The weeklong Nine Pillars Hip-Hop Cultural Festival is evidence that Charlottesville’s scene is thriving. The fest kicks off April 17 with a youth showcase and features events such as the Build-a-Bar lyrics workshop and the Black Rhymes Matter seminar on rap as social activism. Poets, singers, dancers and emcees perform at a Verbs and Vibes […]
The weeklong Nine Pillars Hip-Hop Cultural Festival is evidence that Charlottesville’s scene is thriving. The fest kicks off April 17 with a youth showcase and features events such as the Build-a-Bar lyrics workshop and the Black Rhymes Matter seminar on rap as social activism. Poets, singers, dancers and emcees perform at a Verbs and Vibes […]
Sneaks It’s a Myth (Merge) Sneaks is 19-year-old Eva Moolchan. She’s from Washington, D.C., but don’t look for political rage or go-go on It’s a Myth. It’s sinewy, minimal pop you can dance to, albeit briefly—there are 10 songs in 19 minutes. And Moolchan doesn’t sound too bothered about anything—she sounds like ESG doing warm-up […]
One of the most respected talents in opera today, Eric Owens grew up playing and performing music in his Philadelphia home before studying voice as an undergraduate at Temple University. Owens made his mark by taking on new roles in contemporary work before he gained notice for various performances in Wagner’s Ring Cycle and was […]
Conventional wisdom says, “The problem with Hollywood is they’re out of ideas. It’s all sequels and remakes. Maybe more people would see their movies if they stopped making sequels, reboots and whatever soft reboots are.” On its face, this is a perfectly reasonable demand. As ticket prices get more expensive, moviegoers want their money’s worth, […]
According to Neal Guma, what unites the four photographers in his current show is an approach to photography that is painterly. While Ljubodrag Andric and Robert Polidori often seek out subjects that can look like paintings and play with our perception of them, Markus Brunetti and John Chiara use photography as a painter might paint, […]
Life on the road as touring musicians can be demanding. But long days driving and late nights on stage aren’t the only enduring requirements for the husband-and-wife-fronted Birds of Chicago. JT Nero and Allison Russell decided to bring their 3-year-old daughter along for the ride. The pair started touring with their daughter before she turned […]
Every superhero has an origin story that explains how he or she obtained superpowers, and sometimes these powers lie dormant until a challenge arises. Tom Tom Founders Festival writer-in-residence Roye Okupe didn’t know he had the power to write until he had no choice but to try. With a background in animation and an important […]
When Chris Dammann was a kid growing up in Charlottesville, he spent a lot of time looking at his dad’s upright bass. “I wonder what that does, to be in that corner,” Dammann recalls thinking about the instrument. He decided to find out for himself at age 14, when he took the bass out of […]
If the critics are correct, Nashville’s next big thing—Charlie Worsham—won’t be playing small venues the next time around. Outlets from American Songwriter and Rolling Stone to People magazine and NPR are gushing about his new album, Beginning of Things, saying Worsham is “one of country’s most formidable dark horses” who “demonstrates this art with uncommon […]
Even with seven International Bluegrass Music Awards for Bass Player of the Year, it’s not all about the bass for Missy Raines. After gigging around, the talented lead singer stepped up to the mic in 2008 to front The New Hip quartet featuring mandolin, guitars, bass, drums and percussion, and the accolades keep coming. Deep […]