A selection of local authors’ fall releases

As the weather starts to turn cool, now is a good time to find a book to curl up with on those chilly, overcast days. Local author releases this season offer a wide array of subjects from which to choose, such as history, fiction, psychology and memoir. Here are some highlights: Lisa Jakub, Not Just […]

ARTS Picks: Cville Pride Festival

All events, part of the Cville Pride Festival, take place at the Sprint Pavilion, 700 E. Main St. cvillepride.org Singer-Songwriter Showcase 1-2pm It takes a certain amount of moxie for a musician to get on stage, armed with only an acoustic guitar and a voice—no tricks, no smoke, no mirrors—and perform his or her own […]

The magical, emotional orbit of Sweet Tooth

On a recent weeknight, rainy and surprisingly chilly for early September, the four members of Sweet Tooth set up their instruments in the warm red and violet lights of the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. The venue’s small stage couldn’t contain Sweet Tooth—there’s a drum kit, a guitar, two amplifiers, four synthesizers, four microphones and a […]

ARTS Pick: Miss Gay Charlottesville Pride Pageant

Don your best duds and get in the spirit as Miss Dreama Belle and Bunny Nicole host the Miss Gay Charlottesville Pride Pageant as part of C’ville Pride Week. An all-ages crowd will witness the standout styles, cutting-edge cutouts and classic looks as female impersonators and transgender male-to-female contestants compete in several categories: creative pride […]

ARTS Pick: Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival

NPR describes Brooklyn Rider as “one of today’s most technically accomplished string quartets,” but the group is more than its technical abilities. In its willingness to perform both faithful renditions of classical pieces as well as original, genre-warping tunes, the accomplished foursome gives not one but three concerts during the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival. Its […]

ARTS Pick: Six Pack Songwriter Showcase

Area singer-songwriters are taking the problem of homelessness into their own hands at the Six Pack Songwriter Showcase to benefit PACEM, an organization that provides meals, shelter and companionship to those in need. Organizer Jason Burke brings together Peyton Tochterman, Will Overman, Mark Roebuck, Susan Munson, John Kelly and Debra Guy for a promising night […]

Movie review: Lost in Paris is a slow-moving charmer

Madcap francophone antics and lanky physical comedy are served aplenty in Lost in Paris, the new film from co-writers, co-directors, co-stars and spouses Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon. Even without knowing that bit of information about the film’s co-creators, it is clear that the pair constructed the cinematography, set pieces, physical humor and punchlines around […]

ARTS Pick: Classical Guitar Competition

Bring up chart-topping classical guitar compositions and someone’s sure to mention the 1968 hit “Classical Gas” by Mason Douglas Williams. The song sold more than 1 million copies and won three Grammy Awards, which should come as no surprise to the performers and contestants at the Classical Guitar Competition—they’ve been studying the sophisticated genre for […]

Elizabeth Meade Howard’s collection offers aging insights

When Elizabeth Meade Howard’s father died at age 90, she found herself adrift without a beacon. Not only had she lost her parent, she’d lost her model for aging well. An award-winning journalist, she began to interview friends, neighbors and professionals she admired—some of them famous—inquiring what aging successfully meant to them. Her quest became […]

The Vailix links card game and comic books to musical narrative

Rob Richmond grew up reading comic books, playing card games and listening to music—all three activities afforded him the opportunity to explore. Sometimes, he’d discover that there was more to explore—like more comic books, television shows, movies, etc.—and the excitement he felt over exploring an even wider imagined world, he says, was unmatched. A few […]