Dave Kannensohn was about to schedule a gig for May 4th when his musical partner, guitarist Peter Richardson, said, “Maybe you better leave that date open.” That’s because Richardson and drummer Drex Weaver had already made some plans to celebrate Kannensohn’s 92nd birthday. The festivities will be held at Saxx on Friday, May 4th, where […]

Springtime is a time of birth and renewal. When goats kid and horses foal. It is also the time of year when new CDs start popping up around town. And like children, CDs always have interesting stories of gestation and labor. They closely resemble you. You can love them and hate them at the same […]

Albemarle High School sophomore Ryan Grant does not drink alcohol, smoke dope or have promiscuous sex. And his decision to live that straight-edge life has been inspired by music—good loud, fast, hard music.

Walk into Stacy’s Music Shop in Rio Hill Shopping Center and you will see a shop full of guitars and drums, and hear the tapping of an aspiring drummer getting a lesson in the back. But you will also see many photos on the wall of a Charlottesville era long past. Shep Stacy’s grandfather, Carl […]

The members of the Free Bridge Quintet are well known by jazz fans around town. The band is made up of the much-esteemed players from the McIntire Department of Music’s jazz quintet-in-residence. But if you have never been out to hear one of their fine performances at Cabell Hall, you can catch the Quintet this […]

You got to give it to Jon Thompson. Dreaming Isabelle’s lead guitarist and singer goes after what he wants. He was a walk-on from Wise High School to the UVA football team and got to play linebacker alongside Darryl Blackstock and Aaron Brooks.

If you caught the Beetnix show at Starr Hill last weekend, you got to see an opener who is very much affiliated with the group. The Supreme Council features turntablist DJ B-Easy, and rappers Scheem and Anonamys.

Joe Garnett grew up here in town, and he played music with bassist Steve Riggs in junior high school. He took time off from playing the drums later in life, but he worked as a woodworker, and five years ago he decided to experiment making a set of drums. Joe Garnett builds drums only as […]

Dave Matthews’ place behind the bar at Miller’s is not the only draw for musicians to Charlottesville. In 2003, rocker Zaba Grace (www.zabagrace.com) moved here from Toledo, Ohio, to work with sometime DMB engineer Chris Kress.  Grace credits Debbie Gibson as an influence. “I dreamed when I was 12 of putting something together that sounded […]

I once played in a band where members lived in Virginia, Baltimore and New Orleans. The long distance relationship may be hard, but it can be done. Adam Smith of Truman Sparks (www.myspace.com/trmnsprx) has been figuring out where he wants to live. He recently checked out Philadelphia, where former locals The Extraordinaires have found a […]