The sound of Wild Child is hardly categorical. With horns and strings, it’s orchestral; with tap-your-feet basslines, it’s all groove; with ukelele-based riffs, it’s easy listenin’; and with bare piano arrangements, it’s full of soul. Fronted by Kelsey Wilson (vocals, violin) and Alexander Beggins (vocals, ukelele), the Texas indie- pop outfit has honed its blend […]
The sound of Wild Child is hardly categorical. With horns and strings, it’s orchestral; with tap-your-feet basslines, it’s all groove; with ukelele-based riffs, it’s easy listenin’; and with bare piano arrangements, it’s full of soul. Fronted by Kelsey Wilson (vocals, violin) and Alexander Beggins (vocals, ukelele), the Texas indie- pop outfit has honed its blend […]
For the sound of the Blue Ridge Mountains, look no further than the Prism Coffeehouse series. For the better part of 40 years, beginning in the ’70s, the Prism was the heart of the local music community for folk, bluegrass, blues, jazz, Americana and traditional music. After personnel and location changes, the Prism is enjoying […]
Even under ordinary conditions, a road trip can be the ultimate test of a relationship. But when torrential rain and tornado warnings cross the path of an already tense couple, it creates the perfect storm. Hannah Pittard’s third novel, Listen to Me, explores the interior of a marriage that has been shaken by recent trauma. […]
With toe-tapping, head-bobbing songs about vegetarianism, the apocalypse and everything in-between, local music mainstay New Boss takes to the outdoors for the next installment of the Levitt AMP Charlottesville Music Series. The band, which dubs its sound “tweeboogie,” plays hella catchy tunes that are equal parts grunge, glam, indie and straight-up rock ’n’ roll. With […]
TEDx presentations are powerful incubators of ideas and actions ranging from self-help inspirations to world-saving suggestions. Hear what’s on the minds of local thinkers at the TEDxCharlottesville Open Mic and cast a vote to move the top talkers forward so they may share with a bigger audience; just one way to do your part in […]
Throughout the month of September, an audio-visual exhibition called “Landscapes of Slavery and Segregation” provides historical context to Charlottesville in three different locations: the Downtown Mall, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and UVA Grounds. Curated by Encyclopedia Virginia, a branch of The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, each site is paired with multimedia components of […]
Charlottesville expat and current North Carolina rocker Brice Randall Bickford’s recent release, Paro, takes its name from the term for labor strike that’s commonly used in Latin America. Bickford’s songs examine the complications humans unwittingly tilled into civilization 10,000 years ago when we adopted agriculture and systems of government. Bickford clothes his heady narratives—and his […]
This week Sir Salman Rushdie, Junot Díaz and Alice Waters are among the impressive group of literary figures, activists and scholars assembling in Charlottesville for Human/Ties, a free, four-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Rushdie, the author and free speech advocate perhaps best known for his novel The […]
Haunted by spirits of recordings past, music studios are just as legendary as the work they’ve cultivated, and they often come equipped with their own folklore. Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” echoes throughout RCA’s Studio B in Nashville. Memphis’ Sun Studio gave us the first recordings of both Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Muscle Shoals Sound Studio […]
The name Frightened Rabbit is attributed to lead singer Scott Hutchinson’s shy nature as a child, but this is not exactly a band cowering in a corner. With cynically humorous titles and bracing, sonically voluminous pop, the group charges through on-your-sleeve heartache, family dysfunction and political observations. The highly anticipated new album Painting of a […]