Friday 5/23, Ace Biscuit & Barbecue Headlining a night of uncompromising sonics, self-described “minced-out billy gore” three-piece Septic Vomit unleashes its gross outtake on extreme metal-core at—where else?—a barbecue joint. Minute-long documentarian murder samples, overdriven detuned guitars, and blasting drums vie for conquest, clouding a vocal that brings new meaning to the word “guttural.” If […]
Thursday 5/16, The Paramount Theater For many rock musicians, the idea of being in a cover band is about as low as you can sink: You’re running through someone else’s songs over and over, impersonating their look while aping their playing style, and, worst of all, there’s the potential for disappointing audiences so familiar with […]
Saturday 5/3, IX Art Park Ships In The Night, the one-gal, electronic, smoke-and-mirrors synth project of Charlottesville’s own Alethea Leventhal, descends from the ethereal mists for what local fans will recognize as a performance wrapped in a thematic event. SITN has a recurring habit of playing all manner of spookily framed balls, proms, raves, and […]
April 26, The Jefferson Theater A famous musician named Paul McCartney once sang, “You’d think that people would’ve had enough of silly love songs / But I look around me and I see it isn’t so.” That was in 1976 and the co-founder of The Beatles was in a new band, Wings, with his wife […]
Friday 4/18, The Southern Cafe and Music Hall With the release of News of the Universe in 2024, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Shana Cleveland led her band, La Luz, to deeper levels of previously staked-out musical terrain. What began in 2012 as a surfy, twanged-out Seattle quartet with ‘60s girl-group leanings has evolved into a […]
Tuesday 4/15 & Wednesday 4/16, The Jefferson Theater Any music act that’s been writing, recording, and touring over the course of 40 years deserves respect. For Cowboy Junkies, the unwavering dedication to their craft equates to more than 20 studio records and countless other contributions to a pioneering style of what jerks like me in […]
Friday 4/11, The Paramount Theater Maybe it’s unfair to say that Dweezil Zappa has made a lifelong career of being the child of a legendary musician. At 55 years old, he has amassed a decent list of solo records and even won a Grammy for his guitar playing, a good deal of which he’s lent […]
The Paramount Theater, March 21 Wistful and moving, José González’s soft voice and intricate finger-picking guitar elevate an otherwise indie rock formula with cavernous echoes of folk, classical, and quiet reflections of pop music. Originally finding some success with the outfit Junip, he has performed and recorded with a steady stream of collaborators ranging from […]
Old Cabell Hall, March 22 and March 23 As part of its 50th anniversary season, the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia offers a pair of what should be gripping and provocative performances. The program wastes no time in lunging for the heart with Samuel Barber’s well-known Adagio for Strings. The compact and passionate […]
March 18, Old Cabell Hall Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music’s touring music program finds a pair of esteemed faculty members and two star students performing at the Tuesday Night Concert Series. The visiting quartet boasts two Grammy-winning professors in guitarist Jason Vieaux and viola player Roberto Díaz, joined by Australian Emmalena Huning on violin, and […]