A kind of magic: After years of playing professionally in other people’s jazz bands, Mike Silverman, aka That 1 Guy, was frustrated by the instruments and touring schedules that stopped him from making all the rhythms and harmonies he dreamed about. That’s when he started making his own original instruments and formed his unique one-man […]
A kind of magic: After years of playing professionally in other people’s jazz bands, Mike Silverman, aka That 1 Guy, was frustrated by the instruments and touring schedules that stopped him from making all the rhythms and harmonies he dreamed about. That’s when he started making his own original instruments and formed his unique one-man […]
When two similar movies are made in close proximity, they are often described as “twin films.” Think Armageddon and Deep Impact, The Prestige and The Illusionist, and now Smallfoot and Abominable. The worst thing they can do is give you déjà vu, like you’ve seen this story before. The best is blaze a totally different […]
Fatal thaws: The decision to bring a child into the modern world, with its escalating climate change and varying degrees of global unrest, is the foundation of Duncan Macmillan’s smart, funny drama Lungs. Set on a bare stage, the play unfolds through a heart-to-heart talk between partners who debate with ferocity and vulnerability the pros […]
Way to go-go: Grammy-winning, roof-shaking, innovating rapper WALE grew up in Northwest Washington, D.C., in the 1980s, in the heart of the go-go music scene. WALE says go-go “made me the man that I am today, and I will never let it go.” You can hear it in his platinum-selling records, like 2011’s Lotus Flower […]
When Ebony Groove posted some old photos to its Facebook page in 2009, the comments came quickly. “Can we get a reunion please?!” “OMG what memories.” “Damn, now this brings back the real good ole days, cats!” “How about a reunion concert?” “You know I will be there if there’s a reunion!!!!” The band had […]
Quiet time: Electric violinist and composer David Schulman has several soundtracks to his credit including NPR’s “The Big Listen,” and APM’s “Spectacular Failures.” He is a frequent collaborator with modern dance companies and museum programs, and his extensive musical training has led him to explore and preserve the traditions of charanga and mambo. The Charlottesville […]
Oscar buzz abounds among the spotlight films screening at the 32nd Annual Virginia Film Festival, from the opening night feature, Just Mercy, starring Michael B. Jordan, to writer-director Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story with Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda and Ray Liotta. VAFF Director and UVA Vice Provost for the Arts Jody Kielbasa […]
Twenty-two years. That’s how long Heron & Crane’s first record, Firesides, has been in the works, whether or not Travis Kokas and Dave Gibson were aware of it. Kokas and Gibson met at a sparsely attended rock show in 1997, while both were students at Ohio State University in Columbus. They got to talking and […]
Devilish details: While it has the best-loved components of most festivals—an extensive list of craft beer offerings and a groovy live music lineup (this one includes CAAMP, Ona, Larry Keel Explosion, Indecision, Gold Top County Ramblers, and Sarah White)—Hoopla goes beyond the party standards to bring all ages together for adventures between sets. A fun […]
Meditative, introspective, and gorgeously executed, Ad Astra is an art film in a blockbuster’s clothing. Behind the hard science fiction, the predictions of how the next generation of space travel will look and operate, and even moon shootouts and space chimp battles are deep ruminations on anger, masculinity, and transference of toxicity from one generation […]