Beginning August 1, masks will be mandatory in public for Charlottesville and Albemarle County residents. To help get the word out, we are sharing this link to a series of print-at-home posters by local artist Warren Craghead. Remember to wear your mask while you are putting these up around town!
Get out to get down: Charlottesville favorite, the Chickenhead Blues Band, is back—live on stage—no logins required! NOLA’s own Aric van Brocklin on guitar, joins Skip Haga on the keyboards, with Granville Mullings on drums, Andy Rowland blowing the sax, and Victor Brown banging on the bass to bring their bad boogie-woogie to an outdoor […]
The acronym for the Feminist Union of Charlottesville Creatives—FUCC—is pronounced exactly like the four-letter word it brings to mind. “FUCC facilitates opportunities for our members to have an outlet for their creative expression,” says mixed-media artist and member Sri Kodakalla, “Especially during times of uncertainty, it can be such an empowering thing to be a […]
As our country struggles with its foundational mythology, we are faced with the question of how the story would be framed if it were written by those whose names are lost to history yet participated in its creation. Though First Cow is not made with a didactic tone, it asks us to consider vital questions […]
Becca Mancari The Greatest Part (Captured Tracks) After cutting her chops in Lynchburg, Virginia, Becca Mancari brought the traditions of Appalachia with her to Nashville, where she quickly made a name for herself in Music City’s Americana circles. Her debut album Good Woman (2017) drew on elements of her roots, elevating them to the modern […]
Show going: Do you miss the excitement of watching a story unfold on the big screen? A sense of communion with fellow audience members? The iconic concessions? With new releases on hold, the Paramount is bringing some classics back to the theater, starting with Christopher Guest’s riotous satire Best in Show. The ensemble cast features […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
Going the distance: The Crozet Car Show is taking a different route this year. In keeping with current efforts to socially distance, the typically stationary annual event is hitting the road for a cruise through Old Trail and Crozet. Spectators are encouraged to wear masks as they line the streets to cheer this parade on […]
The range of guitarist Miles Pearce’s talent is as breathtaking as his euphoric playing. He traverses the fretboard through classical, jazz, folk, Hindustani classical, flamenco, Brazilian samba, Argentine tango, South Indian Karnatic vocal, and West African rhythms—and if that’s not enough, he also lists experimental music on his bio. Pearce teaches privately and online, and […]
Pete Davidson is the neighborhood kid everyone hopes will get his act together, except that neighborhood is national TV, and “everyone” is literally everyone. His appeal reminds us of the lovable bullshitter in our family who’s always ready with a joke but can’t keep a job—only Davidson’s comedy is full of hard truths instead of […]
In session: Tracing Rusty Speidel’s music career is like coloring a zentangle. It twists, turns, and flows into many shapes, connects to a greater body of work, and the results are dependably creative and beautiful. Speidel (right) is a session musician, producer, arranger, and a founding member of SGGL (Speidel, Michael Goggin, Tom Goodrich, and […]
Short camps for a long summer: Want to avoid throwing that Disney movie on again so you can get some work done at home? With the prospect of a long summer ahead, Live Arts has good news for parents of small children. At Treasure Trunk Mini Camps, kids can play games, make crafts, and read […]
On the afternoon of the year’s hottest day so far, Sahara Clemons stands at a concrete wall about three times her height, a roll of masking tape around her wrist, a brush in the other hand, cans of paint and a cup of melting bubble tea at her feet. As she puts the finishing touches […]