The Barton Springs Pool in Austin, Texas, attracted more visitors last year than it had during any year in the previous decade. The storied natural swimming area with a view of downtown Austin drew nearly 1 million aquaphiles in 2025, up from the shallows of 2020, when 300,000 or so defied the pandemic to take […]
Birdwood Mansion opened its doors as a boutique, seven-room hotel on June 11. It was the culmination of a project nearly 18 months in the making for a property with history dating back to the early 1800s. The mansion was built between 1819 and 1830 and reflected Jeffersonian ideals: a four-over-four brick structure fronted by […]
The Glass Building on the railroad tracks downtown was home to breakfast joints for more than two decades, most notably during Bluegrass Grill & Bakery’s storied 19-year run. In early May, the folks behind Aster unveiled the former greasy spoon as a modern, upscale dining room and kitchen. Aster bills itself as a “restaurant designed […]
Susannah Vierra and her family didn’t have a small kitchen. Some might’ve called it a large kitchen. But the space wasn’t as functional as it could have been, and just behind the wall across from the sink was an unnecessarily expansive laundry room. Vierra is the first to admit she didn’t have all the answers […]
The Hark family started having folks over to try their award-winning wines in the fall of 2019. The only problem was, they couldn’t invite anyone inside. At the time, Hark Vineyards was growing grapes on a 70-acre parcel and making its estate wines out of an 8,500-square-foot production facility. Aaron and Candi Hark, working with […]
Jason Pollock sits down for an interview in clothes that wouldn’t have looked out of place when he was the lead guitarist for ’90s rock band Seven Mary Three–gray graphic tee, layered with a worn black hoodie and a flannel. It’s easy to forget that Pollock left the spotlight of that platinum-selling quartet more than […]
Speakers at the 2026 Tom Tom Festival have had six months to mull this year’s aspirational central theme: Courage. And mull it they have. Ahead of the festival—which runs April 22 to April 26 and will draw more than 27,000 attendees to various downtown Charlottesville venues for talks, music, dancing, food, and more—contributors ranging from […]
Johnny Sportcoat & The Casuals finished soundcheck at the Carolinian in Nags Head, North Carolina, and headed to their dressing room to relax. The Charlottesville-based rock quintet left behind their sound man, Chris Munson, to make a few more adjustments. While Munson set to work, the club’s PA system remained on, and that spelled trouble […]
It came as no surprise when Chris Kelly told his parents he wanted to attend Vanderbilt University. Sure, Vandy’s a great school. But the subtext was clear: Kelly, the son of two accomplished local musicians and a serial band leader during his four years at Monticello High School, was a natural fit for the biggest […]
It’s a scene out of a Stanley Kubrick film. You’re blindfolded and led into a room you’ve likely never seen before. A silent usher takes you to a seat where you’ll remain for the next hour with only your ears to guide you. Musicians take up their instruments and begin to play. There is no […]