Killer Queen: Rami Malek rocks Freddie Mercury biopic

It’s unfortunate that movies about exceptional people usually end up being so conventional. Queen was a band that defied expectations and broke down barriers, redefining what a rock band could be, and Freddie Mercury is not only one of history’s greatest frontmen but an icon for the alienated, particularly for LGBTQ fans. Bohemian Rhapsody, meanwhile, […]

Arts Pick: The Human Hands

Attention, folks: Sam Reider had little more than an accordion, a dream, and his senior year thesis as he drifted from gig to gig, doing research and transforming the American folk genre as he went. Reider settled down to make his first album, Too Hot to Sleep, with collaborative project The Human Hands, a group […]

ARTS Pick: Guster

Fan fare: Twenty-five years after Guster formed on the Tufts University campus, the band continues to evolve musically. From the acoustic melodies of 1995’s Parachute to the vibrating bass and hazy vocals of 2018’s “Hard Times,” the group has grown up while retaining its knack for stage humor and infectious melodies. The band announced a new, […]

Arts Pick: ARTCHO

Art stop and shop: Charlottesville’s creative community has much to show off year-round, but no one can see it all. ARTCHO makes an effort to cram lots of talent into one big festival, featuring 44 creators of all mediums, from the nautical fashion of Maxime Connor to Lori Jakubow’s brightly colored prints. Everything’s for sale, and […]

Changing the narrative: VAFF’s Light House Shorts to feature original film on black male achievement

By Adriana Wells arts@c-ville.com The Virginia Film Festival will screen an original documentary by four local young black men during its Light House Studio Shorts event. This past summer, Daniel Fairley II, the City of Charlottesville’s youth opportunity coordinator, sought to bring attention to the achievements of a number of black men in the Charlottesville […]

In a new documentary, UVA students and residents of a juvenile correctional facility connect through Russian literature

When the great classics of world literature were first being written, they were not meant for students or academics decades or centuries in the future. First and foremost, they were meant to foster a relationship between reader and writer. For Andrew Kaufman, who teaches Russian literature at the University of Virginia, that connection came to […]

First Fridays: November 2

In the early hours of February 1, John Borden Evans was out for his regular run through Walnut Creek Park when he paused to memorize the landscape before him. He noticed how the setting moon hung low and bright in the sky, how the moonlight radiated through striated clouds to bathe the mid-winter trees, grass, […]

Arts Pick: Frankenstein

Look alive: What better time to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s misunderstood monster than Halloween? Frankenstein received high-def attention in the filming of Danny Boyle’s adaptation at London’s National Theatre in 2011. In this electrifying resurrection, shown as part of the Live in HD series, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the infamous doctor and Jonny […]