By Jonathan Haynes City Councilor Wes Bellamy sat down for a revelatory interview at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center January 10 to promote his new book, Monumental: It Was Never About a Statue. The title alludes to the former vice-mayor’s push to remove Confederate monuments from Charlottesville parks, and the racist backlash it […]
New birds on the block A red-breasted nuthatch in central Virginia? You gotta be kidding! Turns out that an unusually large number of irruptive bird species—or species that normally breed in northern boreal forests and sometimes migrate south when their food supply runs out—are wintering in our neck of the woods this year, according to […]
Caitlin Canty is a weaver—and her threads are folk, blues, and country music. Loyal to no genre, Canty creates listening experiences with her 1930s Recording King guitar, while her “casually devastating” vocals shape dark poetry into dreamy alternative folk tunes. The young but wise songstress’ latest release, Motel Bouquet, features fiddler Stuart Duncan and vocalist […]
Dubbed by peers as the “godfather of Americana music,” singer-songwriter Kieran Kane’s roots-oriented bluegrass blends seamlessly with Rayna Gellert’s Appalachian-inspired fiddle playing to form a groovy twist on traditional folk music. The duo released its first album, The Ledges, in 2017, and for its follow-up due in March, listeners can expect more of Gellert’s sultry […]
A popular performer who’s lovingly referred to as the queen of Virginia gospel music, Cora Harvey Armstrong makes every day feel like Sunday. Her songwriting is inspired by her poet grandfather while her mother’s turntable, stacked with Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward Singers records, influenced her musical style. Fifty years later, Harvey continues to keep […]
Nashville native Mitchell Tenpenny writes stories about where he comes from as he navigates the musical landscape that established his love for creating personal connections onstage. The star football player turned country musician’s soulful, edgy vocals combined with his acoustic guitar-playing reflect his influences, which vary from Dustin Lynch and Lynyrd Skynyrd to Michael Jackson. […]
Knock, knock. Who’s [not] there? Sears. Sweethaus. Performance Bicycle. And Brown’s Cleaners, just to name a few recent local closings that left community members shocked, and in at least one case, without their clothes. The closing of Sears at Fashion Square Mall heralds the demise of one of America’s most iconic retailers, known for its mail-order […]
By Sabrina Moreno If you ask Kelly Lonergan, he’s not a figure painter. The figures he paints on 48 by 60 inch canvas—a scale that excites him—are slightly awkward, clunky. But to him, that’s the best part. It gives them a sense of personality for viewers to cling and relate to. In his show “And […]
He was finger-picking in the name of classical guitar and Spanish flamenco in Brazil. She was hitting the keys with her jazzy-blues tones along the East Coast. It’s a modern-day musical romance that culminated in the formation of the band Beleza (above) as well as the duo’s marriage. With the fusing of funk and blues, […]
Lady Sag, as in Sagittarius, doesn’t follow the average hip-hop path. She’s all about the signs, branching out, and alternating between gospel, ballads, and country songs. As one of 10 featured local artists in New Year, New Vibes with Bam Bam, Sav, Tae Da God, and Tavi, Lady Sag says we can look forward to […]