Below the surface: ‘Visions for 2016’ is a meditation on abstraction

Janet Bruce’s “Shorelines” paintings sneak up on you. Standing in front of them, you see them come alive, as things you didn’t notice at first become apparent. She builds up surfaces with many layers of paint, adding texture and visual interest, as glimpses of the various undercoats are visible. In some, she adds animated squiggles […]

ARTS Pick: The Triumph of Love

Love conquers all, but not before it navigates a series of mishaps and disguises in UVA Drama’s The Triumph of Love. Award-winning director Chase Kniffen leads the cast through a contemporary approach to the 18th-century French comedy complete with razor-sharp wit, murderous subversion and a cross-dressing princess who stalks her love interest while constructing a […]

ARTS Pick: WinterSongs

Billed as a day of “joyful sharing, support and empowerment,” the second annual WinterSongs brings together 200 female singers from Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the University of Virginia for an afternoon of sisterhood and music, to raise money for the Shelter for Help in Emergency. Burley Middle School choral director Craig Jennings, the event’s organizer, […]

Film review: The Witch is an unsettling, skillful revelation

“A New-England Folktale” reads the subtitle for the much-hyped (all of it earned) The Witch, the feature film debut from writer-director Robert Eggers. One would be forgiven for interpreting this as a mark of revisionist horror, but there is nothing revisionist about Eggers’ film. In fact, there’s much that is revolutionary. The Witch follows a tight-knit […]

ARTS Pick: The Black Lillies

In addition to the high-energy performances that have landed The Black Lillies at Bonnaroo, Stagecoach and the Grand Ole Opry, the band recently became known for overcoming artistic obstacles. Two weeks before entering the studio to record its fourth album, Hard to Please, two members gave notice, causing frontman Cruz Contreras to pull together new […]

Little big time: Local bands submit to NPR’s 2016 Tiny Desk Contest

A few years ago, Bob Boilen, host of NPR Music’s “All Songs Considered,” turned his work desk into a concert venue. Today, he invites musicians from all over the world to play intimate sets of songs between the desk and bookshelves in the Tiny Desk concert series. The short sessions are filmed and later posted online […]

The violinist next door: Ray Chen strikes a chord with the younger generation

While many symphonies and orchestras have seen economic challenges in recent years, they’ve also been given a facelift through fresh takes on classical arrangements and some budding new instrumentalists. Ray Chen falls into the latter category, bringing a passionate intensity to his instrument with every blazing stroke of the bow. Hailed as a “young violinist,” […]

ARTS Pick: Women Beware Women

Deception, infidelity and feigned love are central for three ladies of Florence, Italy, in Thomas Middleton’s Women Beware Women. The dramatic plot grows increasingly complicated as lies intertwined with love affairs weave a web that ultimately results in tragedy. Through 3/31. $18-54, times vary. American Shakespeare Center, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. (540) 885-5588.

Double take: Liz Rodda pairs up the unexpected at Second Street Gallery

Ever notice how a small shift in perspective can transform the way you think about your job, relationship, insert-your-life-struggle-here? Liz Rodda is a mixed-media artist who sharpens viewers’ abilities to reframe what they see by partnering two totally unrelated works in a mash-up of videos, sound and sculpture. Unlike a traditional collage artist who combines […]