Pick: Poetica

More than words: Poetic lyricism, creative ambition, and layered, lush production are alt-folk-pop artist Rachael Sage’s specialties. For two decades, Sage has steadily released over a dozen albums, winning awards and touring with an eclectic mix of artists in the process. Created in lockdown, her new band Poetica has a spoken-word album of the same […]

Pick: Fire Shut Up in My Bones

On fire: Growing up in rural Louisiana, journalist Charles Blow never imagined his life story would one day be portrayed on the world’s most popular opera stage. His memoir, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, a treacherous story of dysfunction and abuse, opened the 2021-22 Metropolitan Opera season. The adaptation by Grammy Award–winning jazz musician […]

Go ahead, bake our day

By Chris Martin Based on the astonishing number of bakers and bakeries in Charlottesville, the city appears to have a voracious appetite for carbs. A quick search on Google lists almost 30 area bakeries, cake spots, bagel makers, patisseries, and farmers’ market stands that offer a wide variety of floury treats. What follows is a […]

For kicks

By Julia Stumbaugh To the average Charlottesvillian, a pair of Jordans probably looks like sneakers. To local engineering student Mylz, they are one crafting knife and an airbrush away from a work of art. SpeedyCustomz, Mylz’s online shoe design and customization business, began with a permanent marker on a friend’s Vans, and evolved into elaborate […]

Pick: Masterchef

Joy of cooking: Are you a great cook and a fierce competitor? Can you handle having your culinary creations judged down to the smallest leaf of parsley? The immersive stage show MasterChef Live brings past MasterChef and MasterChef Junior contestants together to take on live cooking challenges and demonstrations—and its family-friendly, interactive format means the […]

Pick: Every Brilliant Thing

Center stage: Live Arts welcomes audiences back inside the theater with Every Brilliant Thing, a story about depression that’s both deeply touching and laugh-out-loud funny. After his mother attempts suicide, a 7-year-old boy writes her a list of all the things that make life worth living, from ice cream to Kung Fu movies. As he […]

Pick: The Four Seasons

Going for Baroque: For its 11th season, the ensemble Three Notch’d Road tackles Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, as well as a sampling of his solo pieces, using historically authentic Baroque instruments. Acclaimed violinist Aisslinn Nosky leads the ensemble, with Fiona Hughs and Natalie Kress on violin, Maureen Murchie on viola, Jeremy David […]

Pick: Asha Greer

About Asha: A quote on Asha Greer’s website reads, “Consider the purpose of life as living.” This says as much about Greer’s artistry as it does about her deeply spiritual pursuits. Charlottesville peers refer to Greer as a legend in the community, and say her humanity has touched lives around the planet. “Celebrating the Work […]

Pick: The O’Malley Gambit

Women’s world: Girls rule in Charlottesville Playwrights Collective’s presentation of The O’Malley Gambit. Local playwright Kate Monaghan weaves drama, power, and feminism into the story of a meeting between Ireland’s clan leader Grace O’Malley and England’s Queen Elizabeth in the late 1500s. What begins as a negotiation for the release of O’Malley’s son, imprisoned and […]

In brief: Police protests, chief resigns

Law students speak out against UVA police expansion Two weeks ago, the University Police Department announced the establishment of its  Community Oriented Police Squad (COPS), which will increase police presence on the Corner and surrounding areas. The move comes after a handful of violent incidents in the area, including an accidental gun discharge inside Boylan […]