ARTS Pick: Man About a Horse shows off their music
If bluegrass doesn’t typically grab your attention, Man About a Horse might be the band to change that. This five-piece from Philadelphia is on a mission to transform the folksy genre into dance music. Formed in 2014, the group employs mandolin, fiddle and banjo to create an up-tempo sound that both pays homage to and […]
ARTS Pick: Brian Setzer rocks the Paramount
Boasting three Grammys, a 2006 performance at the White House and, maybe most impressively, an animated appearance on “The Simpsons,” Brian Setzer has enjoyed enormous success. He’s been making music since the early ’80s, around which time he combined rockabilly and swing into something bold, exciting and decidedly fresh with the Stray Cats. Also known […]
ARTS Pick: A Chorus Line
“I’ve come this far, but even so / It could be yes, it could be no.” The classic musical A Chorus Line opens with “I Hope I Get It”—and it kicks off Heritage Theatre Festival’s 2018 season. The story follows 17 aspiring dancers and their attempt to be cast in the chorus line of a […]
ARTS Pick: Twins with Twang
It’s not a typo—The Brother Brothers are named that for a reason. Adam and David Moss are identical twins with a shared love of country and folk music, and it shows in the tunes the duo creates and performs. After pursuing individual music careers, the brothers came together in 2016 to tour as one act. Although […]
Laurel or Yanny? UVA prof studies implicit bias
By Jonathan Haynes Brian Nosek is using science to help the Charlottesville community recover from the events of August 12. But he isn’t studying neo-Nazis wielding clubs and riot shields. Instead, he’s focusing on something that exists in all of us: implicit bias. During a recent event at the MLK Performing Arts Center at Charlottesville […]
Angst over future of Alderman’s books
By Jonathan Haynes A renovations proposal that could slash more than half the stacks in Alderman Library has provoked a fiery response and over 500 petition signatures from students and faculty, who fear only 40 to 60 percent of the books would return to Alderman when the project is complete in 2023. Books will be […]
In brief: Wes’ repulsion, Boots’ birthday, Corey’s alleged firing and more
New chief takes oath As the city’s first-ever female police chief RaShall Brackney was sworn in June 18, she said we should all be saddened “in 2018, that my gender is a topic of conversation.” The former George Washington University chief and Pittsburgh police commander of 35 years said on her first official day on […]
Living Picks: Week of June 13-19
Food & Drink Brewer’s Ball Thursday, June 14 Enjoy the best that Charlottesville has to offer in local brews (food too!), at a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. $75, 7-11pm. IX Art Park, 522 Second St. NW. brewersball cville.finestcff.org Nonprofit Juneteenth celebration Saturday, June 16 This annual event commemorates the end of slavery with […]
Pho 3 Pho opens off 29 North
By Jenny Gardiner and Sam Padgett eatdrink@c-ville.com You’ve gotta give John Dinh, owner of Charlottesville’s newest Vietnamese restaurant, major props for his clever restaurant moniker: Pho 3 Pho. In case you didn’t know, “pho” is pronounced “pha,” as in do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do. Dinh credits the name, which echoes our local 434 area code, to his brother James. […]
ARTS Pick: Algiers hailed as the quintessential protest band
Experimental group Algiers might be this generation’s quintessential protest band. Hailing from Atlanta, the four-man act creates music with lyrics as radical and furious as its sound, with influences ranging from post-punk to Southern gospel. The band’s name refers to a famous anti-colonial battle, and its tracks usually comment on America’s history of slavery and […]
ARTS Pick: Seductive Sounds brings the funk
With roots in Washington, D.C., the funky subgenre of go-go music is almost exclusively celebrated in the mid-Atlantic area—and Seductive Sounds Gogo Band is the newest incarnation on the local scene. Formed by members of the renowned Double Faces Gogo Band, including Blacko Da Rappa, the band embodies the blend of funk, R&B and hip-hop […]
ARTS Pick: Dinosoul experiments with indie sound
Pittsburgh’s dark-pop quartet Dinosoul takes experimental-indie to the next level, mixing synth, reverb and delay-heavy guitar riffs with emotional vocals and health and wellness. Yes, that’s right. Band founder Donny Donovan is also a health, wellness and fitness coach, and Dinosoul offers a mission statement at its shows that asks “the universe to allow it […]
ARTS Pick: Liz Cooper goes from golf clubs to rock clubs
The psychedelic folk-rock band Liz Cooper and the Stampede formed at the unlikeliest of places—a golf course. Two things in life came easily to Cooper: golf and music. So, when she moved to Nashville, she found work at a country club, and eventually recorded her first EP with some co-workers. From there, she added Ky […]
In brief: Love lawsuit, killer creeks, pot busts and more
Love estate drops lawsuit against Huguely The estate of Yeardley Love nonsuited a nearly $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against Love’s former boyfriend George Huguely June 11. Huguely was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2010 death of Love and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Her mother, Sharon Love, filed the civil suit in […]
