ARTS Pick: Cody Purvis

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 […]

ARTS Picks: Elvis & Bowie Birthday Bash

“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 […]

First Fridays: January 5

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 […]

Clocking in with math rockers Fanciful Animals

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, […]

A slow tumble down the local music rabbit hole

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 […]

Book marks: A year of reading local authors

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 […]

Movie review: The Shape of Water flows around distractions

You can always tell the parts of a film that directors feel personally attached to by what hits the viewer on an emotional level—and what doesn’t make sense on any level. With The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro transports us to a world where love between two outcasts—a woman and a misunderstood amphibious man-fish […]

ARTS Pick: New Year’s Eve bashes

Sunday, December 31 C-VILLE’s Big Night with casino, dance floor, food, drink and a midnight toast $75, 8pm. 21-plus. Carver Rec Center, 233 Fourth St. NW. c-villetickets.com. First Night Virginia’s 36th annual festival of the arts with family-friendly activities on and around the Downtown Mall $6-38, times and venues vary. Schedule at firstnightva.org. Nelson County […]

ARTS Pick: Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew is a play within a play that centers on a dysfunctional courtship (defined as misogynistic by modern standards), where subordinate female behavior from leading lady Katherina outsmarts psychological torture by her male suitor, Petruchio, all in the name of comedic farce. Friday, December 29 & Sunday, December 31. $29-54, times vary. American Shakespeare […]