Soulful storytelling steals the show when Oklahoma native Parker Milsap takes the stage with his unique blend of rock, country, blues and whatever genre you think Tom Waits plays. At age 21 this ambitious Americana musician has come a long way from the fire-and-brimstone preaching of his religious childhood and he’s already racking up critical praise and award nominations […]
Power. We know it when we feel it. Sometimes it’s a server who dawdles while taking our order when we’re starving. Or, on a grander scale, it’s the people who hire and fire, who make the decisions that affect people’s lives, both for good or ill, and in at least a couple of cases, even […]
Chilly reception “Coming Soon” reads a sign that takes up an entire storefront window in the vacant spot next to Splendora’s. It’s a sign for Kilwins—a national ice cream, chocolate and fudge chain—that will be arriving this fall on the Downtown Mall. Kilwins is a “three-legged stool of confections, chocolate and ice cream,” says Steve […]
When it comes to the optimism and social justice that fills many folk songs, you might think “easier said than done.” Get ready to buy in when Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter and folk rock’s Indigo Girls team up for an intimate acoustic show benefiting the Charlottesville Free Clinic. Carpenter’s country-tinged vocals have charmed […]
So you missed the boat on seeing The Beatles live by about 40 years? There’s hope for your bucket list yet. Paul McCartney’s bafflingly active tour schedule shows no signs of slowing down. Responsible for Fab Four hits like “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Eleanor Rigby,” this 72-year-old knighted British composer and multi-instrumentalist has kept […]
For a city its size, Charlottesville has a truly amazing collection of world-class statuary. Standing at Court Square and two nearby parks, bookending West Main Street and of course liberally sprinkled across the UVA Grounds, they remind passersby of the Old Dominion’s leaders and heroes. Four in particular—of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. […]
So long, farewell Fellini’s #9 will soon change hands, but current and new owners agree that, in this case, it’s definitely out with the old and in with the old. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” says the new face of Fellini’s, Justin Butler. He is the director of operations for MJR Enterprises—an independently […]
Elated confusion seems to be a common reaction for most people after a KaiL Baxley performance. The Williston-Elko, South Carolina native shares more than a hometown with soul legend James Brown. The two had a strange and improbable friendship throughout Baxley’s childhood that undoubtedly influenced his current path. It may have inspired Baxley to forgo […]
As a teenager in Bhutan, Tashi Dorji’s access to media was heavily restricted, and some of his first musical influences came via shortwave radio and bootleg cassettes. After moving to America in 2000, the improvisational guitarist’s musical horizons broadened immensely, and Dorji discovered the music of Albert Ayler, John Zorn and Derek Bailey, who serve […]
If Echosmith and Mumford & Sons had a love child in Baraboo, Wisconsin, the sextet PHOX would be the result of their union. The band operates like a family, living together and creating most of its music—coffee shop folk acoustic swirled into a chaotic mix of rock, psychedelic and soul—within the comfort of home. Lyrically, […]