Strumming the heartstrings
One night last year, I was standing backstage at The Gravity Lounge listening to Paul Curreri and Devon Sproule together on stage.
Radio days are always here
In 1957, UVA engineering student Rowland Johnson spent part of his honeymoon delivering, in a rented truck and with the help of his groomsmen, a four-ton World War II Navy surplus radio transmitter from Washington D.C. to Charlottesville. That sort of dedication is exactly what has sustained volunteer radio at WTJU (www.wtju.radio.virginia.edu) for the last […]
The great unknown
Lots of great out-of-town bands will stop in town in the next couple weeks, with Yo La Tengo (www.yolatengo.com) and Jonathan Richman at Starr Hill, as well as SH presenting Jeff Tweedy (www.wilcoworld.net) at The Paramount Theater. MV and EE can sound like the Flaming Lips or the Velvet Underground or just their own bad-ass […]
Whole lot of love
Yo La Tengo has been through town a number of times now since the late 1980s, and for one member, James McNew, the upcoming Charlottesville gig is a sort of homecoming. Did The University bring him here, I asked? “Oh God, no!”
Nothing to be blue about
If the first week of 2007 has given you the blues, you are in luck. Eli Cook (www.elicook.com) and his trio will release their new CD, Electric Holy Fire Water, on January 27 at Uncle Charlie’s in Crozet. The disc was recorded at Sound of Music in Richmond, and Cook says that Richmond-based metal band […]
Slate Hill Phil, RIP
“Slate Hill” Phil Gianniny seemed like a fixture busking on the Downtown Mall. A couple of weekends ago, in his usual spot in front of The Paramount Theater, there was a poinsettia and a note that said, “We love you Phil.” Gianniny died on December 23 at the age of 31, and the turnout at […]
Let’s get digital
He is equally at home quoting Judas Priest and Andres Segovia. As for the name, which people confuse with the folk singer from Iowa, he says, “Well, it is my damn name too.” Greg Brown grew up in New Jersey, and moved to south Florida as a kid.
Sons of Bill
music It was the first time in a long time that felt like the presence of a “scene,” like Trax ’92 or The Hogwallers ’99. The Sons of Bill, who played their first ever gig one year ago opening for Monticello Road, used the holidays to their advantage for their anniversary show at Starr Hill […]
The long and winding road
First Night Virginia celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and along with great regular acts like Abbey Road, Jay and Morwenna and Uncle Henry’s Favorites, this will be the first year that First Night sponsors a parade through Downtown. Craig Green’s Common Ground Chorus is modeled on Ubuntu: a belief that singing in harmony celebrates […]
All I want
The presents are all wrapped and under the tree. You still have time to go out and hear some music. At the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Sarah White