The music of Daniel Bachman is known as American primitive guitar, but some may consider that a misnomer. The complex, plucked arrangements distinctive to the Fredericksburg native are anything but simple. Many of his songs stretch past the 10-minute mark, and some are entirely instrumental. With any other musician, leaving your voice out of your […]
Overcoming injuries, battling “drinking issues” and months at a time on the road would change, possibly derail, most bands. But Sons of Bill put its collective heart on its sleeve and used these challenges to craft its newest album, Oh God Ma’am. Released in June, the record shows an increased maturity in the band’s sound, […]
Founded in 2011, Gorilla Theater stresses the troupe’s efforts at comprehensive inclusion, and with Summer Shorts 2018, that quest includes UVA students. In this production, the theater’s core players work together with student performers and directors to put on shows ranging from the whimsical to the surreal to the intensely dramatic. Through Sunday, August 5. […]
Rob Cheatham is an ideal modern country artist—his twang echoes the sounds that currently dominate the genre, while his lyrics harken to the storytelling abilities of forebears like Willie Nelson or Merle Haggard and cover topics such as love, be it unrequited or shared, and hard drinking as a remedy for life’s ills. He shares […]
By Jonathan Haynes The Jefferson-Madison Regional Library was the unexpected beneficiary of a nearly $1 million bequest from one of its Friends of the Library Endowment Fund patrons earlier this year. The donation came from the estate of Nancy Swygert. Despite the large sum, Swygert and her husband lived a frugal life, never having children […]
By Sam Padgett As a lifelong Virginian, it’s hard to be surprised by the versatility of bacon. The meaty treat is used like salt around here—it sneaks its way into almost any dish. I’ve even found it in one of my all-time favorite dishes, shrimp and grits, a dish that by its very name precludes […]
By Sashank Sankar For most of us, we never think about synchronized swimming outside of the Summer Olympics, when we watch in amazement as swimmers dive, kick and pose in perfect unison. But for Samantha Elhart, synchronized swimming is more than just a passing interest—it’s her passion. Elhart started swimming in high school and pursued […]
Infighting implodes council The hiring of an interim city manager, an event that usually takes place behind closed doors, has become heated and public, with reports of shouting at a July 20 closed City Council session. Mayor Nikuyah Walker has gone on Facebook Live twice to express her concerns that the process is part of […]
Alternately imagined as a musical, Disney film and an opera, Into the Woods is itself a reimagining of classic Brothers Grimm stories and other fairy tales. Charlottesville Opera pulls together performers from Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic to play characters like Cinderella, the Wolf and the Witch. The lives and problems […]
What if Dr. Frankenstein’s kid didn’t want to continue the family business? That’s the question posed in Young Frankenstein, the stage adaptation of the campy Mel Brooks classic film of the same name. Join Frederick “Fronk-en-steen” and his trusty assistant “Eye-gore,” who convinces the scientist to go a little mad and create the famed monster. […]