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 […]

Mapping inequality: Innovative project will track housing discrimination

By Jonathan Haynes “If you look at Charlottesville in-depth, you see racial disparities at every juncture,” says local freelance journalist and C-VILLE contributor Jordy Yager. “Health care disparities, disparities at police encounters, employment.” For his latest project, he will trace inequality in the Charlottesville area. “I started thinking about how people get to where they […]

In brief: City complaint app, UVA sexits, bus fires and more

Got a complaint? The city has an app for that. MyCville. Ever heard of it? We hadn’t, either, until the city encouraged residents to digitally report their delinquent neighbors who hadn’t shoveled sidewalks following the recent dumping of about a foot of snow on Charlottesville. There’s nothing like a (mostly) unexpected snowstorm to put the […]

ARTS Pick: Lone Rangers ’80s Rewind

Hot stuff: It’s a great time of year to ward off chilly winter nights with a cozy fire at home—or how about a sizzling evening of ’80s cover tunes by party band the Lone Rangers. The evening’s proceeds will benefit Market Central, an organization that connects local food to local people. Saturday 12/15 $5, 8pm. IX Art […]

ARTS Pick: Ryley Walker

Pity party playlist: Chicago indie musician Ryley Walker (right) brings sand to the beach when he arrives to play from his latest release—a full cover of the unreleased Dave Matthews Band album The Lillywhite Sessions. The recordings gained cult status after getting shelved by the band in 2001 for being full of “sad bastard songs” (according […]

ARTS Pick: Christmas at the Paramount

With joyful ring: Michael Slon conducts a 90-person chorus for Christmas at the Paramount, which features traditional holiday music and selections from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat. One of Bach’s most popular works, it celebrates the season through an uplifting expression of joy and humility. Children’s Choir of Central Virginia and the First Presbyterian Church Handbell Ensemble […]

ARTS Pick: Dave Matthews Band

Home stretch: Charlottesville’s history is built on many difficult stories, but the formation of the Dave Matthews Band is one of our city’s happy tropes. Formed in 1991 by the band’s namesake, the group quickly emerged from gigs on the jazz bar scene to weekly sell-outs at Trax nightclub. The band’s national fame escalated quickly, with […]