ARTS Pick: Rodrigo y Gabriela

Acoustic ascent: The 20-year career of Rodrigo y Gabriela has played out as deftly as the acoustic rock duo’s music. Meeting in Mexico as teenagers, Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero became a couple and formed a rock band. After growing frustrated with local opportunities, they took up residency in Dublin, Ireland, where they perfected their […]

ARTS Pick: Dr. Coincidence’s Song and Dance Show

No happy accidents: Dr. Bernie Beitman’s 2016 book, Connecting With Coincidence, throws science at the notion that surprise happenings in our lives are not entirely by chance. Dr. Coincidence’s Song and Dance Show takes that thinking to the stage, where personal stories of serendipity come alive through, well, song and dance. Beitman is joined by […]

Album reviews: Boogarins, Bill MacKay, Carmen Villain, and Faye Webster

Boogarins Sombrou Dúvida (LAB 344) Brazilian band Boogarins is back with more heady psychedelia, adding a little bap to the mix this time. If the Google translations are on point, Dinho Almeida is repeatedly counseling us to eschew tradition, explore life, embrace fear, etc. Ironically, his vocals never leave their sleepwalk-serenade comfort zone, while shred-capable […]

MHS drama teacher Madeline Michel wins a Tony Award by investing in students

Madeline Michel sits on one of the couches lining her classroom, balancing a sparkly gold laptop on her knees as she tells two students about being summoned to the Monticello High School principal’s office. Principal Rick Vrhovac called her in for a “meeting,” she says, her voice slightly sarcastic as she makes air quotes, “about […]

Godzilla: King of the Monsters stomps previous beasts

As other non-Marvel cinematic universes either crumble (Dark Universe), or limp along on life support between occasional jolts of excitement (DCEU), the MonsterVerse has been slowly gaining momentum like a long-dormant giant. It started in 2014 with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, a technically solid monster flick with excellent creature design that was unfortunately more invested in […]

F.U.C.C. show at McGuffey focuses on women’s experiences

On view at McGuffey Art Center this month is “Women’s Work,” an exhibition featuring 18 artists who belong to the Feminist Union of Charlottesville Creatives, or F.U.C.C. Sculptor Lily Erb and painter Sam Gray founded the group in 2017 with the “hope to create space and opportunities for female and gender-queer artists to share their […]

Healing artistry: Electro-pop project The Near Misses finds beauty in pain

The Pie Chest is a strange place to talk about trauma. Its abundant natural light and mom-and-pop feel don’t lend themselves to discussing the details of near-death experiences—stories that include a failed suicide attempt and a catastrophic German blitz, dating from World War II. But this was the location chosen by Jennifer Tidwell and Paige […]

Dancer’s journey: The White Crow stays en pointe with no distractions

The 1961 defection of Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev in Paris sent shockwaves through the artistic and political worlds—both East and West. The USSR was embarrassed that such a prominent figure slipped through its grasp, while the rest of the world now had the privilege of witnessing the raw, unencumbered, uncensored talents of one world’s […]

ARTS Pick: Matthew Shipp Trio

Jazz age: At 60, jazz pianist Matthew Shipp is still innovating, even while contemplating a career slowdown. Known for his slick improvisations, the veteran is joined by peers from New York City’s modern jazz scene on a tour to celebrate the new release, Signature, by the Matthew Shipp Trio. Downbeat Magazine calls Shipp “the connection […]