Behind the masks: Jason McLeod Jewelry updates its inventory for 2020

Jason McLeod’s artisan jewelry career path was informed by car crashes. Back in the early aughts, McLeod was living in Oakland, California, and running an advertising and graphic design business when a pair of back-to-back fender benders laid him up long-term in the hospital. He needed something to fill the hours, and “I just started […]

Local expression: The native network of singer-songwriter Nathan Colberg

Since childhood, Nathan Colberg has nurtured the same, secret dream. It’s one shared by many born-and-bred Charlottesville musicians, but few ever see it realized. On February 28, Colberg, along with fellow local acts Grant Frazier and Spudnik, will take the stage at The Jefferson Theater. “It’s going to be new territory for everyone on the […]

Alternative rock: WTJU and UVA Drama collaborate on a wacky new audio drama

Imagine that an enormous, totally round rock has suddenly appeared in Charlottesville. How would people react? Would the rock be considered a threat, a sign from God, or both? Replace Charlottesville with the fictional Elkisbourne, and you’ve got “The Perfectly Circular Rock,” a new podcast produced by WTJU and UVA’s drama department. Early one morning, […]

Healing artistry: Electro-pop project The Near Misses finds beauty in pain

The Pie Chest is a strange place to talk about trauma. Its abundant natural light and mom-and-pop feel don’t lend themselves to discussing the details of near-death experiences—stories that include a failed suicide attempt and a catastrophic German blitz, dating from World War II. But this was the location chosen by Jennifer Tidwell and Paige […]

Hemings as heroine: Experimental opera explores the life of Jefferson’s mistress

The word “opera” sometimes comes with some preconceived notions attached. It might bring to mind complex stories fraught with drama and murder, created by long-dead composers. Unless you’re intimately familiar with the art form, it may also seem less than relevant to modern society, a type of entertainment that belongs to previous generations. Such an […]