Hear and there: It’s a question fans around the world are asking: Where does music go from here? As we navigate a reopening while keeping our distance, how do we commune around our favorite musical acts and enjoy concerts again? How do bands practice, record, and tour safely? What is the impact of our complex […]
At any given time, at least 20 percent of Alan Goffinski’s headspace is occupied by pizza. “Pizza’s the best,” he says. It’s his favorite food, and he has no qualms about admitting it: “If anyone tells you [their favorite food is] anything else, they’re lying.” “Pizza’s there for the best times,” Goffinski continues sincerely, not […]
Shawn Decker remembers the first time he heard Depeche Mode. He was 12 or 13, and getting a ride home from his friend’s brother when he noticed the music coming out of the car stereo. “What is this?!” he asked. The vulnerability of the lyrics, the mood of the new wave/synth-pop sound—it was unlike anything […]
When Blue O’Connell sings an old song, she feels a strong connection to the past, to the person who wrote that song and all the people who’ve sung it before her. “I often tell people…if you read a history book about [a] time, it was probably written by someone who didn’t live through that [...]
Special something: Musical Suspects, well-loved veterans of the Charlottesville music scene, go live with their eclectic sound as part of The Front Porch’s virtual benefit concert series Save the Music. Matt Horn leads the tight- knit group with his boisterous voice and grooving trombone. [...]
Saved by song: If anyone can Save the Music, it’s Ti Ames and Ivan Orr (pictured). Powerful vocalist Ames, well-known for their thespian talents (writer, director, and the first black actor to win the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition in 2012), is accompanied by pianist, [...]
Born to jam: Since mid-March, Charlottesville jam band Kendall Street Company has been keeping fans tuned in to its multi-genre musical adventures through the Containment Entertainment series (old episodes are available on KSC’s YouTube channel). From closing out a live concert festival and [...]
Live music in the comfort of your own home? Sounds too good to be true, but rest assured, it isn’t. As a temporary replacement for in-person concerts and events, The Front Porch streaming series Save the Music welcomes Charlottesville native Genna Matthew, whose bittersweet lyrics and soothing [...]
By Sean McGoey arts@c-ville.com The section of Fourth Street Southeast that bears Heather Heyer’s name still invokes painful memories of August 12, 2017. Shagwüf bassist and vocalist Sally Rose was among the throng protesting against the Unite the Right rally that day. “There’ve been few times [...]
While rehearsing songs for this Saturday’s show at New Dominion Bookshop, Chris Campanelli’s been thinking about his audience. But he says he hasn’t envisioned playing for the people who might fill the seats, or the passersby who may wander in from the December evening chill. He’s been thinking [...]
![Kate Bollinger celebrates the vinyl release of her 2019 EP, I Don’t Wanna Lose, at the Southern on November 14. “Music is always around for a lot of people and it’s, I think, subtly powerful, but [not everyone] knows that it can really change people’s lives and change their brain patterns," she says. Publicity photo](https://www.c-ville.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Kate-Bollinger-Main-Press-Photo-Jonathan-Roensch-Square-e1573503616667-320x170.jpg)
The health benefits of music have been widely researched. Evidence has shown that music can alleviate stress, reduce pain, and lead to better cognitive functioning in patients suffering from memory loss. A popular study released last year asserted that routinely going to concerts can contribute [...]
When Ebony Groove posted some old photos to its Facebook page in 2009, the comments came quickly. “Can we get a reunion please?!” “OMG what memories.” “Damn, now this brings back the real good ole days, cats!” “How about a reunion concert?” “You know I will be there if there’s a reunion!!!!” [...]
Twenty-two years. That’s how long Heron & Crane’s first record, Firesides, has been in the works, whether or not Travis Kokas and Dave Gibson were aware of it. Kokas and Gibson met at a sparsely attended rock show in 1997, while both were students at Ohio State University in Columbus. They [...]
Ruling the roof: Dropping Julia is the culmination of guitarist Emily Kresky’s journey as a musician, which she began in New Jersey at age 19. After developing her chops on the road, Kresky landed in Charlottesville where she formed the four-piece pop rock band. Rootsy Americana graced by jazz [...]
Camp songs: Local performers come together at Camp Corduroy for a two-day festival created to celebrate Charlottesville artists and raise awareness for nonprofits such as The Front Porch, The Nature Conservancy, and Fight Like a Grrrl. Dropping Julia, The Hackensaw Boys, and former “The Voice” [...]
On Friday, July 12, a new David Berman record hit store shelves. Recorded under the moniker Purple Mountains, it’s an eponymous 10-track offering that marked the end of a decade-long hiatus for Berman, whose Silver Jews lyrics made him an indie rock icon, admired by critics and music fans [...]
By Graham Schiltz When Nate Bolling started A University of Whales, he wanted the band to be different. After playing music in Charlottesville for 11 years, doing everything from metal to hip-hop, he wanted a change of pace. A pianist by trade, Bolling, who’s perhaps best known around town as a [...]
On the enclosed patio of the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Reagan Riley reclines into a stack of jewel-toned pillows scattered on the bench behind her as grey-white wisps of fruit-flavored tobacco vapor curl through the afternoon air, dissipating into a thin haze that’s more sunshine than hookah [...]
Sally Rose leads her trio Shagwüf in Sweet Freakshow, an anniversary performance to celebrate five years of stirring up crowds with the group’s psychedelic, retro swagger. “The most punk thing you can do in divisive times is to write music and try and bring bodies together, to sweat and [...]
By Sean McGoey arts@c-ville.com Star Wars enthusiasts have a lot to be thrilled about this year: The first trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker dropped in April, setting the table for the conclusion of the latest trilogy and sparking speculation over the inclusion of Emperor Palpatine’s [...]
Around 11 last Monday night, Holly Renee Allen could hear her son playing guitar in his room, picking out the notes to “House of the Rising Sun” and “Dueling Banjos.” As she listened to her 14-year-old work through the classic songs, she thought about the callouses on her own fingertips, the [...]
Paul Curreri remembers getting rid of his CD collection. He and his wife, Devon Sproule, both musicians, were packing up their Austin, Texas, home to move back to Charlottesville in 2015, when Curreri realized he hadn’t added to his CD collection in a while. “There wasn’t a bad one in the [...]
Girl Choir is distortion driven. The Chuggernauts opt for a punk-rock pirate vibe. And while The Unholy Four strives for old-school hard rock, Wild Rose keeps it modern as a quartet. Expect a blend of grit and tenderness when punk rock meets punk ‘n’ roll during an evening with these four local [...]