Best of what’s around: The Agents of Good Roots have a long history of jammin’ in Virginia. Founded in RVA in the early ’90s, the group rolled through the same mid-Southern musical trenches as the Dave Matthews Band, signing with RCA, and touring the college circuit extensively (see their music archive for early Trax and Flood Zone gigs). As the four members grew up, they found new passions, and broke up. Reuniting in 2017, the Agents still play for fun, and to Save the Music. Proceeds benefit Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry.
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Landscape photographer Karen Duncan Pape turns her lens to the page in “De-Circulated,” an exhibition of reconstructed covers of banned books on display at McGuffey Art Center through January 28. “Growing up in Southwest Virginia, books were extremely important to me, as they exposed me to other worlds and broadened my perspective,” says Pape. “I […]
Black Fiddlers
Take a deep dive into the culture and legacy of African American violinists in director Eduardo Montes-Bradley’s Black Fiddlers. The 60-minute documentary shares the stories and sounds of Black men and women throughout American history, like the late old-time fiddler Joe Thompson (pictured) and 18th-century Richmond virtuoso Sy Gilliat, an enslaved man whose opera melodies […]
Maura Shawn Scanlin
Boston-based fiddler Maura Shawn Scanlin is putting her own inventive twist on traditional Celtic tunes. An award-winning musician, Scanlin incorporates classical chamber music and traditional sounds from the American South, along with Irish and Scottish fiddle playing into her fluid compositions. Scanlin is touring her new self-titled record with Conor Hearn on guitar, Adam Hendey […]
