30 years and counting

In 1989, Bill Chapman was a senior at Hampden-Sydney College and Hawes Spencer, a former student, was working in the communications office. Chapman had just completed a summer internship at Richmond’s Style Weekly, and “It seemed like Charlottesville needed a smarter, less reverent paper than The Daily Progress,” he says.   The two founded C-VILLE […]

ARTS Pick: Hoopla

Devilish details: While it has the best-loved components of most festivals—an extensive list of craft beer offerings and a groovy live music lineup (this one includes CAAMP, Ona, Larry Keel Explosion, Indecision, Gold Top County Ramblers, and Sarah White)—Hoopla goes beyond the party standards to bring all ages together for adventures between sets. A fun […]

In brief: New Hogwaller project, march on, cyberstalking arrest, and more

Hogwaller reset After City Council’s rejection of his zoning and permit requests earlier this year, Justin Shimp, developer of the embattled Hogwaller Farms project in Belmont, is back with fresh plans for a newly acquired parcel partially overlapping the site of his previous proposal. The name of the new project—Rootstock Farm Apartments—should be better received […]

ARTS Pick: Charming Disaster

Truly madly creepy: Charming Disaster’s storytelling songs have been described as macabre folk, but there’s light in the darkness for this Brooklyn duo. Racing through themes of love, death, crime, mythology, and the occult, Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris enchant listeners with a combination of folk harmonies, smart lyrics, ukulele, guitar, and a sly sense […]

ARTS Pick: Peppa Pig

Mudslinging fun: Back in July, animated anthropomorphic British icon Peppa Pig got into a friendly Twitter takedown with rapper/model Iggy Azalea. When Peppa announced that she’d be dropping My First Album on the same release date as Azalea’s latest, the Aussie singer at-replied, “It’s over for me now.” The Peppa Pig account responded with “Peppa’s […]

ARTS Pick: Willie DE

Building a groove: Willie DE may be the hardest-working musician in local show biz. As a determined teen he formed his first band, The Wave, at age 13, and busked on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall and in the parking lots before UVA football games. Following his education in jazz guitar at VCU and extensive touring on […]

Keeping on: Umphrey’s McGee are still playing the long game

The first time Umphrey’s McGee played in Charlottesville—in 2002, upstairs at the old Starr Hill brewery on West Main Street—a few dozen people showed up. The band was in its barnstorming phase, with its six members, fresh out of college, charging around the country in a crowded van. The Starr Hill show was one of […]

ARTS Pick: Cville Sabroso

Dance together: Charlottesville’s annual Latin American cultural festival, Cville Sabroso, offers authentic food, music, and fine art, plus dancing from traditional to contemporary, accompanied by Grupo Folklorico Villa Sabrosa, Mariachi Garibaldi, La Maquina de El Salvador, MC Chris Hypnotyc, and more. All ages are welcome to join in the community celebration of different parts of […]

ARTS Pick: Way Down Wanderers

Sweethearts of the road: It can be tough to stand out in the field of bluegrass with all the talented players currently on the road, but The Way Down Wanderers have found a sweet spot in the mix. The Peoria, Illinois, band relies on exceptional musicianship and a family-like bond with fans to get heard […]