When artist Jae Johnson sized up the wall space designated for his mural at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center, he realized the paintable area was about two feet shorter than he anticipated. His original design just wasn’t going to fit, and he had to come up with something else—right then and there. “I’d be lying […]
Brewing up something new Champion Hospitality Group, an arm of Champion Brewing, recently announced a new concept for the Downtown Mall’s Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar space. CHG will lead the project as majority owners, while still working with the restaurant’s original owners on a Baja-Mediterranean concept. The menu comes from chef Phil Gerringer, and the […]
Knives out: Things getting dull in quarantine? Sharpen your kitchen game by joining Happy Cook owner Monique Moshier for a free virtual class on Basic Knife Skills. Follow along as she teaches you how to properly handle a knife, as well as basic cutting techniques and knife care. You’ll practice chopping onions and bell peppers, […]
Rock and talk: Gather friends and family (but not too close) for the next live-streamed installment of Save the Music with local groovin’ and movin’ band Reggaelicious. When the dance party wraps, you can ask questions of band members, and learn more about the group’s songs and musical history. Proceeds from the gig benefit Meals […]
Blues and sky: Acclaimed jazz guitarist and vocalist Randy Johnston, who’s played with the likes of Etta Jones, Houston Person, and Lionel Hampton (to name just a few), has wowed audiences all over the world. Lucky for us, he’s coming to our corner of it, where his originals and blues standards will provide the perfect […]
What do you do when “the vine that ate the South” takes up residence in your neighborhood—and your neighbor doesn’t get rid of it? One concerned Crozet resident pulled up some vines in a nascent kudzu infestation last year on property owned by the Rockbridge homeowners association—and was reprimanded by the HOA president for her […]
Jason McLeod’s artisan jewelry career path was informed by car crashes. Back in the early aughts, McLeod was living in Oakland, California, and running an advertising and graphic design business when a pair of back-to-back fender benders laid him up long-term in the hospital. He needed something to fill the hours, and “I just started […]
“There’s blood on the ceiling,” says my frazzled client as her retriever thumps his massive tail against the wall in joyful appreciation of nothing in particular. The metronomic sound is only slightly muffled by a makeshift bandage cobbled together from a T-shirt and some masking tape. Spots of blood are soaked through the material and […]
This review contains mild spoilers, so if you prefer to avoid them, let your main takeaway be that Irresistible is an unfunny comedy, an uneven production, and a toothless satire with a message about as clarifying in the current political climate as a Check Engine light in a demolition derby. The second film from writer-director […]
Royal viewing: Queen is the theme of the 2020 Maupintown Film Festival, the annual showcase of narrative movies and documentaries by and about African Americans. It’s all online this year, and programming will honor the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, with a selection of women-centered films such as Byrdland: From Being […]
Double take: Sharon Harrigan’s debut novel, Half, tells the story of identical twin sisters who are so close they can barely distinguish the boundary between their minds. In Harrigan’s poetically crafted prose, the women narrate as one, and, through the death of a father that towers over their lives, as two separate people. Dealing in […]
For fledgling artists, the Incubator Studio at McGuffey Art Center is an opportunity for growth. Each spring, renting artists Susan Northington and Eileen French select up-and-coming area talent to use the Incubator for a calendar year that runs from July to June, and ends with a group exhibition. “The studio has been set up to […]
Sip ‘n’ sizzle: Looking for a good way to celebrate America on July 4? How about listening to some Americana at Keswick Vineyards’ Reds, Whites, and Bluegrass, a socially distanced, in-person gathering, with tunes provided by the Tara Mills Band. Playing her self-described “original Blue Ridge mountain folk,” Mills and company will provide relaxing melodies […]
Steel yourself: The Steel Wheels had to postpone its annual Redwing Roots festival (now scheduled for July 2021), but fans can still enjoy the band’s acoustic grooves as part of The Front Porch’s Save the Music concert series. The Americana folk band (minus a few members) from Harrisonburg, delivers the “purity and power” of its […]
Crash in: The Dave Matthews Band needs no introduction. Known for its live performances and charming frontman, the globally famous jam band has been the musical pride of Charlottesville for decades. And with the pandemic prohibiting live concerts, DMB has found a way to fill the deafening silence of no summer touring. The DMB Drive-In […]
For UVA music professor Fred Everrett Maus, there is much more to music than meets the ear. It presents listeners with the opportunity to understand gender, sexuality, memory, and more. “Music teaching sometimes makes music into an object, studied by examining external properties,” Maus says. “In all my research and teaching, I have wanted to […]
Damani Harrison is done talking. The activist, musician, and all-around C’ville art community anchor recently orchestrated the release of an ambitious three-part creative project he calls “One for George,” and he wants the work—a hip-hop song, music video, and portrait series—to speak for itself. “Woke up this morning to a post / Another black soul […]
To win the Food Network show “Guy’s Grocery Games,” you need two skills: cooking and grocery shopping. Fortunately for former Duner’s executive chef Laura Fonner, she frequents her Crozet Harris Teeter so often that employees greet her by name. Still, it’s tough to completely prepare for the fast-paced competition hosted by Guy Fieri. In a […]
Tuning in at home: With her mixture of thoughtful lyrics, environmental consciousness, and passionate music, Alice Clair is a singular talent—one you’ll often find jamming with her psych-rock band The BLNDRS. The folk rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, and mandolinist performs for The Front Porch’s ongoing series Save the Music. Donations benefit Georgia’s Healing House. Sunday, 6/28. […]
Wineries everywhere are facing unprecedented challenges as they have been forced to adapt business models and get creative during the COVID-19 outbreak. Local wineries were presented with an additional threat in the form of weather. A warmer than average winter brought early grape budding. This can be good, because it provides more time for ripening […]
Soulful search: Tired of the indoors and in the mood for a little outdoor adventure? Look no further than Darden Towe Park’s Solo Scavenger Hunt. Download a scorecard, find clues, search for items, take photos, and connect with new people by posting online. It’s an old-fashioned adventure game for all ages, and an interactive way […]
To say that Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is ripped from the headlines is to give those headlines too much credit. Filming wrapped last summer, but the movie is more rooted in this moment than the latest breaking stories. Even its flashbacks have more to say about the present than the 24-hour news networks. Like […]
As lockdowns hit the area this spring, it seemed like everyone and their mother broke out the sourdough starter—professional chefs included. Travis Burgess, co-owner and chef at Bang!, Bizou, and the new pasta-to-go spot Luce, experimented at home with a cast-iron sourdough focaccia that only an enviable few will ever get to try. He admits […]