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 […]
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 […]
Blacksmithing is an ancient craft, but metalworker Edward Pelton has carved out a modern niche during his three decades in the studio. Pelton Metalworks produces architectural sculpture ranging from the functional to the ornate for contractors and designers, homeowners, and art aficionados. Pelton, who lives in the Charlottesville-area home where he grew up, recently spoke […]
Will Overman didn’t want to write a breakup album. But following a divorce, the singer-songwriter approached his latest record as a man rediscovering himself—again. On November 16, Overman will play an album release show for Stranger, his second LP as a solo artist, at the Southern Café & Music Hall. Nine and a half years […]
Turn on Erynn McLeod’s debut EP, Man of the House, and the first thing you’re likely to hear is a clear musical theater influence—the cabaret crooning, the overt metaphor, the complex characters, the ebb and flow of emotion. That’s all by design, the Charlottesville resident and Front Porch music teacher says. Growing up in New […]
If you’ve never heard of music industry legend Don Was, don’t beat yourself up. Born Don Edward Fagenson, Was has been making music for nearly 50 years. But until now, he’s never released a record under his own name. He has produced music for The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Ringo Starr. He’s played bass […]
UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy hosted its first Democracy360 event during what seemed like a politically charged time. It was fall 2023, and the ever-lengthening presidential election cycle was ramping up for a 2024 showdown between the Dem incumbent and GOP nominee. Democrats were still hopeful about President Joe Biden’s prospects in the coming election. […]
Ryan Calonder has a simple vision for something that’s become a sprawling enterprise: a music festival, but limited to two days and featuring nothing but bands from Charlottesville proper. “From where I’m standing, this town has so much good, original music coming out of it,” he says. “But over the last 10 years or so, […]