ARTS Pick: Twenty One Pilots

Why is Ohio-based duo Twenty One Pilots (below) so “Stressed Out?” The band—which has toured and built its audience since 2009—was named the biggest new act of 2016 by Rolling Stone, and has been sweeping up music awards with two tracks nominated for (a total of five) Grammys, including Record of the Year and Best […]

ARTS Pick: Daniel Szabo

Hungarian-born pianist Daniel Szabo trained at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest before attending the New England Conservatory of Music. Currently a faculty member at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, Szabo focuses on film scoring, jazz composition and his own recordings, including his latest, A Song From There. Robert Jospé joins the […]

ARTS Pick: Chris Alan

Chris Alan has opened for some of the biggest names in comedy, including Amy Schumer, Sasheer Zamata and Kyle Kinane, and his jokes about everything from bathroom farts to hummus and black men driving Priuses keep audiences in stitches. He takes the top billing in the LYAO Comedy Showcase hosted by Kenn Edwards and featuring […]

In brief: Tim Kaine drops by, Dish drops Newsplex and more

Kaine’s campaign continues Fresh on the heels of an unsuccessful run for vice president, Senator Tim Kaine was in Charlottesville January 13 at UVA’s Claude Moore Medical Education Building for a town hall with med students on the Affordable Care Act, which faces repeal by the GOP in Congress. Kaine on health care under Donald […]

ARTS Pick: Fulton Ave.

Heavy-rock band Fulton Ave. was formed around the desire to channel some aggressive energy into the region’s music scene. Fronted by vocalist Kim Dylla (formerly Vulvatron in GWAR), the band describes its intensity as “straightforward riffs, a crushing rhythm section, haunting melodies and lyrics that scream far past obscene.” The Smell of Death and VAtallica open. […]

ARTS Pick: Seth Swingle

It’s not every day that we have the opportunity to witness a master of the kora, a lute-like harp formed with cowskin stretched over half of a large gourd. After a Fulbright scholarship sent Seth Swingle to Mali, he spent years mastering the unique instrument, capable of producing mesmerizing bass lines and harmonies. In addition, […]

In brief: 5-star dreams, bathroom fears and more

Unlike NC… Governor Terry McAuliffe signs an executive order at UVA January 5 that prohibits state contractors from discriminating against gay and transgender people, and notes that the Tar Heel State has lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of its bathroom bill. Delegate Bob Marshall immediately filed a bill prohibiting such nondiscrimination. Lieutenant guv […]

ARTS Pick: Nabucco

John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice—artistic collaborations are special relationships with a dynamism that brings out the best in two people. Lesser-known in the mainstream, but just as prolific as the greats, conductor James Levine and singer Plácido Domingo recently surpassed 325 opera performances together. […]

ARTS Pick: Wonky Tonk

Punk cowgirl Jasmine Poole blends traditional country music with a bit of alt-rock edginess and stages it under the name Wonky Tonk. With a claim on influences ranging from Loretta Lynn to Modest Mouse, the Kentucky gal bends the musical perceptions of her heritage, stating, “It’s hard to separate the wonk from the tonk. Nor […]

First Fridays: January 6

 Artist Caroline Nilsson says she is “fascinated by the idea of Eden as a place that is happening now, instead of this locked-away place that we may never be able to access.” Perhaps the only barrier between ourselves and paradise is how we perceive things, she says. In “Tides,” a series of semi-abstract paintings currently […]