Inspired, electric and full of the same rawly honed talent that drove its subjects to their creative heights, if Straight Outta Compton were the last musical biopic ever made, it would have been worth suffering through all of the perfunctory crap the genre has produced in the past. Where most biopics lean on the lead […]
Inspired, electric and full of the same rawly honed talent that drove its subjects to their creative heights, if Straight Outta Compton were the last musical biopic ever made, it would have been worth suffering through all of the perfunctory crap the genre has produced in the past. Where most biopics lean on the lead […]
It took Victor Captain more than 12 months, a brand new birth certificate and his first flight on an airplane to bring his artwork to Charlottesville. “When I got to New York, my nose was like stuff, stuff, stuff. There was no clean air to breathe,” says Captain. He says it with a smile and […]
If you only know one thing about the Virginia Arts of the Book Center, it’s probably that its tagline is “Beneath The Art Box.” This hints at the rich history of underground presses but also provides a literal reminder to help geolocate the community printmaking studio in its off-the-radar location. However, that motto needs an […]
I’ll Be Me documents the courage of country musician Glen Campbell who, when diagnosed with Alzheimer’s-related dementia, decided to plan an amazing farewell tour across the U.S. with his family. The film shows the struggle of the affliction, but also how friends, family, love, laughter and music can help a person cope with its unpredictable […]
Briana Marela All Around Us/ Jagjaguwar This is a beauty of a record. Abstract, ambient and guided by a first-rate vocalist and songwriter who makes All Around Us a stunner. Deliciously paradoxical, the album manages to sound explosive and subtle all at once, its exploration of relationships in their myriad forms is universal, while lyrically […]
Alt-country singer-songwriter Drew Gibson proves that home is where his heart is on the new album, 1532. Drawing on family history, the finger-picking guitarist proves his talent as a storyteller though a mosaic of memorable events turned into song. The tracks convey the hardships in Gibson’s life from an uncle’s battle with leukemia to family […]
In a film industry where every studio release is engineered to appeal either to all audiences or hyper-specific target demographics, the fact that a film like Ricki and the Flash found release is refreshing. Baby boomers/Gen Y, liberals/conservatives, wealthy/working class, no one subset of American filmgoers will find their entertainment whims catered to in this […]
Husband and wife team Gregg Weiss and Gabi Swiatkowska lead the French quartet Tildon Krautz. The former Brooklynites have formed what is essentially a string band, creating music that borders on roots and folk, dipping into some jazz and blues with an arsenal of vocal abilities from the childlike soprano of Swiatkowska to the deep […]
The Metropolitan Opera’s Egyptian love story Aida is elevated with chorale support, ballet numbers and complex ensembles in a tale centered around three characters with difficult decisions to make. The daughter of the pharaoh and her slave Aida, in her own right a princess but of an enemy kingdom, both love Radamés, an Egyptian warrior. […]
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Music Resource Center, the music education community for youth located in downtown Charlottesville. But rather than the customary anniversary gift of china, you can show your support for the MRC this week at the Blues, Beats & BBQ benefit event on August 15 at the Ix Art […]