ARTS Pick: Mike Super’s Magic and Illusion Show 2.OH!
When it comes to magic, card tricks, rabbits tucked away in top hats, and halved assistants are all icons of the trade—but how about a reveal of winning lottery numbers? Mike Super’s unconventional approach to the art form reaches new heights with his latest crowd stunners. The only magician in history to win a televised […]
ARTS Pick: Calidore String Quartet
In 2016, the Calidore String Quartet electrified its career by entering the inaugural M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition and walking away with the largest prize for chamber music in the world. From there, the accolades piled up: The New York Times heralded the group’s “deep reserves of virtuosity,” the Los Angeles Times recognized its “balance […]
Faculty Senate pushes back against Board of Visitors
By Jonathan Haynes The University of Virginia Board of Visitors riled the Faculty Senate last June when it decided to extend the term of incumbent faculty representative Mimi Riley for another year without consulting the senate. The faculty rep is a non-voting member who sits in on closed-door meetings and presents faculty perspectives to board […]
In brief: Robo designated driver, Thanksgiving casualties, Bigfoot erotica and more
Tony the self-driving shuttle Perrone Robotics cranked up the driverless vehicle heat last week with the awkwardly acronymed Tony—TO Navigate You—which will soon be autonomously tooling around Crozet. In a partnership with Albemarle County and JAUNT—Jefferson Area UNited Transportation, another awkward acronym—Perrone will test drive the shuttle near its facility in Crozet before it begins […]
In brief: Farmington fracas, scooter-ville, white supremacists’ lawsuit and more
Farmington feud Farmington Country Club revoked Juan Manuel Granados’ membership following his spat with Tucker Carlson, who has admitted that his son threw wine in Granados’ face. Granados, represented by celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, is now threatening legal action. It won’t be the first time: Granados reportedly successfully sued the Roanoke Athletic Club for revoking […]
ARTS Pick: Fall Dance Concert
Through a collaboration between faculty and students, the UVA Department of Drama’s annual Fall Dance Concert offers a variety of works that explore sound, space, and movement. In Benevolence, guest choreographer Chien-Ying Wang examines communal bonding by “investigating the effects of a dysfunctional family, community, congress, and so forth,” she says. Other pieces look at shifting […]
ARTS Pick: Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
Bluegrass’ roots grow deeper with Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, whose instrumental finesse has won acclaim from a 2015 best bluegrass album Grammy nomination to International Bluegrass Music Association’s Instrumental Group of the Year awards in 2014 and 2016. Monster mandolinist Solivan and company promise another simmering set of tunes with the release of If […]
ARTS Pick: Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England
In Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England, Dean Cindy Wreen is fed up with a lot of things: her tiny college’s financial difficulties, plans to close an obscure natural history museum, and monogamy, to name a few. While her New England town battles to save a historically inaccurate woolly mammoth exhibition from a dark fate, […]
ARTS Pick: Susie & The Pistols
Susannah Hornsby heads the locally assembled bluesy supergroup Susie & The Pistols for a PACEM benefit that also includes Rob Cheatham, Chlöe Ester, Andrew Neil, Rusty Speidel, and Justin Storer. The roots-tinged, Americana-laced lineup is part of Jason Burke’s Six Pack Songwriter Series, and a testament to the spoils of living in a talent-rich music community. […]
Not healed: August 12 survivors ask for help
By Jonathan Haynes The vaulted sanctuary of First United Methodist Church fell silent Friday night as survivors of the vehicular assault that killed Heather Heyer spoke one by one about their paths to recovery. Survivors organized the event to raise money for Heal Charlottesville, a local charity that provides financial assistance to people harmed by […]
ARTS Pick: The Marcus King Band
Psychedelic soul and rugged vocals hearten The Marcus King Band as it spreads folksy feels everywhere from small-town gigs to big-city venues. Frontman King grew up playing the blues alongside his father in Greenville, South Carolina, and has grown to love music as an outlet to process his feelings. He explains that each song he […]
ARTS Pick: Futurebirds
Ten years have flown by for the Futurebirds. And from the group’s formation in 2008 in Athens, Georgia, to its current headlining tour, the band’s psychedelic rock flair lands it in a unique space. The group announced a list of anniversary gigs with a nod to fans: “Because of you beautiful angel-faced saint babies, we’ve […]
ARTS Pick: David Dominique Ensemble
To understand the music of composer David Dominique, shuffle a playlist that features Charles Mingus, Sun Ra Arkestra, and Igor Stravinsky, then add in a few tracks from Sonic Youth. Known for his rhythmically complex and emotionally provocative avant-garde compositions, the Richmond-based William & Mary professor is so versatile that his work ranges from writing […]
ARTS Pick: NuYoRican
