She’s a six-time Grammy nominee who’s coming off a buzzy cinematic debut playing Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. So why isn’t Yola, who’ll take the Jefferson Theater stage with her band on September 17, a household name? A few answers come to mind when talking to the self-proclaimed “genre-fluid” British songstress. First, she’s […]
Who is the Pie Guy? In a sense, it’s Keith Groomes who’s always been destined for the role. Groomes started working with the original Pie Guy, Justin Bagley, in 2015. Bagley then sold the business—at the time a well-known food cart on the farmers’ market, festival and Downtown Mall lunch circuits—to cattleman Rob Harrison. Harrison […]
When you’re ready to upgrade your downriver rambling, proceed directly to the James River Batteau Co. “This is the Cadillac tour of the James River,” Company co-founder Will Smith says. “If you want to float with a big bunch of friends, this is the most comfortable way to go.” Batteaux (batteau’s Francofied plural) are flat-bottomed […]
When Edgar Lara moved to Charlottesville 10 years ago, he soon learned two things. One, the Latinx community was isolated. Two, a tiny, brand new local organization, Sin Barreras, was on a mission to change that. Lara, now the organization’s executive director, first connected with Sin Barreras and founder Fanny Smedile at its flagship event, […]
Ramona Martinez began writing songs when she was 15 years old. Then, she stopped. Now, 15 years later, she’s back to penning tunes—this time in cavalcades. She’s written more than 20 songs in less than a year. And she’s unapologetic about her mission: “Country music stardom is my goal,” she says. Martinez, a former NPR […]
Gwen Cassady speaks like she works: In many directions, all at once. She’s built her a professional life around countless nonprofit and for-profit projects, and she’s overcome much to get there. Abused and trafficked by her mother and others as a child, and later driven into homelessness multiple times, Cassady spoke with C-VILLE in early […]
Alex Bryant is not even 30 years old, and being named Ix Art Park Foundation executive director in January was only the latest milestone along his ascent to local leadership. Bryant joined the Charlottesville community in 2011, enrolling at UVA as an engineering student. He switched to music when an advisor told him to do […]
The tiny house craze may have tempered a touch, but in the right application, downscale domiciles can still bring it big time. Crozet-based John and Lori O’Connor contracted with Charlottesville Area Builders to construct a new farmhouse several years ago. They didn’t plan to add a guest house but came to the idea as an […]
For an artist moving to Charlottesville from the West Coast, dashed urban hopes led to a near-downtown dream renovation. The homeowner quickly learned the loft-style living and working space she wanted wasn’t currently available, but she says she got lucky. She found a single-family home on Lexington Avenue that had already undergone a modern renovation […]
L ifelong thespian Ti Ames was never comfortable with their casting. First, as an African American, Ames was long frustrated never to be cast in Black roles. There just weren’t all that many to cast, Ames says, and “unless you are told otherwise, you are playing a white character.” Second, as a young person still […]