ARTS Pick: Richelle Claiborne
More excellence: When Richelle Claiborne first staged Black Music Excellence Through the Ages in March she told C-VILLE, “It’s not the history of black music. It’s my history through black music—how all these different genres have impacted and affected me, or represented me, is the thread that ties it all together.” The singer, actress, and […]
ARTS Pick: The Rainbow Girls and The Oshima Brothers
New folk: Based in San Francisco’s Bay Area, The Rainbow Girls explore vibes of peace, love, and the pursuit of social justice through tight harmonies backed by guitar and keys. The Oshima Brothers, real life brothers hailing from rural Maine, offer a crisp blend of folk vocals and soft, poppy looped instrumentals, bringing a contagious […]
ARTS Pick: Dr. Levine and the Dreaded BluesLady
Blues class: Lorie Strother and Stephen Levine make up Dr. Levine and the Dreaded BluesLady, a Charlottesville-based duo with serious blues skills that’s been known to break out into an R&B or classic rock tune from time to time. Strother’s experience shines in her charismatic stage presence and full voice. Levine, a historian at UVA, […]
ARTS Pick: Damien Jurado
Far afield: Folk singer-songwriter Damien Jurado began his solo career in 1995, self-releasing cassettes and performing intimate acoustic shows around his hometown of Seattle. Aptly described as experimental, Jurado’s work includes forays into found and field recordings—in 2000 he released a collection of fragments that he had found from sources such as thrift store tape […]
Secret Specials: A guide to infrequently-offered or off-the-menu local dishes
By Meg Irvin Certain dishes and meals around town are elusive—available only during particular hours, on a specific day of the month, or exclusively by request. But with a little planning—and some insider info—you can indulge in these delicious off-the-radar items, from a New England staple to a belly-filling hangover cure. Most regulars at Ace […]
In brief: Rice reactions, RBG ruling, TJ’s party over, and more
‘Odd’ indictment The felony embezzlement charge against former City Council clerk Paige Rice, 37, for an iPhone and Apple Watch valued at more than $500 has many scratching their heads. “It seems very unusual it got to this point without a resolution,” says attorney Scott Goodman. “It seems like something that could have easily been […]
Bloom time: Chris Greene Lake dodges algae so far
By Eileen Abbott In the serenity of an early June morning, while mountain mist embraces the treetops, pilot Mandy Baskin’s hot air balloon gently floats above Chris Greene Lake Park, off U.S. 29 North, her favorite scenic launch site. “The water looks so clean and inviting lately. It’s absolutely beautiful,” observes Baskin, owner of Monticello […]
Seeds of change: Third-graders highlight community leaders
Think back to third grade. You might remember learning multiplication tables, memorizing vocabulary words, or a brief, possibly confusing poetry unit. The third graders of Free Union Country School might remember something a little different-—sitting down for a conversation with a community leader. Blair Amberly, the Free Union third grade teacher, matched all 14 of […]
ARTS Pick: Kendall Street Company
Happy at home: A rhythm guitar-centric band with a monster sax player that formed through late-night sessions at the University of Virginia might sound like a familiar backstory, but this six-piece rock act founded in 2013 relies on original, epic jams to cut its own swath through the East Coast venue map. Kendall Street Company […]
ARTS Pick: The Ari Hoenig Trio
Drummer’s beat: Ari Hoenig gets so immersed in the art of drumming that he’s been known to use his body as an instrument when performing with The Ari Hoenig Trio. The jazz drummer, composer, and educator has a unique ability to modify the pitch of a drum, playing notes in the chromatic scale, melodies, and […]
ARTS Pick: Telemetry Music Series
Wild sax: Musical wilderness is the running theme as the Telemetry Music Series highlights free jazz with the “ferocious, sorcerous, and way out there” improv of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Ghost Trees sharing the bill with Space-Saver’s drum and sax-tinged combos of doom metal/acid techno/minimal synth. Guitarist, electronic musician, composer, and educator Kittie Cooper amps up […]
ARTS Pick: Izzy Heltai
Nomadic harmony: Izzy Heltai’s indie-folk tells emotionally captivating stories that leave enough room for the listener to relate. His sparse piano and strong vocals are simple and soaring, invoking his nomadic lifestyle—Heltai has been traveling across the country, living out of his car to facilitate a passion for nature and motion. These elements are strongly […]
In brief: The ice rink cometh, will TJ’s birthday goeth? And more
You name it! Good news for hockey players, figure skaters, and curlers who have been adrift since the Main Street Arena closed in spring 2018. Construction is scheduled to begin on a new ice rink in Brookhill, the Coran Capshaw and Alan Taylor-owned Riverbend Development project off U.S. 29 in northern Albemarle, in July. Nonprofit […]
Distressed: Historic Tonsler house needs help
By Ben Hitchcock The roof of the front porch is missing, leaving exposed wood visible from the road. A notice from the Board of Architectural Review approving a window replacement has hung on the front door since 2017. Unused scrap wood sits piled in the side yard. Neighbors report that until last week, the grass […]
