ARTS Pick: The Battle of Chile

Half a decade of global cold war left us with no lack of dramatic subjects for documentaries. To wit, on September 11, 1973, a U.S.-backed counter-revolution and coup in Chile resulted in the assassination of the democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Chilean director Patricio Guzman chronicles the political tensions and outright violence of the events […]

Raphael Bell previews the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival

Now in its 13th season, the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival has become a local institution: a fortnight’s worth of nationally and internationally renowned composers and performers sharing the most intimate and contemplative form of music stretching back through centuries of western civilization. It has been said that chamber music is a conversation amongst friends, so […]

ARTS Pick: The Madwoman Project

Hearkening back to the days of the traveling theater troupe, director and local theatrical polymath Kay Ferguson’s The Madwoman Project brings the play to you. She strips off all the unnecessary baggage for an entirely portable gypsy clown carnival, playing out its first act amid the crowds on the Downtown Mall, and parading the show back to […]

ARTS Pick: Zammuto at The Southern

Wednesday 9/5 Workbook Being innovative is exhausting work. Nick Zammuto could have decided that, after a prolific stint with cellist Paul de Jong as The Books, he’d coast with the street cred he got for experimenting with what he calls “collage-pop music.” Instead he takes up the loop and synth mantle with an eye towards layered sound, building the […]

Canine performers steal the show at American Shakespeare Center

The first thing they teach you in theater school is…well, don’t go to theater school, because you won’t make any money. But, the second thing they teach you is to avoid getting on stage with a dog. And the reason has nothing to do with dogs being difficult or unpleasant; it’s just that no matter […]

ARTS Pick: Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears

Monday 9/3 Greasin’ the groove In an age of dub step and rap versions of ’80s new wave, Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears stand apart with gritty, funky, dirty-picking, soul-howling blues. But don’t mistake Joe’s crew for a novelty act. This band is puttin’ hands on hips, lettin’ backbones slip, and establishing themselves as […]

ARTS Pick: Rebirth Brass Band at the Jefferson

Second lining is a tradition that stretches back through centuries, thought to have originated as the outer circle, or second line, of West African circle dances. The tradition evolved from jazz funerals to choreographed, brass band, dance party parades that are inextricably associated with the life and spirit of NOLA, the city that incubated them. Get […]

ARTS Pick: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Saturday & Sunday 8/25 & 8/26 Behold the night Theater and wine go way back. The first known festivals were held in celebration of Dionysus, and what better way to enjoy Shakespeare than on the grounds of a picturesque vineyard whilst sipping on your preferred varietal? In the intrepid fashion for which it has come […]