The Latin Ballet of Virginia’s NuYoRican is a visual love letter to Hispanic culture. The contemporary production tells the story of Puerto Rican immigrants arriving in New York City in the 1940s, and the challenges they faced as well as the bonds they created while establishing roots in a new country. Under the artistic direction […]
In brief: Worst state to vote, bug-free buses, facial hair for charity and more
We’re No. 49 Virginia ranks as one of the worst states in the country when it comes to ease of voting, according to a recent study from Northern Illinois University. Our state has slipped in the “cost of voting index” since 1996, when we ranked No. 42, to the “second most difficult” place to vote […]
The Crozet Hum: Mysterious noise traced to Yancey Lumber
By Jonathan Haynes After hundreds of complaints, the R.A. Yancey Lumber Corporation has confirmed that it is, in fact, the source of the mysterious humming noise that has been pestering Crozet residents since September. The family-owned company, which has operated in Crozet since 1949, had initially denied its mill was causing the noise. Crozet resident […]
Arts Pick: The Human Hands
Attention, folks: Sam Reider had little more than an accordion, a dream, and his senior year thesis as he drifted from gig to gig, doing research and transforming the American folk genre as he went. Reider settled down to make his first album, Too Hot to Sleep, with collaborative project The Human Hands, a group […]
ARTS Pick: Guster
Fan fare: Twenty-five years after Guster formed on the Tufts University campus, the band continues to evolve musically. From the acoustic melodies of 1995’s Parachute to the vibrating bass and hazy vocals of 2018’s “Hard Times,” the group has grown up while retaining its knack for stage humor and infectious melodies. The band announced a new, […]
Arts Pick: ARTCHO
Art stop and shop: Charlottesville’s creative community has much to show off year-round, but no one can see it all. ARTCHO makes an effort to cram lots of talent into one big festival, featuring 44 creators of all mediums, from the nautical fashion of Maxime Connor to Lori Jakubow’s brightly colored prints. Everything’s for sale, and […]
Changing the narrative: VAFF’s Light House Shorts to feature original film on black male achievement
By Adriana Wells arts@c-ville.com The Virginia Film Festival will screen an original documentary by four local young black men during its Light House Studio Shorts event. This past summer, Daniel Fairley II, the City of Charlottesville’s youth opportunity coordinator, sought to bring attention to the achievements of a number of black men in the Charlottesville […]
Arts Pick: Frankenstein
Look alive: What better time to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s misunderstood monster than Halloween? Frankenstein received high-def attention in the filming of Danny Boyle’s adaptation at London’s National Theatre in 2011. In this electrifying resurrection, shown as part of the Live in HD series, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the infamous doctor and Jonny […]
Classic masters: Peter Bogdanovich puts Orson Welles and Buster Keaton back on the screen
By Justin Humphreys arts@c-ville.com Decades ago, actor/writer/director/film historian Peter Bogdanovich promised his friend and colleague Orson Welles that, if Welles couldn’t finish his work-in-progress, The Other Side of the Wind, he would complete it for him. Now, Bogdanovich, at age 79, has beaten countless setbacks and fulfilled that promise. Academy Award-winning editor Bob Murawski and […]
In brief: Constitutional choices, banned from Grounds, $4-million manse and more
But wait, there’s more on the ballot While congressional candidates are getting all the attention, they’re not the only choices that need to be made at the polls November 6. Virginia likes to ask voters to weigh in on additions to its constitution, such as the now-unconstitutional marriage-is-between-a-man-and-a-woman amendment. A repeal of that will not […]
Decades in the making: Reflections on film and reality with Menace II Society’s Allen Hughes
By A.D. Carson arts@c-ville.com I remember, now, waking up the night my aunt came to tell our mother about Tony. My brother and I were asleep in the bedroom of our small apartment. I thought it was a dream, a subconscious thought making its way to the fore, as these things do, taking away our heroes, […]
Getting schooled: County school board member questions existence of climate change
Science class was in session at the October 25 Albemarle County School Board meeting, when board member Jason Buyaki paused to question not only the existence of climate change but also the nature of fossil fuels themselves. Buyaki, who represents the Rivanna district, recently wore a tie bearing pictures of Confederate flags to a meeting […]
ARTS Pick: Mary Chapin Carpenter
On Sometimes Just the Sky, Mary Chapin Carpenter takes measure of her 30-year career through fresh renditions of songs from her original studio albums. Carpenter curated gems from her catalog that reflect her soul and trace the evolution of her songwriting, from award-winning country music to the intelligent folk-pop and orchestral collaborations that currently define […]
ARTS Pick: In the Forest, She Grew Fangs
Lucy knows about the sharpness of teeth and claws—years of high school torment have left her hollowed and unseen, even in the eyes of her concerned grandmother Ruth. After new friend Jenny rescues her from near-death, sudden dreams of howls and gore lead Lucy to a darkness she’s never known. Stephen Spotswood’s In the Forest, […]