ARTS Pick: SEE/HEAR

Bassist Chris Dammann’s outfit Restroy plays contemporary tunes from the new release Saturn Returns, and duo Rick Parker and Li Daiguo perform a blend of folk-acoustics and electronica influenced by their respective homes, Brooklyn and China. The collaborative event SEE/HEAR invites guests to take in the Second Street Gallery’s exhibitions while listening to improvisational sounds […]

Summer ensemble turns Shakespeare’s Pericles upside-down

On a warm Monday morning earlier this month, a dozen twentysomethings gather in a bright, high- ceilinged room on the fifth floor of the Masonic Building on West Beverley Street in Staunton. Barefoot, they sit close together on the red carpet, pairs of shoes scattered among water bottles, backpacks, script packets and pieces of stage […]

Album review: Radiohead, Betty Davis, Diarrhea Planet

Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool (XL) Gotta admit I haven’t adored Radiohead so much as I’ve admired them. The group has always written harmonically sophisticated rock music without ever sacrificing the rock aspect. Plus, the band’s albums have always sounded amazing—the relationship Radiohead has with producer Nigel Godrich is on the level of The Beatles […]

Film review: Chevalier turns quiet judgment into a game of wits

Greek comedy Chevalier, from Athina Rachel Tsangari, has the potential to be the quietest artistic revolution in recent cinematic history. Dry as a bone yet laugh-out-loud hilarious, steady in pace yet always keeping the threat of a bloody, outrageous conclusion within reach, Tsangari masterfully elevates a story that would feel right at home in a […]

ARTS Pick: Cirque Italia

Looking for an affordable spectacle? Try the Italian circus that tours city to city, sets up under a giant tent and presents aerial acts, hand balancing, contortionists and mermaids over a 35,000-gallon water tank. Cirque Italia creates a “vivid, dramatic and moving experience” without animals, despite the rumor of a dinosaur appearance. Thursday 7/21–Sunday 7/24. $10-50, […]

Patsy Asuncion cuts through barriers with poems and prose

As American citizens of all races and colors march in protest of police brutality and racial profiling this summer, the publication of local poet Patsy Asuncion’s collection, Cut on the Bias, offers a message of peace, inclusion and an account of the deep pain of growing up with two separate identities in such a divisive […]

Living Picks: To-do this week

Family     Sweet Dreams Festival This family-friendly event features activities including a craft tent, rock climbing wall, laser tag, inflatables and more. Saturday 7/23. Free, 9am-4pm. Stuarts Draft Park, 96 Edgewood Ln., Stuarts Draft. sweetdreamsday.com. Nonprofit Restaurant Week Enjoy specially designed menus in local restaurants, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. […]

ARTS Pick: South Pacific

Ash Lawn Opera heats up summer with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, the popular musical about love in the time of war. A story of how relationships between servicemen and civilians intermingle with issues of race, romance and enemy sides, the show was intentionally progressive and an immediate hit when it was first staged in […]

A word with EmiSunshine

At age 9, musician EmiSunshine shocked viewers around the country with her video of a 2014 flea market performance. After going viral, she landed performances with Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam and a gig at the Grand Ole Opry. Now 12 years old, EmiSunshine has developed an authentic folk voice and plays almost 150 shows […]

Charlottesville Municipal Band strikes new chord after funding loss

It’s 7pm on a Tuesday, and the Municipal Arts Center is filled with the sound of the Charlottesville Municipal Band filing into the large practice hall to prepare for another installment of its bi-weekly summer concert series. The evening resembles a family reunion: Musicians greet one other with smiles, pats on the back and familial […]