ARTS Pick: Blue Highway

The three-way harmonies and tight musicianship of Blue Highway have earned it 25 IBMA Awards, six SPBGMA Awards, one Dove Award, and three Grammy nominations in the 20 years since the band formed in Kingsport, Tennessee. The group’s legacy has come full circle with the addition of its newest member, vocalist and resophonic guitarist Gary […]

Crazy good: Isabelle Huppert steals the show in Greta

It’s a thin line between glorious camp and total trainwreck, and Neil Jordan’s Greta may be the new gold standard for the former. A storyline that wouldn’t be out of place in a Lifetime original is elevated by the clear delight of Jordan, his crew, and the top-shelf cast bringing their collective pedigree together to […]

Jazzed up: Swing Into Spring is a show across generations

During his decades-long career as a National Geographic photographer, Bill Allard traveled the world and documented everything from India’s Untouchables and residents of the Marais in Paris to Montana cowboys and Easter week traditions in Peru. But for all of Allard’s adventures, there’s something the octogenarian, who’s also an accomplished musician, still longs to do: […]

ARTS Pick: BANFF Mountain Film Festival

Get the thrill of an outdoor adventure while staying warm and comfy at the BANFF Mountain Film Festival. Filmed in spectacular locations around the planet, BANFF’s lineup of impossible climbs, extreme bike rides, dramatic free falls, and environmental eye-openers, which range from five to 45 minutes in length, offers viewers a breathtaking journey from their […]

ARTS Pick: Sean McConnell

Growing up with musician parents made songwriting a natural part of life for Sean McConnell, who penned his first song at age 10. That one didn’t make it to the recording studio, but others he’s written have been put out by Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Meat Loaf, Jake Owen, Christina Aguilera, Buddy Miller, […]

ARTS Pick: Cinderella

Charlottesville Ballet’s Cinderella finds the fairy tale’s cast of characters lacing up their slippers for a production accompanied by Prokofiev’s famous score. Thirty professional artists from Charlottesville and around the world come together to dance through the classic romance filled with humor, hope, and love. Saturday, March 9. $20-75, 2 and 7pm. The Paramount Theater, […]

Rule of three: How many trios are in a Neave Trio concert? If you count the musical works—Rebecca Clarke’s Piano Trio; Amy Beach’s Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 150; and Louise Farrenc’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 33—you can count up to four for this one. Since forming in 2010, the chamber ensemble, […]

ARTS Pick: Tracy Howe, Rev. Sekou, and The Nashville Freedom Fighters

New trails: Tracy Howe’s social gospel soul album Things That Grow honors marginalized communities while celebrating beauty and resilience. Tracks like “Frack Me” and “Our Strength” are rallying cries against misogyny and predatory capitalism, and “Bury Me,” a protest song about white supremacy, has gained traction around the country. Howe is co-headlining with Rev. Sekou […]

ARTS Pick: Mojo Parker

Amped up: With his acoustic duo Parker & Gray, Staunton-based vocalist and guitarist Daniel Parker took home a first-place award for Best Solo/Duo in the River City Blues Society of Richmond’s Blues Challenge in 2017, and made the semifinals at the 2016 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. When Parker wants to plug in, he uses […]

March gallery shows

The first unit Francesca Grazioli’s American studies class tackled was one on the history of Confederate statues “and how they affect surrounding communities,” says the St. Anne’s-Belfield junior. Impressed by how her classmates engaged in these difficult conversations, “especially in the context of August 11 and 12 [2017]…I thought that their voices, along with all […]