ARTS Pick: Pride and Prejudice

Experience the epic romance of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in Gorilla Theater Productions’ staging of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The tale, written in 1813, is riddled with drama, lust, love and conditions of human nature that ring true, even in the present day. Through 1/31. $10-15, 2pm. The Director’s Studio, 1713 Allied St. Ste. […]

Album reviews: Lemolo, Mercyland, Daughter

Lemolo Red Right Return/self-released There is an undeniable ghostly beauty to this record from Meagan Grandall. The lush vocals on Red Right Return play off of the swelling, often moody musical aesthetics, resulting in a euphoric experience. Ambient piano ballads such as “White Flag” are beautifully offset by alt-rock flair on tracks such as “One […]

ARTS Pick: Dylan LeBlanc

Four years after releasing his second album, Dylan LeBlanc returns with Cautionary Tale, his most mature record yet. At 25, LeBlanc, who has been called the new Neil Young, caught the attention of powerful singer-songwriters such as Bruce Springsteen and Lucinda Williams, and Rolling Stone magazine hailed him as one of the “Artists You Need […]

Film review: Anomalisa is confident and full of contradictions

True to classic Charlie Kaufman form, everything about the writer/co-director’s latest film, Anomalisa, is wholly unconventional from conception to execution, yet is entirely accessible to anyone who’s felt hopelessly disconnected from other people. It’s a film full of contradictions; it’s a stop-motion animated film with a hard-R rating about isolation and identity, but it’s funny. […]

Art as craft: The modern contemplation of ancient practices

Contemplation is having a resurgence in the popular consciousness these days, with mindfulness festival studios, pop-up meditation groups and even the University of Virginia’s own Contemplative Sciences Center. But for centuries, artists have practiced contemplation as a necessary companion of creation. “A lot of artists working today like to define contemplativity broadly as a means […]

Faith in comedy: Cameron Esposito finds her true identity on stage

Last year was a good year for stand-up comedian Cameron Esposito. Not only did multiple opportunities in the comedy and film worlds present themselves, but she also married the woman of her dreams. Esposito, 34, tied the knot with longtime partner and fellow comedian, Rhea Butcher, in December, and the two are currently on the […]

Songs without end: Nettles takes you on a poetic, musical journey

About seven years ago, Guion Pratt was living in County Meath, Ireland, working on a farm and writing poetry. He and a friend played songs —some of Pratt’s originals plus a few Bruce Springsteen tunes—as a guitar and saxophone duo in some area pubs. They called themselves Nettles, for the leafy, stinging plants they had […]

Serving the arts: Galleries meet dining in local restaurants

Art is food for the soul, as they say. So whether you and a date are carving a bit of indulgence into your weekday or celebrating Restaurant Week, take a break between mouthfuls to admire what’s on the walls. At The Local, glossy brick props up the hallucinogenic work of Dave Moore, a Virginia artist […]

ARTS Pick: Keys N Krates

With the lively surnames Tune, Matisse and Flo, the electronic fusion act Keys N Krates lays out its artistic agenda by playing instruments live and pulling in beats from all directions. Fans have deemed the group to be the world’s first trap band because of the power trio’s performances on drums, keys and turntable. Tuesday […]

Film review: Michael Bay’s 13 Hours stays out of the political fray

When news first broke that Michael Bay would be making the inevitable Benghazi movie, the (non-tinfoil-hat-wearing) world was of two minds. The most prominent reaction was groaning at two of today’s most tiresome utterances: Michael Bay and Benghazi. Those two references in the same sentence was reason enough to dismiss 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers […]