It’s haiku season. Sling your wildest words out there. You could last longest. Wednesday 2/19. Free, 8pm. Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, 414 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 293-9947.
Artistic inspiration: Portrait of a Lady on Fire beautifully illustrates the intangible
How wonderful it is to see a film about art that treats the creative process as an essential part of the human experience, free of the fetishization of suffering, or the detachment of genius worship. The narrative of Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire centers on the relationship between a painter and her […]
Arts Pick: Ross Martin and Adam Larabee
Adventurous Strumming: Ross Martin knows guitar, and his deep knowledge of the instrument has led him on explorations of jazz, bluegrass, country, folk, experimental, and classical music. Over the course of his many tours and projects, he’s perfected both the entrancing acoustic duet and the invigorating electric duel, and taught guitar workshops all over the […]
Arts Pick: Drive-By Truckes
Breakdown lane: The Drive-By Truckers are unapologetically political on The Unraveling, their first album in three and a half years. “I’ve always said that all of our records are political but I’ve also said that politics is personal. With that in mind, this album is especially personal,” says band co-founder Patterson Hood. “… Watching so […]
Star gazing: Brian Robinson at the Kluge-Ruhe
Growing up on the Torres Strait Islands of Australia, Brian Robinson drew on walls, windows, the kitchen table, the back fence. “Pretty much everywhere,” he told C-VILLE last month. “That creativity continued to grow and flourish” over decades of art-making, says the artist, who is now in his 40s, and has works in major public […]
Arts Pick: Yamato
Heartening beats: With over a thousand years of cultural tradition, 400-year-old instruments, and 25 years of performing globally, the 12-member drumming group Yamato brings a dazzling exhibition of showmanship to the stage. Japan’s traditional Wadaiko drums serve as the foundation for tamashy—translated as soul, spirit, and psyche—which channels the basic elements of life into a […]
Arts Pick: Evolution of a Black Girl: From the Slave House to the White House
Despite obstacles: Morgan McCoy, author and actor recently seen in the Oscar-nominated film Harriet, comes to town with a one-woman show, Evolution of a Black Girl: From the Slave House to the White House. Depicting the struggles and triumphs of fictional and real African American women across numerous generations, the play combines comedy and drama […]
Falling together: The Lumineers document the reach of addiction on III
Throughout history, rules and procedures have been established to provide structure—like getting from point A to point B. Books are read from beginning to end; a race participant begins at the starting line and progresses to the finish. But creative fields promote originality, leaving space for a band like The Lumineers to throw out the […]
Arts Pick: Love Luxe
You and me both: From Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s “Shallow,” stage magic is made when a duo has chemistry. After a nearly 10-year break (they both moved away), Richelle Claiborne and Ezra Hamilton reunite for Love Luxe, a rare performance sure to rekindle the […]
Arts Pick: Coriky
Fleeing the circus: Recruiting from his Fugazi lineup as well as his band The Evens, Ian MacKaye formed an unnamed trio with wife Amy Farina (drums) and bassist Joe Lally in 2018 for a Washington, D.C., benefit show. We still can’t confirm a name, but we happened upon an event post with the aforementioned lineup […]
Flight of fancy: DC Extended Universe ascends with Birds of Prey
There’s a funny kind of freedom that’s recently emerged in the DC Extended Universe. After a series of colossal failures, each one worse than the last, the powers that be decided not to cancel the whole project, but to bring in fresh blood with new ideas, then empowered them to do whatever the hell they […]
A KISS goodbye: A Q&A with Paul Stanley
They’ve shown us everything they’ve got, kept us dancing while the room got hot. They’ve driven us wild, we’ve driven them crazy. KISS has taken us for a spin, but now the party’s winding down, and for one last time, they’re letting us in: The legendary hard rockers play John Paul Jones Arena Friday, on […]
ARTS Pick: KISS
KISS off: There’s a longtime rock ‘n’ roll rumor that Eddie Van Halen tried to break up Van Halen so he could join KISS when Ace Frehley left the band in 1982, citing the friction with VH’s wild frontman David Lee Roth (fate had other plans, i.e. Van Hagar). Today, DLR is back in Van […]
ARTS Pick: Pursuit of the Black Panther
Ghost hunt: Melanistic leopards are so rare they are known as the ghosts of forest. Photographer Shannon Wild spent almost two years in southeastern India, battling weather, terrain, and injuries, to capture images of these elusive cats. At National Geographic Live’s Pursuit of the Black Panther, Wild shares the experiences that fill her three books […]
ARTS Pick: Hawktail
In record time: Building fresh material out of tradition and experience, Hawktail thrives on the combined talents of fiddler Brittany Haas, bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Jordan Tice, and mandolin player Dominick Leslie. The low-key supergroup (members’ affiliations include the Punch Brothers, David Rawlings, Crooked Still, and “A Prairie Home Companion”) found its groove in the […]
ARTS Pick: Ross Mathews
Life stories: Ross Mathews, the renowned television personality most famous for appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Insider,” and “Celebrity Fit Club,” engages his audience with hilarious tales and spicy anecdotes from his extensive time in show business. From spending a Christmas with the Kardashians to his TV chat with Omarosa, and […]
February galleries guide
Phuong Nguyen’s small wonders In recent years, artist Phuong Nguyen has learned the truth of a common proverb: Big things do indeed come in small packages. After graduating from UVA in 2015, she struggled to find a studio that would allow her to paint and print on a large scale. So she changed her creative […]
Magic and tech: M.K. England’s second novel blurs sci-fi and fantasy
As the branch manager for the Scottsville Library and a former young adult librarian at the Crozet Library, it’s safe to say local author M.K. England knows books. And when England set out to write a YA novel, it was important that the stories held personal resonance. “I just wanted fun adventures that had people […]
Top tier: Live Arts gathers an excellent cast for The Humans
What do you do when structures fail? When you did everything right, you played by the rules, yet the safety you thought you’d shored up for the future disappears with a twist of fate? In The Humans, a Tony Award-winning comedy-drama by playwright Stephan Karam, characters wrestle to find peace and connection amidst the rumbles […]
ARTS Pick: Jane Bunnett and Maqueue
Lighting a fire: Merging her jazz background with the rhythms and culture of Cuban music, veteran bandleader Jane Bunnett’s new project Maqueque furthers her unique international explorations. A multiple Juno and Grammy Award winner, Bunnett launched a mentoring program for young, Cuban musicians that’s become a touring all-female collective, and is setting the jazz music […]
ARTS Pick: An Evening of Music to Benefit Eko Ise
Catch this wave: When you listen to Ti Ames (shown) sing, says Front Porch director Emily Morrison, “you don’t know that an unstoppable wave of sound is about to hit you hard. When you pick yourself up off the floor, you’ll have a smile on your face.” Ames joins drummer Robinson Hubbard, bassist Eric J. […]
ARTS Pick: Twelfth Night
Love and deception: Romance, comedy, and deceit come to the stage in the form of one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, Twelfth Night. Directed by Jamie Virostko and featuring a talented ensemble, this intimate spin on the Bard’s twisted love triangle combines gender-fluidity with romantic chaos in a traditional yet pared-down production. Through Saturday, […]
Cinéma réaliste: Les Misérables is a compelling exploration of modern strife
Despite its name, Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables is not a retelling of Victor Hugo’s famous novel. But there are many ways it closely resembles its namesake. Within the confines of a tight thriller and a runtime of less than two hours, Ly explores questions of justice, crime, redemption, rebellion, collective and individual responsibility, and the […]