Mr. T: A son’s tribute to his father, a teacher who struck the right note
By Price Thomas Ask around Charlottesville and everyone (I mean it, everyone) knows Greg Thomas some way, somehow. They’ve had him as a teacher, their mom had him as a teacher (he’s been at this a while), or they’ve seen him perform with Big Ray and the Kool Kats and various other groups over the […]
Slower but steady: Cornering the summer market
By Caroline Eastham During the summer, the UVA student population dwindles from near 25,000 to around 4,000. Despite this significant decrease, it’s business as usual for many Corner restaurants and stores, which have learned over the years to use this time as an opportunity to cater to different crowds and to improve overall customer experience. […]
Retail icon
THEN: A&N, closed in 2006 / NOW: Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar, opened in 2011 If you grew up in Charlottesville, you probably remember stopping by A&N in the summer to shop for back-to-school gear. For several decades, A&N, a popular, Richmond-based sportswear chain founded in 1868, operated on the Downtown Mall (among other locations in […]
Making space: Using diversity and inclusion programs to build a better workplace
As the U.S. population grows less homogeneous, organizations are increasingly seizing on opportunities to incorporate diversity and inclusion programs and policies—or in abbreviated corporate parlance, “D&I”—into their workplace cultures. Diversity covers the spectrum of human differences, including age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexuality, language, national origin, and socio-economic status. Inclusion refers to a culture […]
ARTS Pick: Sleep
Anything but tired: Very loud Bay Area doom metal trio Sleep attained underground legend status with a monolithic late-’90s riff monster called Dopesmoker. The long-awaited 2018 follow-up, The Sciences, brought new commercial success and a bit more sonic variation without sacrificing the band’s trademark bongwater-soaked power. Rumor has it that the oft-shirtless guitarist Matt Pike […]
ARTS Pick: Rodrigo y Gabriela
Acoustic ascent: The 20-year career of Rodrigo y Gabriela has played out as deftly as the acoustic rock duo’s music. Meeting in Mexico as teenagers, Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero became a couple and formed a rock band. After growing frustrated with local opportunities, they took up residency in Dublin, Ireland, where they perfected their […]
ARTS Pick: Dr. Coincidence’s Song and Dance Show
No happy accidents: Dr. Bernie Beitman’s 2016 book, Connecting With Coincidence, throws science at the notion that surprise happenings in our lives are not entirely by chance. Dr. Coincidence’s Song and Dance Show takes that thinking to the stage, where personal stories of serendipity come alive through, well, song and dance. Beitman is joined by […]
In brief: Local hero, Mamadi’s back-adi, forget thoughts and prayers, and more
75th D-Day commemorates local hero whose name is misspelled June 6 marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, a turning point in World War II. Across the globe, veterans will gather for speeches, re-enactments, and celebrations. The National Medal of Honor Museum is coordinating something a little more ambitious. The museum hopes to have churches in […]
New homes for Habitat families
Roxana De La O, her husband Ramiro Angel, a full-time cook at Bizou, and their two kids were one of eight local families celebrating their new Habitat for Humanity homes June 1 in Lochlyn Hill. The families contributed more than 3,300 hours of sweat equity on six job sites. Habitat built the three- and four-bedroom […]
Bellair bears: Ursine invaders trash neighborhood
By Eileen Abbott Bradley Kipp recently noticed evidence of a nighttime intruder in the tranquil, wooded Bellair neighborhood west of town where he lives. A resourceful problem solver, Kipp decided to use bungee cords to thwart the thief. He created makeshift “locks” to tightly seal his trash bins, which were being regularly rummaged through, apparently […]
Stranger than fiction: Casey Cep explores Harper Lee’s foray into true crime
When word came out in early 2015 that Harper Lee was set to publish a sequel to the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird, author Casey Cep was one of a number of reporters who traveled to Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, to cover the book’s release. Despite Lee’s enormous popularity, Go Set a […]
ARTS Pick: Matthew Shipp Trio
Jazz age: At 60, jazz pianist Matthew Shipp is still innovating, even while contemplating a career slowdown. Known for his slick improvisations, the veteran is joined by peers from New York City’s modern jazz scene on a tour to celebrate the new release, Signature, by the Matthew Shipp Trio. Downbeat Magazine calls Shipp “the connection […]
ARTS Pick: The Harry Potter Concert
Muggles music: Music director Benjamin Rous leads the Charlottesville Symphony through compositions by John Williams, Alexandre Desplat, Nicholas Hooper, and Patrick Doyle in a showcase of magical moments from world’s most idolized boy wizard in Pops at The Paramount—The Harry Potter Concert. While the performance does not feature film clips, the audience is invited to […]