Cornering UVA’s food scene
By Sashank Sankar With a new school year comes a new group of university students eager to explore Charlottesville. For most of them, their first stop is the Corner, an area of shops, restaurants, bars, and coffee spots on the edge of UVA’s Central Grounds. The Corner has long been a popular hangout for students […]
Anti-racists instruct
During the week leading up to the August 11 and 12 anniversary, local anti-racist groups hosted a series of events, including panels on their use of in-your-face tactics and why they believe the First Amendment should not apply to white supremacists. Protesters up the ante UVA religious studies professor Jalane Schmidt opened the August 7 […]
ARTS Pick: The Brothers Osborne
Like most great musical innovators, The Brothers Osborne don’t fit neatly into one category. They’re country performers first and foremost, as their drawling voices and lyrics peppered with ain’ts prove. But there’s equal influence from heartland rockers like Bob Seger and Tom Petty in their rollicking, high-energy shows. Sunday, August 26. $44-50, 7:30pm. The Jefferson […]
History matters: ‘Something wicked this way comes’
By Bonnie Gordon For almost two years, Charlottesville has felt like Act IV, Scene 1 of Macbeth. So when I saw Black Mac, a radically black take on Shakespeare’s play about the violent hauntings of the past, it felt like a staging of collective memory, trauma, power, and space. Directed by 23-year-old black Oberlin student […]
ARTS Pick: Sheryl Crow
In 1994 Sheryl Crow followed her breakout smash single “All I Wanna Do” by asking, “Are you strong enough to be my man?” Soon after, the private life of the former high school beauty queen became as popular as the numerous hits from the 50 million albums she sold. Crow has been linked romantically to […]
ARTS Pick: Jacob Lourie
When you’re an independent musician in a competitive town like Charlottesville, it’s never too soon to get started. Jacob Lourie’s musical career began during his senior year at St. Anne’s-Belfield School. This month heralds his first full-length release, Sad Boi Bops Vol. 1, and it promises to live up to its name with tracks that […]
ARTS Pick: Nathan Colberg and Grant Frazier
Two of UVA’s favorite crooners join forces for a rare, one-night-only show. Nathan Colberg graduated back in 2017, and his music career has quickly gained traction with beautiful, keyboard-driven tracks like “Charlottesville” (understandably, a local favorite), and his first full-length, Silo. Grant Frazier is a rising fourth-year, but he already has a 2016 album under […]
ARTS Pick: Cory Wong
Indie group Vulfpeck might be known for its sultry vocals, but backing that falsetto are the crazy, unpredictable riffs of Cory Wong. To better showcase his guitar skills, Wong is on a solo tour that combines his serious musical skills with his unique, off-the-wall comedy. Many of the tracks are likely to be instrumental, but […]
ARTS Pick: Stavros Halkias
Stavros Halkias is a busy guy. Not only has the comedian toured his stand-up routine alongside artists like Tig Notaro and Tom Papa, he co-hosts a raunchy podcast called Cum Town, and has a scandalous Instagram account, in which the plus-size star likes to pose in as little clothing as possible. Despite the controversy that […]
ARTS Pick: Canaletto & the Art of Venice
Ever wanted to experience Venice from the comfort of a theater seat? Canaletto & the Art of Venice makes that possible with a collection of paintings created by Giovanni Antonio Canal, the renowned city-view painter. The film gives viewers a chance to see Canaletto’s gorgeous depictions alongside vivid shots of the city, which highlight the differences […]
Bowled over: Charlottesville eateries go all-in on the bowl trend
By Sashank Sankar eatdrink@c-ville.com How much food can you throw into a bowl? For many restaurants nowadays, it isn’t a matter of how much you can, but how much you can’t. Food bowls have become popular in recent years, with many different places trying their hands at the trend. For most, bowl configuration is the […]
ARTS Pick: Jason Burke Band and Bobblehead
With so many bands filling local venues, how does one stand out? If you’re Bobblehead, the answer is to be as unique as possible. Boasting influences that range from Devo to The Beatles to Kate Bush, the band is full of surprises, finding creative ways to entertain its audience—even if that means wearing an umbrella […]
Berlin, 1933. Charlottesville, 2017
By Herbert Braun I’m tired. I live in our town, this partly bucolic mid-sized college town. I ride my bicycle to work, three miles down Rugby Road, on lovely tree-lined streets, courteous drivers sharing the road with me. And on many days I can just stay home and work. I read books and articles, do […]
In brief: Books of August 11-12, stormy weather, babysitter’s rehab and more
Charlottesville writes back Like many Charlottesvillians, the folks at the University of Virginia Press were shocked by the events of last August. “As publishers, we felt the best thing we could do in response is publish books,” says director Mark Saunders. Now out are Summer of Hate by former C-VILLE Weekly/Hook editor Hawes Spencer, and […]
