ARTS Pick: The Avett Brothers

Making hay: On their website, The Avett Brothers claim humble beginnings: They grew up on a small hobby farm, grumbling often over the fact that they had never seen the likes of Hall & Oates, David Lee Roth, or El DeBarge anywhere near a pasture or a chicken house. But things are looking up. The […]

ARTS Pick: Mason Ramsey

Adding up: Mason Ramsey has always been a precocious child—his family says he was crooning and harmonizing before he could talk. By age 4, Ramsey was singing at the Kentucky Opry, and he got on stage with country music legend Kenny Rogers at age 7. So in 2018, when a video of the 11-year-old yodeling […]

ARTS Pick: Rosier

New trad: Explorations in indie, jazz, pop, and bluegrass turn the bilingual songs of Rosier into sophisticated, emotional journeys. It’s not surprising that the Montreal-based band has a facility with reinterpreting age-old folk songs. The group takes its new name (it was formerly known as Les Poules à Colin) from a traditional song, and its […]

Filling out the ballot: Other races to watch (and who’s running)

By Spencer Philps Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Three of the six districts in Albemarle County have elections for the Board of Supervisors, where members serve four-year terms. Scottsville District Lawyer and retired Navy captain Donna Price (D) is squaring off with Mike Hallahan (R), also a lawyer and a former deputy sheriff for Albemarle […]

ARTS Pick: Wolfman’s Got Nards

Monster smash: When it was released in 1987, The Monster Squad was deemed a monster dud. But during a series of anniversary screenings and Q&As 30 years later, the cast and crew were shocked and delighted to learn that the horror film had become a cult classic. That realization inspired Andre Gower, one of the […]

ARTS Pick: Company Aiello

Handy advice: In the theatrical tradition of Italy’s commedia dell’arte, Company Aiello tells old stories in a new light through puppetry and musical accompaniment. Main character Spazzolino is a good-hearted prankster who only wants two things: “a mountain of beans to eat and justice for everyone.” Company founder Angelo Aiello is an inventive puppeteer who […]

ARTS Pick: Katie Toupin

Western lights: Katie Toupin is not forthcoming about her split with the alt-blues band Houndmouth, but it’s clear that the breakup spurred a new creative direction. The keyboardist left Kentucky to launch a solo career in Los Angeles, and she stepped up to the mic to put her own poetry into song on 2018’s Moroccan […]

ARTS Pick: Bill Mize

Listen in: “I received most of my musical education from a cheap Zenith radio,” says fingerstyle guitarist Bill Mize. Growing up in Tennessee with proximity to the area’s musical riches had a clear influence on Mize’s mastery of acoustic instrumentals. He is a past winner of the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition at The Walnut Valley […]