Music nonprofit wants to help locals unite in song

Rappity rap, rappity rap. A 13-year-old tapped out a beat on a metal folding chair. Rappity rap, rappity rap. Dressed in black jeans, black untied high tops and a black Michael Jordan jersey over a white undershirt, he slumped forward, his restless fingers wandering over the edge of his chair, his gaze wandering up to […]

Found letters put C’ville at the heart of a German opera

Since its debut in 1911, opera-lovers have considered Der Rosenkavalier a masterpiece of the repertoire. The German comedy follows the story of the Marschallin (Princess Marie Thérèse von Werdenberg) as she decides to end her affair with a younger man and save another woman from an unhappy marriage. More than a century later, on the […]

WriterHouse Fiction Contest Runner-Up

Aim By Claire Rann I see a pale circle of flesh. He is holding me toward the side of her neck, a few inches away. The skin looks tired and freckled. It quivers. He did not take me out until a few seconds ago. His hand had been curled tightly around my grip in his […]

ARTS Pick: Emmylou Harris with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band

The stars align for a special evening when legendary country sweetheart Emmylou Harris, whose massive career includes collaborations that span 48 years, teams up with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band to benefit the Charlottesville Free Clinic. Expect the unexpected during a show filled with Lovett’s Grammy Award-winning, quirky Americana flair and Harris’ “shimmering, yearning […]

ARTS Pick: Forlorn Strangers

The five songwriters who make up the Nashville-based American roots outfit Forlorn Strangers carefully blend their distinct styles into a cohesive sound that’s driven by danceable rhythms, upbeat instrumentals and tight harmonies. The band celebrates its first full-length, self-titled album, produced by Grammy Award-winner Phil Madeira, and is queued up for a debut on this […]

ARTS Pick: Advanced Anatomy

Who knew that our great state of Virginia had a favorite stripper doctor? Dr. Ophelia Derriere claims the title while taking a break from her medical residency to examine a few bumps and grinds in the burlesque show Advanced Anatomy. Derriere, who gets backing from the New Orleans jazz act Soggy Po’ Boys, says that […]

Diet Cig’s Alex Luciano dances to a DIY beat

Don’t hang out with Diet Cig if you’re not willing to risk arrest or have your exploits immortalized in song. That’s not to say that every night the self-proclaimed “slop-pop” duo spent on the road over the past two years ended in flashing lights. It simply means that as in life, anything can—and will—happen. “I […]

Film review: Suicide Squad’s cast of characters fail to impress

David Ayer’s Suicide Squad is DC’s first attempt at unshackling its Extended Universe from Zack Snyder’s hollow style and unrelenting gloom, with an eye to demonstrating that building a franchise around the Justice League is a worthwhile endeavor on its own and it’s not just piggybacking on Marvel’s formula for The Avengers. On both counts, […]

ARTS Pick: Jason Burke

Local favorite Jason Burke draws from a broad range of influences, such as James Taylor, AC/DC and The Beatles, to create what he describes as a “California country sound.” His latest album, Burning Daylight, pulls jazz, blues and soul into the mix. Burke (who’s a big promoter of local musicians) had a setback due to […]

Author Lee Clay Johnson gets high praise for dark humor

Charlottesville transplant and UVA alumni Lee Clay Johnson’s debut novel, Nitro Mountain, was released to raves from both critics and peers. Kirkus Reviews called it “Appalachian noir at its darkest and most deranged.” Novelist David Gates, a former Guggenheim fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist, introduced it at a reading as “appallingly funny,” saying it’s “the […]