basketball has just won the national championship. I can’t believe it. As a 10-year-old, I used to pretend to be Virginia forward Cornel Parker when I was shooting hoops in my driveway, lining up the game-winner in the national championship game. I made countless elbow threes […]
ARTS Pick: Time of Your Life
Funny not funny: Contemporary playwright Alan Ayckbourn weaves themes of domestic strife, family dysfunction, and a longing for lost love through the perspectives of three different couples in Time of Your Life. After a birthday toast to happy times, Gerry Stratton and his two sons split the narrative in a play that uses time travel—backward […]
Making change: CHS teens talk with March for our Lives co-founder Jaclyn Corin
By Charlie Burns, Kyri Antholis, Susannah Birle, Connor Jackson, and Anabel Simpson Recently, a racist online comment threatening many of our peers at Charlottesville High School with an “ethnic cleansing” closed all city schools for two days. While some students brushed the threat off as a joke and went back to school on Monday without […]
ARTS Pick: The Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra
Calloway calling: The Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra is named for the famous jazz club, founded in 1926, where Washington, D.C.’s elite once gathered to see artists such as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. When the club closed in 2016, it left the big band orchestra without a home, so the large ensemble hit the road […]
ARTS Pick: Seamus Egan
Brilliant moves: In the mid-’90s, Solas found stateside success crafting an accessible blend of modern and traditional Celtic folk. The band’s founder, Seamus Egan, has spent decades nurturing the evolution of Irish music from his groundbreaking 1996 album, When Juniper Sleeps, through a 20-year recording career with Solas, and now on his first solo tour […]
ARTS Pick: Dee White
Early stages: At 21 years old, Dee White is enjoying the accolades and opportunities of a music veteran. Just a few years ago, a teenage White was spending his afternoons as a competitive fisherman, cueing up popular country songs to play on his boat.Today, thanks to being discovered by a music mogul friend, the Alabama […]
Getting their blood up: Red Cross stumbles in transition
By Shrey Dua Although long-time blood donor Gary Grant arrived 15 minutes early for his March 7 appointment at the Red Cross, he and other would-be donors were sent home. The facility, a chapter office on Rose Hill Drive, did not have enough equipment. “We got no notice, I drove 10 miles, and they told […]
In brief: Basketball fever, deadly tracks, terrorizer pleads, and more
Buzzer beater UVA heads to the Final Four in Minneapolis April 6 after a heart-stopping 80-75 win over Purdue’s Boilermakers, thanks to a last second bucket by Mamadi Diakite to put the Cavs into overtime. The win marks Virginia’s first appearance in the Final Four since 1984, coach Tony Bennett’s 10th year leading the Hoos, […]
ARTS Pick: Neave Trio
Rule of three:How many trios are in a Neave Trio (below) concert? If you count the musical works—Rebecca Clarke’s Piano Trio; Amy Beach’s Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 150; and Louise Farrenc’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 33—you can count up to four for this one. Since forming in 2010, the chamber ensemble, […]
ARTS Pick: Nick Drake
Influential figure: While developing a play about a meeting between former president John F. Kennedy and former British prime minister Harold Macmillan, screenwriter and playwright Nick Drake came across another figure in Kennedy’s life that piqued his interest—George Thomas, who was JFK’s personal valet from his time in the Senate until his death. Drake’s research […]
The student housing scramble: Two roommates find a good fit off-Grounds
By Shrey Dua In Charlottesville, one of the largest populations of apartment dwellers can be found in the roughly mile-wide radius immediately surrounding the University of Virginia: students. Every year, waves of UVA students abandon Grounds in favor of their own apartments, a process that quickly spirals into a mad dash to find the best, […]
ARTS Pick: Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra
Folk forward: Award-winning soprano Olga Orlovskaya performs as part of the Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra, with more than 60 musicians playing music from Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe on traditional instruments. The balalaika is a three-stringed instrument of Russian origin with a triangular body that varies in tone depending on its size. Though it’s been […]
In brief: FOIA fun, both sides—not, gabapentin implicated, and more
You say sunshine, we say FOIA Reporters know one of the greatest tools for keeping the public informed is FOIA—the Freedom of Information Act. As Virginia Code notes: “The affairs of government are not intended to be conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy since at all times the public is to be the beneficiary of […]
Rejected but not dejected: Imperfect renters hold out hope for a place in town.
By Rusty Gates While swilling chardonnay at a party recently, I fell into conversation with a droll gentleman who had lived in Charlottesville for many years. A friend of my sister, he knew that my girlfriend and I had moved to the area within the past two years. “Where are you living?” he asked. “In […]
Arrest made in online threat against Charlottesville High School minorities
By Samantha Baars and Lisa Provence As thousands are celebrating literature at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, a less-exalted missive from the nether regions of the internet, threatening ethnic cleansing at Charlottesville High, has closed all city schools for a second day Friday. Around noon Friday, Charlottesville police announced they had arrested […]