ARTS Pick: Antony and Cleopatra

Shakespeare’s tragedies are mercilessly disastrous, but Antony and Cleopatra elevates callousness with political intrigue and brutal battles for power. Caught between two war-torn empires, a Roman general (Ralph Fiennes), and the Queen of Egypt (Sophie Okonedo) find love against the odds—then face heavy consequences. Adopting a creative take on history, the classic play takes a new form […]

ARTS Pick: Year of the Woman

It’s time to wrap up the year with a little glamour in honor of local ladies who pushed the boundaries on music. Year of the Woman is a concert featuring two stand-out performers from 2018: Erin Lunsford leads Erin & The Wildfire with bold, rock-soul blends from the album Thirst, and ADAR is led by […]

Bar keepers: Cocktails we couldn’t get enough of in 2018

By Carrie Meslar The house cocktail menu is a bar team’s magnum opus. Hours of research, experiments, and tweaks can go into a single drink, only for it to be erased from record with the printing of a new menu. But some drinks refuse to leave: A bartender creates a cocktail that is the perfect […]

ARTS Pick: Sarah Shook & the Disarmers

The brutal country-rock quartet Sarah Shook & the Disarmers plays with a display of defiance that embodies the outlaw era—and such a biting reputation is not undeserved, but it pays off. The group’s spiteful LP, Years, is full of raw undertones inspired by Shook’s personal life. It received high marks from Rolling Stone as “a […]

ARTS Pick: Love Canon

In the spirit of tipping the cap to 2018, Love Canon kicks off the new year with a retro-bluegrass bang. Since 2010, the band has pumped out ’80s tunes in the style of Americana and traditional roots music. The group aims to begin 2019 with a touch of nostalgia, and create a musical rewind revolution […]

ARTS Pick: Billy Strings

With lightening fingertips and a devotion to American roots music, Billy Strings plays the acoustic guitar with a fury akin  to a hurricane. His passion for traditional psychedelia inspires the electric country vibes of his 2017 album Turmoil and Tinfoil, on which Strings echoes tradition, then tears into it with his own zeal. At age […]

ARTS Pick: Tonia Ray and the T Ray Band

Vocalist Tonia Ray and the T Ray Band bring joy to the season during An Evening of Neo-Soul. With a range of influences from jazz, funk, hip-hop, and electronic to pop, fusion, and African music, the group promises a high-energy set of holiday-themed favorites that will get you moving, while helping others, at this benefit […]

ARTS Pick: Sarah White

Sarah White had a banner year with the release of a new album, High Flyer, in August that included a duet with Dave Matthews, caught the attention of Rolling Stone, and spurred a round of festival appearances. In planning her 15th annual Sarah White’s Country Christmas, the songstress says to expect the usual non-traditional holiday […]

ARTS Pick: Nutcracker

When young Clara’s beloved godfather brings her a peculiar Christmas gift, the simple act of holiday spirit inspires a midnight war on mice, and a journey to alternate realms. Charlottesville Ballet’s Nutcracker is magical and enthralling, as it follows Clara and her wooden friend—now a mysterious prince—deep into the Land of Snowflakes and Sweets to […]