Drink to that: Books meet beer in new series from JMRL

By boasting a statistically impossible number of local bookstores and authors, it’s clear that Charlottesville is a town with an ardent love for all things literary. It’s also a beer town, supporting more than a few local breweries and countless other watering holes that serve up brews from nearby ZIP codes. Inspired by these two […]

ARTS Pick: Blade Runner

With Harrison Ford’s name buzzing thanks to the new Star Wars release, and director Ridley Scott’s The Martian up for a Best Picture Oscar, the time is right to revisit Blade Runner. Although the 1982 sci-fi flick portrays a vision of 2019 that now seems far-fetched, it’s easy to get lost in the dystopian world […]

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 […]