ARTS Pick: The Love Language
Ranging from lo-fi, energetic acoustic tracks to gleaming songs rooted in pop, The Love Language’s new album, Baby Grand, got rolling with demos made in “a cavernous Virginia hammock factory” before the band’s relocation to the West Coast. Stuart McLamb’s lyrics are elevated by his effortless falsetto, running the gamut of romance with songs of […]
ARTS Pick: Haiku Slam
Slam poetry gets a lot more fast-paced—not to mention, a lot shorter—with the Southern Gothic Futurist Haiku Slam. Participants must keep their poems to 17 syllables, as required by the original Japanese art form. Reigning champ Raven Mack hosts and competes, going head-to-head with a contender for the crown in a haiku death match that’s […]
ARTS Pick: Hip Hop Showcase
The artists of Charlottesville are no strangers to creating in response to tragedy—sometimes with mournful works, sometimes with fierce ones. This is Our City Hip-Hop Showcase promises both, with a lineup of talented R&B artists from the city and surrounding areas. Though it starts the day before, the event is expected to spill over into […]
ARTS Pick: Halloween in August
You’ve heard of Christmas in July—now celebrate Halloween in August, and enjoy a serious night of monsters and music. The soundtrack is provided by the dark, appropriately creepy electronic music of Ships In The Night, along with deathrock/horror punk group The Brickbats (if these descriptors confuse you, think Misfits), and local acts Please Don’t Tell […]
UPDATED: Anniversary prep: City on lockdown
During the weekend of August 10-12, the anniversary of last summer’s violent and fatal clashes, the city will be on lockdown—and Governor Ralph Northam has already declared a proactive state of emergency. At an August 8 press conference attended by more than a dozen law enforcement and public safety officials, city spokesman Brian Wheeler said […]
Anniversary prep: City on lockdown
During the weekend of August 10-12, the anniversary of last summer’s violent and fatal clashes, the city will be on lockdown—or so it seems. Interim City Manager Mike Murphy today announced additional measures that will affect many people in the downtown Charlottesville area during the Unite the Right anniversary weekend, including closing city parks and […]
In brief: Bigfoot erotica, council infighting (again), white supremacist infighting and more
Bigfoot erotica Fifth District Democratic candidate Leslie Cockburn called opponent Denver Riggleman a devotee of “Bigfoot erotica” because of images of Bigfoot with a black bar over its genitals on Riggleman’s Instagram account. Riggleman, who co-authored a book on the legendary ape-like creature, said the images are a joke from his friends, and returned fire […]
ARTS Pick: Daniel Bachman
The music of Daniel Bachman is known as American primitive guitar, but some may consider that a misnomer. The complex, plucked arrangements distinctive to the Fredericksburg native are anything but simple. Many of his songs stretch past the 10-minute mark, and some are entirely instrumental. With any other musician, leaving your voice out of your […]
ARTS Pick: Sons of Bill
Overcoming injuries, battling “drinking issues” and months at a time on the road would change, possibly derail, most bands. But Sons of Bill put its collective heart on its sleeve and used these challenges to craft its newest album, Oh God Ma’am. Released in June, the record shows an increased maturity in the band’s sound, […]
ARTS Pick: Summer shorts
Founded in 2011, Gorilla Theater stresses the troupe’s efforts at comprehensive inclusion, and with Summer Shorts 2018, that quest includes UVA students. In this production, the theater’s core players work together with student performers and directors to put on shows ranging from the whimsical to the surreal to the intensely dramatic. Through Sunday, August 5. […]
ARTS Pick: Big country
Rob Cheatham is an ideal modern country artist—his twang echoes the sounds that currently dominate the genre, while his lyrics harken to the storytelling abilities of forebears like Willie Nelson or Merle Haggard and cover topics such as love, be it unrequited or shared, and hard drinking as a remedy for life’s ills. He shares […]
Philanthropic windfall: Library gets $1 million bequest
By Jonathan Haynes The Jefferson-Madison Regional Library was the unexpected beneficiary of a nearly $1 million bequest from one of its Friends of the Library Endowment Fund patrons earlier this year. The donation came from the estate of Nancy Swygert. Despite the large sum, Swygert and her husband lived a frugal life, never having children […]
The cured: Bacon-centric festival meats expectations
By Sam Padgett As a lifelong Virginian, it’s hard to be surprised by the versatility of bacon. The meaty treat is used like salt around here—it sneaks its way into almost any dish. I’ve even found it in one of my all-time favorite dishes, shrimp and grits, a dish that by its very name precludes […]