Pick: Albemarle County Fair

Step right up: Get your pies and pickles ready, it’s Albemarle County Fair time. The three-day pastoral affair features a food truck lineup and live music from Baby Jo’s, Black Hollow Band, and The Virginia Ramblers. Virginia makers compete for blue ribbons in agricultural categories that include fruit and vegetable recipes, homebrews, wine, honey, and […]

Pick: Theese Folks Crazy

When you get the giggles: Laugh along with Theese Folks Crazy, a comedy special from Kerwin Claiborne. The Mississippi-raised comedian studied his heroes Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, and Tyler Perry to create the personalities of Ms. Mary, Uncle Leroy, and Miss Keisha. Claiborne’s characters went viral by exaggerating everyday situations in skits such as “When […]

August Galleries

August Exhibitions Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library 170 McCormick Rd., UVA Grounds. “No Unity Without Justice” centers around the work of UVA students and Charlottesville community racial justice activists who organized demonstrations and events that resulted in significant anti-fascist victories in response to Charlottesville’s 2017 Summer of Hate. Curated by Kendall King, Jalane […]

Pick: The North Country

Rock around: When creating its 2022 EP Born at the Right Time (Exquisite Corpse), experimental pop collective The North Country had one rule—don’t be afraid to get weird. The group, led by frontman Andrew Grossman, is known for its colorful, raucous shows and compelling, collaborative songwriting, which it took to new heights during COVID-forced separation. […]

Pick: Dogwood Tales

Tale wagon: Shenandoah Valley natives Benjamin Ryan and Kyle Grim originally formed Dogwood Tales as a duo, but over time the roots band blossomed into a full ensemble. As the band grew, so did its music—going from acoustic, ghostly sparseness to robust harmonies and arrangements laden with pocket grooves, pedal steel, and Wurlitzer keys. Inspired […]

Pick: From the Jump

Taste test: Get to know an up-and-coming local brewery at From the Jump, a block party fundraiser for Neon Culture Brewing. Brew leader Corey Hoffman builds inclusion through craft beer, and is looking to be the first Black and minority-owned brewery in Charlottesville. Hoffman will be pouring up three brews, created in partnership with Decipher […]

Thinking water

By Matt Dhillon Water surrounds us. It’s in the sky, on the earth, and underground. About 60 percent of the human body is water and about 70 percent of the surface of the globe is water. On the bottom of the ocean, life can exist without air or light—but not without water. On land too, […]

Sound choices

Erin & The Wildfire Touchy Feely (self-released) It’s been five years since the Charlottesville-formed and now Richmond-based Erin & The Wildfire released a new album, and 2022 finds the group exploring the past through a new sound glittering with ’80s glam. As many pandemic era albums go, songwriting and collaborating for Touchy Feely was done […]