ARTS Pick: Novarium

Washington, D.C.-based goth band Novarium offers the synth leads and string arrangements that tend to dominate the genre, but vocalist Lisa D’Arcangelis, guitarists Sean Gronholt and Dean Michaels, bassist Eliakon and drummer Dean Anthony use their experience and skill to bring complexity to their tunes through a contemporary metal approach. Sponsored by Gild The Mourn […]

First Fridays: July 7

First Fridays: July 7 Photographer Ashley Florence experiments with materials, situations, emotions, narratives and curiosity in her show “Body and Bread,” on view at Studio IX this month. From a chromogenic print of Florence herself sitting in a traditional Madonna pose and wearing a full-body suit sewn out of blue book linen, to 19 Polaroids […]

Art reaction: Powerful moments from creative voices

The planning of our annual Power Issue always gives us pause in the arts section. Is an administrator or an artist powerful, or are they a conduit for the evocative grace of emotion that art produces? Assigning a numerical evaluation to people in the arts has always felt uncomfortable to me, so this year, in […]

ARTS Pick: Comedy Marathon

We all know an undiscovered comedian, the life of the party, the one you encourage to try stand-up someday. Bent Theatre offers these laugh-riots a chance to step into the spotlight at its first Comedy Marathon, featuring 18 hours of shows, classes, workshops, jams, open mics, talkbacks, stand-up comedy and more, presented by “very funny […]

New ‘Transformers’ flies apart on reckless plot

Homo sapiens as a species have survived this long partially due to mechanisms in our brain that evoke an instinctive response to stimuli when there is not enough time for a full intellectual analysis. For example, we notice and react to sounds or rustling bushes with curiosity and heightened senses before figuring out whether we […]

UVA hip-hop professor contemplates the work ahead

When A.D. Carson was in fourth grade at Durfee Elementary School in Decatur, Illinois, his teacher asked the class to write a paragraph about a picture hanging on the wall. The picture was of children playing, and Carson asked his teacher if he could make his paragraph rhyme. She agreed—encouraged him, even—and soon after gave […]

ARTS Pick: Woody Guthrie’s American Song

Every folk and Americana musician (and even many rockers) stands on the shoulders of Woody Guthrie. Born of  Depression-era hardship, his music came in the form of ballads (“California Stars”), political commentary (“All You Fascists”) and children’s songs (“This Land Is Your Land”). Woody Guthrie’s American Song celebrates his work in a theatrical staging that […]

ARTS Pick: Fiddler’s Convention on Duck Mountain

Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Orpheus Supertones mash up with Charlottesville’s Uncle Henry’s Favorites for a Fiddler’s Convention on Duck Mountain. The collective brings more than 50 years of experience to a showcase of fiddle, banjo, guitar and bass playing, blended with vocal harmonies, for a rousing evening steeped in tradition. Friday, June 30. $15-18, 7:30pm. The Front […]

ARTS Pick: Lucero

When Lucero formed in 1998, the band knew it wanted to redefine the metal and punk landscape its members had been working in their Tennessee hometown. With a heart for country music, they hunkered down to chart a new direction, with one setback: “The trick there was that we couldn’t really play our instruments,” says […]

In with a bang: Local Independence Day events

If you’re staying in town for the extra- long July 4 weekend, you won’t be able to wave a sparkler without hitting a parade, concert or fireworks display. Here’s a list of some our favorite Independence Day happenings. June 30-July 3 July 4th Jubilee: The United States is having a birthday, and Wintergreen Resort is hosting a […]