Stepping back: It’s been 25 years since Riverdance busted Irish dancing out of a Dublin arena and hooked the world into its Vegas-style showcase of step dancing to infectious Celtic rhythms. Filmed in February 2020, Riverdance in HD brings us back to that pre-masked time when arm-in-arm high kicks were taken for granted, and sweaty spins […]
PICK: Save the Music with Beleza
Musical mash-up: Tired of your quarantine playlists? Then it’s time to spice things up with some samba, funk, soul, blues, bossa nova, jazz, and Spanish flamenco—the livestreamed Save the Music with Beleza embodies it all. Madeline and Berto Sales take you to a Brazilian paradise with their musical and marital harmonies: Madeline sings in Portuguese, […]
Lyrical departure: Local academics get creative in psychedelic-emo outfit Mouzon Bigsby
A Charlottesville trio with literary inclinations has released a catchy new LP. But none of the three band members are sons of Bill Wilson. Mouzon Bigsby, which dropped its debut full-length album, Kino, on August 24, formed after a 2015 Christmas party when UVA English professor John Parker met JMU English professor Brooks Hefner over […]
Fresh take: Get Duked! confirms the genius of director Ninian Doff
About halfway through Get Duked!, there comes a moment when you realize this silly little comedy about a group of city-dwelling teenagers in the Scottish Highlands became a bold experiment in instinctive filmmaking. Right when it seems like things are about to fly off the rails, it’s clear that it was slowly evolving into a […]
Sound Choices: New projects break through the noise
A. D. Carson i used to love to dream (University of Michigan Press) A.D. Carson has made a career out of breaking boundaries. As a Ph.D. student at Clemson University, his dissertation was an album called Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics Of Rhymes & Revolutions. Across the project’s 34 tracks, he examined identity politics, and […]
C’ville chic: Bottom Drawer is hyperlocal and hyper-absurd
It’s not an exaggeration to say the graphic tee revolutionized the fashion world. Its unique pairing of text and image allowed for an unprecedented level of self-expression, and gave birth to a slew of immediately recognizable designs—from I ♥ NY to Frankie Says Relax to D.A.R.E. (the latter being as ironic as it is iconic). […]
PICK: “Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3”
Little looks: The biggest little show of the year returns when “Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3” begins this week. The juried group exhibition is a collection of three pieces, all measuring nine inches or smaller, from over 100 area artists who work in a variety of styles. The show also celebrates Second Street Gallery’s 47th season, […]
Rad space: The Bridge PAI finds new ways to connect by dreaming big
How does a community arts organization react to an ongoing pandemic that requires the restriction of in-person gatherings? It gets creative. “We’re still dreaming big,” says Alan Goffinski, director of The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative. “One thing that I think we’ve always prided ourselves on as an organization is our ability to shift gears, respond […]
A season of firsts: Live Arts breaks new programming ground while relying on its mission
As the lights dim and the countdown begins, it almost feels like a typical evening at Live Arts. But then you look away from your screen, and the illusion is broken. You’re on your couch, with a bowl of microwave popcorn and self-poured wine. And instead of spotlights bursting to life, there’s only the pale […]
Peeling the layers: Maryanna Williams’ prints reveal centuries-old artifacts as new
All art is political, but printmaking can take it to another level. We only need to consider the history of the Works Progress Administration, Soviet government propaganda, or even the Black Panther Party to see how print pieces can be immersed in ideology. Literally using knives to cut through the public conversation, printmakers are able […]
PICK: Art Against The Clock
Hot tip: Part of the reason that Bob Ross and his happy little trees were so popular is that we were able to witness his process in real time (or previously recorded real time). That’s also the appeal of The Bridge’s Art Against The Clock, a series that puts local artists including Sahara Clemons (8/23), […]
Returning to class: I Used To Go Here is full of smarts and self-reflection