Going down: UVA landmarks face wrecking ball
By Jonathan Haynes The Cavalier Inn and Villa Diner bid their Emmet Street locations farewell after graduation weekend last month, as the University of Virginia Foundation prepares to raze their buildings later in the summer to renovate the Ivy Corridor at the Emmet Street/Ivy Road intersection. The Cavalier Inn, built in 1965 and acquired by […]
ARTS Pick: Car Wash replay brings the funk
“Working at the car wash / Working at the car wash, yeah.” Those of a certain age can’t glide through the auto wash without humming a few lines from the 1976 movie Car Wash. Starring Richard Pryor and George Carlin, the time-stamped comedy follows the employees and owner at a Los Angeles car wash who […]
ARTS Pick: Bar seen
Though Will Thomas Reed is currently based in Nashville, where he’s paying his dues in the country music scene, his heart is here in his hometown of Charlottesville. For the release of his latest EP, To Whom It May Concern, Reed returns to celebrate with a release party and will surely bust out the fan-favorite […]
ARTS Pick: Show-stopper skills
The third annual Best of Both Worlds Dance and Step Competition Junior Edition arrives with a variety of dance teams from Virginia and surrounding states to challenge past champions for bragging rights, cash prizes and the opportunity to perform on a bigger stage in November. Saturday, June 9. $12-15, 4pm. V. Earl Dickinson Building at […]
ARTS Pick: Applause sign
A growing following is tailing the tunes of singer-songwriter and Houston native David Ramirez. Known for his soulful, introspective songs and passionate performances, Ramirez started music-making as many do—playing rock ‘n’ roll songs with his band at parties. He developed his own style in college and broke off to pursue a solo career. Focusing on […]
Renewal’s chef Joe Wolfson keeps it simple
By Sam Padgett and Erin O’Hare Chef Joe Wolfson found renewal in Charlottesville—literally. Renewal, which opened two weeks ago on West Main Street on the ground floor of the Draftsman Hotel, serves as both a culmination of Wolfson’s culinary career and an opportunity to focus his food on simplicity. Besides an impressive collection of accolades, […]
In brief: GOP scrambles, council contretemps, stormy waters and more
Riggleman snatches 5th District Republican nomination Five days after Congressman Tom Garrett announced he would not seek re-election to deal with alcoholism, distiller and former gubernatorial candidate Denver Riggleman fended off 10 other candidates in a five-hour marathon meeting June 2 at Nelson County High in Lovingston and secured the nomination by one vote. Because […]
The big fifty: 50 largest employers in Charlottesville and nearby counties
Remember when there was so much talk about supporting the coal industry in West Virginia and it turned out that coal only employed about 12,000 people in a state with a population of 1.8 million? When we make decisions about our community, it’s important to know where we invest our labor force. The university, hospitals, […]
LIVING Picks: Week of May 30-June 5
FAMILY First Fridays Under the Stars Friday, June 1 After a brief talk in the education building, visitors will point out constellations and other galactic wonders. The Charlottesville Astronomical Society provides a telescope—or bring your own. Free, 7:30-9:30pm. Ivy Creek Natural Area, 1780 Earlysville Rd. 973-7772. NONPROFIT C’ville’s Day of R+R Saturday, June 2 Common […]
In brief: 5th District frenzy, license lawsuit lives, copycat charged and more
Garrett’s abrupt change of heart Congressman Tom Garrett has many critics in the Charlottesville area who call him “One-term Tom,” but even they didn’t foresee that happening by Garrett withdrawing from the 5th District race. Word that Garrett may not seek re-election first was reported by Politico May 23 after he and his chief of […]
ARTS Pick: Husband-and-wife musicians pair honesty with wit
Full-time touring has been known to complicate a musician’s personal life. Add a spouse, a child and a second band to the traveling show, and it sounds pitch-perfect for a reality TV producer. But Eben Pariser—the frontman for Roosevelt Dime and one-half of the duo Goodnight Moonshine with wife Molly Venter, who is also in […]
ARTS Pick: Hit-maker Smokey Robinson shares his talent
From his recordings with The Miracles to his solo work and the numerous hit singles he penned for his Motown pals, Smokey Robinson is responsible for some of the greatest hits of the last century. Immersed in talent at an early age (Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross lived a few streets away), he competed in […]
ARTS Pick: The Paris Opera captures the highs and lows of a season
Filmed during the 2015-2016 season, The Paris Opera captures the highs of acclaimed premieres and revivals, as well as the lows, including several labor strikes, the terrorist attack that killed 89 at the Bataclan and the departure of dancer-choreographer Benjamin Millepied, also known as Mr. Natalie Portman, whom he coached for Black Swan and later […]