Brass tactics: Circus-like characters, eye-catching costumes, and a blend of big-band-friendly musical styles make up the exalting sensory overload that is the MarchFourth Marching Band. The 20-member troupe from Portland, Oregon, is a festival staple, and has been tapped for high-profile gigs at the Kennedy Center, The Fillmore, and ESPN’s “ESPY Awards” show. The band’s upbeat brass-funk tune “Gospel” can be heard throughout Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University, and serves as the film’s closing credits soundtrack.
Related stories

Rooted in the past
By Thomas Crone Willi Carlisle has a healthy respect for the past, modeling his career, in part, on the folksingers of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s—people who traveled a self-made circuit of coffeehouses, clubs, and theaters that catered to a hip set. Pete Seeger, in particular, is someone who Carlisle feels kinship toward, though he […]
C-VILLE Writers | May 1, 2024
Rooted in the past
By Thomas Crone Willi Carlisle has a healthy respect for the past, modeling his career, in part, on the folksingers of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s—people who traveled a self-made circuit of coffeehouses, clubs, and theaters that catered to a hip set. Pete Seeger, in particular, is someone who Carlisle feels kinship toward, though he […]
C-VILLE Writers | May 1, 2024

Set in stone
By Stephen Barling Crouched in the back of his battered Ford pickup truck at Ix Art Park, Toru Oba is wrestling a worn yellow strap around a 5-foot-long, 400-pound hunk of raw sandstone. “I used to move these by myself,” he says, “but now I need help.” The 79-year-old Japanese stonemason and sculptor can be […]
C-VILLE Writers | May 1, 2024
Set in stone
By Stephen Barling Crouched in the back of his battered Ford pickup truck at Ix Art Park, Toru Oba is wrestling a worn yellow strap around a 5-foot-long, 400-pound hunk of raw sandstone. “I used to move these by myself,” he says, “but now I need help.” The 79-year-old Japanese stonemason and sculptor can be […]
C-VILLE Writers | May 1, 2024

Charlottesville Ballet presents ‘Snow White’
Magically merging the elements of orchestral arrangement, incredible costuming and stagecraft, and an ensemble of unforgettable characters, Charlottesville Ballet presents Snow White. This Family Series ballet, based on the beloved Grimms’ fairy tale, brings youth and adult dancers together to tell the classic story of jealousy, love, and friendship. Witness a beautiful princess strike up […]
C-VILLE Writers | May 1, 2024
Charlottesville Ballet presents ‘Snow White’
Magically merging the elements of orchestral arrangement, incredible costuming and stagecraft, and an ensemble of unforgettable characters, Charlottesville Ballet presents Snow White. This Family Series ballet, based on the beloved Grimms’ fairy tale, brings youth and adult dancers together to tell the classic story of jealousy, love, and friendship. Witness a beautiful princess strike up […]
C-VILLE Writers | May 1, 2024