In movies, as in life, it was quite a year of highs and lows. These are our favorite films of 2017. Get Out As social commentary, as a horror movie that connected with an incredible amount of people, as a directorial debut for Jordan Peele—any way you look at it, Get Out was a huge […]
In movies, as in life, it was quite a year of highs and lows. These are our favorite films of 2017. Get Out As social commentary, as a horror movie that connected with an incredible amount of people, as a directorial debut for Jordan Peele—any way you look at it, Get Out was a huge […]
Taking a break from his frontman duties with The Nice Jenkins and Gunchux, Rob Cheatham caught some airwaves in 2016 with his country-Americana song, “Heaven Don’t Take No Losers,” from his solo album Colors. The C’ville-based musician currently gigs with a talented pool of locals under Rob Cheatham and Company while frequenting the stages of […]
Showgirls and show makers gather to pay tribute to their theatrical past in Follies, a Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman musical that magnifies its characters’ dreams and illusions through emotional reminiscences. The play had a contemporary setting when it opened on Broadway in 1971, went on to win seven Tony Awards, and ran for more […]
Charlottesville native Cody Purvis wanted to join the legends of country music for as long as he can remember. He survived on karaoke and singing contests through his middle school and teenage years, then hit the road for Nashville to make a name for himself in “real country” music. At 22, he’s already performed on […]
“Elvis is a major hero of mine,” said David Bowie in 1996, according to The Ziggy Stardust Companion website. “I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him actually meant something.” And rumor has it that Elvis Presley was impressed by Bowie as well. Country star Dwight Yoakam claims that […]
As a painter, I’m always looking for the state of surprise and enchantment,” says Martha Saunders, whose “Transmutations” show is on view at Chroma Projects Gallery this month. Most of the paintings in the show will come from Saunders’ decade-long project Reading Series, a rumination on how the human system digests information. The series “started […]
Fanciful Animals songs often begin the same way most rock songs do: with a riff. While jamming during band practice a while back, Will Ashby picked out a riff on his guitar and it sounded unusually cool. “Play that again,” said bassist Ryan Marley Grant, and so Ashby did, over and over and over again, […]
Des Demonas Des Demonas (In the Red) I’m not a subscriber to the “worst times spawn the best punk” school of thought—after all, times are always bad on some level—and perhaps because the underlying rot has always smelled the worst in the nation’s capital, great punk has always come out of D.C., no matter who’s […]
Unranked and surely incomplete, here’s an alphabetical list of what Charlottesville-area artists released this year. It’s longer than last year’s, and based on interviews and conversations with many of these artists, I suspect it’s because the past year hangs heavy in our hearts. And so, we have music to sustain us, whether we make it […]
There’s no denying it: Charlottesville is a wordsmith-rich town. Whether you’re looking for a page-turner for the beach, autumnal meditations in the form of poetry, or a fireside companion for a winter’s night, there are enough local writers publishing books each year to keep your shelves well-stocked. Here are some of the titles published by […]