The CLAW documentary reaches beyond local audiences

When the Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers held its first match in the back room of the Blue Moon Diner in February of 2008, few dreamed it would become a nationwide movement. CLAW began as an all-women’s arm wrestling competition, initiated by Jennifer Tidwell and Jodie Plaisance, in which the stereotype of women as weak is […]

Packard Theater screens samurai classic in Culpeper

This Thursday, the Library of Congress provides an opportunity to see a film by one of cinema’s masters, the legendary Akira Kurosawa, on glorious 35mm film. 1962’s Sanjuro is a deeper cut in the Kurosawa catalog; a sequel to the previous years’ acclaimed, beloved, and oft-imitated Yojimbo, in which Toshiro Mifune reprises his role as […]

The Bridge kicks off the year with a multi-faceted group show

Local artist Victoria Long has curated and participated in art shows all over the world since graduating from UVA in 2006. Long returned to Charlottesville in 2011, and while she’s actively made and shown work since then, this month’s “Surprise” marks the first gallery show she’s assembled here in many years. “Surprise” opened on January […]

Further musings on 2013’s musical offerings

The default opening act for many of 2013’s concerts was the local duo Grand Banks, which sprang back to life in 2013 after several years of infrequent shows. While keyboardist/singer Tyler Magill’s other project Mss. went on hiatus, he and Davis Salisbury rekindled their improvisational ambient noise duo. Where Grand Banks’ material was once abrasive […]

ARTS Pick: Horsefang and Miami Nights

Metal shows are rare in Charlottesville, but the few that do happen tend to be high-quality. This is due in part to the talents and good taste of the few local metal-heads, and Friday night’s show at the Main Street Annex is an opportunity to catch the two of the best local bands from any […]

This week finds aliens in the club and gifts in the forest

Throughout last year, I kept hearing the name Guardian Alien. At first I wasn’t at all curious. The band name led me to the assumption that it was “some sort of dubstep or chillwave thing,” and its record sleeve—a watercolor drawing of an alien with dreadlocks, holding a repeating version of the record itself—was easily […]

The Charlottesville Mural Project unveils a tribute to the Rivanna River

On a chilly Friday in late November, Ross McDermott of the Charlottesville Mural Project gathered a large group on the railroad crossing at First Street to dedicate the organization’s newest mural, designed by local artist Kaki Dimock. The mural’s theme is the Rivanna River, a subject originally proposed by Rose Brown of the organization StreamWatch, who […]

White Star Sound offers musicians a full service lift-off

White Star Sound recording studio, located on a bucolic farm in Louisa County, is a friendly, professional spot that attracts national acts like O.A.R. and The Infamous Stringdusters, along with local musicians like Sarah White, The Hill & Wood, and Invisible Hand, as well as several bands that have crossed that divide, like Sons of […]