When North Carolina native Joe Troop moved to Argentina in 2010, the multi-talented musician carved out a niche in the local scene by teaching bluegrass and old-time music. Eventually Troop, along with a few of his quick-picking students, formed Che Apalache, and drawing on various musical styles from Argentina, Mexico, and the United States, recorded […]
When Nina Simone died in 2003, Elton John sent flowers with the message, “You were the greatest and I love you.” That sentiment has been echoed by countless others, and tributes to Simone aim to capture her seductive, hypnotic genius. Richelle Claiborne and Leslie-Scott Jones rekindle the vocal magic during A Night With Nina, with […]
In a evening of art-inspired protest that includes puppetry, music, and video, Water is life. Protect it. and ARTivism Virginia members unite as the Sun Sing collective to premiere the song “To The River,” aimed at stopping the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines. The activists recently focused their creative energies around original songs dedicated […]
Hoos blues You know that feeling you get when you support UVA men’s basketball through the years, and then the team finally wins the NCAA championship for the first time ever, and several players decide a college degree isn’t as valuable as playing in the NBA? While we predict they won’t be in the same […]
By Shrey Dua Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was greeted with a rock star welcome at UVA April 16. After being delayed by an hour, the Texas native and Woodberry Forest grad arrived at Nau Hall at 8pm to a mob of excited students. The event, hosted by the University Democrats, was held in a […]
By Bonnie Price Lofton If rainwater doesn’t seep, sponge-like, into the soil around us, it runs away somewhere. In Charlottesville, where much of the ground is covered with impermeable asphalt, it runs into stormwater drainage systems, ditches, and streams that eventually lead into the Rivanna River. That creates two problems: first, without earth to filter […]
Milestone milieu: It’s been a tumultuous five years for Phosphorescent (née Matthew Houck, left). He fell in love, had two kids, moved to Nashville, and “somewhere along the way, he nearly died of meningitis.” This life-altering period also sourced his critically lauded new album, C’est La Vie, another set of tunes elevated by Houck’s signature […]
Unfolding history: Why did the traumatic events of August 2017 happen in the first place? Why did they happen here? Priyanka Shetty seeks answers to these questions in her new theater piece #charlottesville. Shetty crafted her script verbatim from conversations with Charlottesville residents who shared firsthand accounts about their experiences, and from the community’s response […]
Spelling bound: Contestants in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee process their dreams and self-doubts through song in this quirky, Tony Award-winning musical created by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin. The cast gives words new meaning as students, teachers, and townspeople belt out numbers such as “The Spelling Rules,” “My Unfortunate Erection/Distraction (Chip’s Lament),” […]
Backstage pass: Musically connected transformations are the theme at Hoot & Holler’s Soundtrack of My Life, an evening of storytelling that draws from personal experiences involving songs, concerts, and listening. Find out what happened at an after-hours hotel room party involving The Replacements and way too much tequila; hear how a banjo literally saved one […]