Kris Rey’s I Used To Go Here examines the many trials and tribulations familiar to any creative person who goes professional, but the film itself is about more than artistic drive or finding inspiration. Our lead character, Kate Conklin (Gillian Jacobs), has pursued a very specific template of success all her life. When she finally […]
Sound Choices: Honoring family and following jazz
Angela Garcia Cha Cha Palace (Spacebomb Records) Angelica Garcia has that “it” factor. Listen across a series of loops, echoes, and howls, and her performances stop you dead in your tracks. They make you feel something. There are times when a solid live performance doesn’t translate in the studio, but that’s not the case on […]
PICK: Shakespeare Under the Stars
Identity issues: William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is beloved for its dizzily complicated plot, lively characters, witty banter, and riotous humor. And American Shakespeare Center takes advantage of the lovely evening weather in it’s Under the Stars series to offer a new, outdoor iteration of this classic tale of romance and mistaken identity. Paced like a […]
PICK: Liza Nash Taylor reading
Family business: In her debut novel, Etiquette for Runaways, local resident Liza Nash Taylor sets the action in her own backyard. Inspired by true events, Taylor’s Jazz-Age story follows the fate of May Marshall who, after being expelled from Mary Baldwin College, settles at her father’s Keswick farm and stumbles upon a moonshine enterprise. Taylor […]
Inside look: Photographers turn their cameras toward home for virtual exhibition
Photographer Derrick Waller has spent the last several months on the streets of downtown Charlottesville, capturing the raised fists and interlocked arms of the local Black Lives Matter movement. But from July 17 to August 21, viewers can glimpse a different side of Waller and other Charlottesville photographers in Second Street Gallery’s “Snaps From My […]
PICK: In the Heights
Musical heights: Before the world went head over heels for Hamilton and all our kids memorized the soundtrack to Moana, Lin-Manuel Miranda wowed audiences with his exuberant musical In the Heights. Set over three days and chronicling a vibrant Latino community in New York City, the show dazzles with it’s hip-hop and Spanish-infused lyrics. Live […]
Listening pleasure: Nathaniel Star channels a greater joy on new album Eros
Nathaniel Star is in love. He has a light in his eyes and he is grinning from ear to ear. This is not the giddiness of a new romance or the rose-colored adoration that comes at first sight. Star is in love with his craft, his artform, the feeling that his music brings and how […]
PICK: The ’77z
Taking cover: Trends in music come and go, but the devotion to the Grateful Dead is seemingly timeless. The ’77z enter the scene as a GD cover band featuring members of several prominent local groups, including Love Canon’s Jay Starling, Indecision’s Craig Dougald, and King Wilkie’s Jake Hopping— a solid set of players that is […]
PICK: Cyrano de Bergerac
Virtuosic verse: With Broadway closed indefinitely and new stage plays in short supply, we miss the communal experience of seeing a show. National Theatre’s Live in HD series brings you closer from a distance with a screening of Cyrano de Bergerac, starring James McAvoy in an inventive adaptation of the classic play that explores themes […]
Rediscovering history: Local documentarians explore our hidden past in PBS series
When Field Studio founders Hannah Ayers and Lance Warren went to cast a leading man for their historical documentary series “The Future of America’s Past,” they knew just who to put in front of the camera. Ed Ayers, who researched and taught history at the University of Virginia for 27 years before taking over as […]
PICK: RADIO TALKS: The Early Days of Underground Radio
Those about to rock: If you spent any time in Boston during the ‘70s, ‘80s, or ‘90s, chances are you found WBCN on your radio dial. The rock station broadcast in analog for over 40 years, (followed by a short digital run), and was legendary in the music business for its social, political, and cultural […]
PICK: School of Rock
Banding together: With a sprawling parking lot, and a community that needs to get out of the house, Dairy Market launched the rebirth of the former milk processing plant by teaming up with the Virginia Film Festival for a series of drive-in movies. Next up is School of Rock, starring Jack Black as the struggling […]