Kinky Boots

Feathers are flying and there’s glitter galore at Live Arts’ Kinky Boots. The heart-warming musical sees an unlikely partnership blossom between Charlie Price, owner of a failing shoe factory, and Lola, a fabulous drag queen in need of a pair of sturdy stilettos. Xavier Taylor dons a sky-high wig for the role of Lola opposite […]

Honest and direct

Ben Sloan’s second book of poems, Then On Out Into a Cloudless Sky, is a collection of work that speaks to various themes and eras, highlighting the far-ranging interests of its author. As an object, the book is a delight, an elegant pamphlet with a cover that captures the bright blue of sky and a […]

More than okay

Sunny War is on the phone, and there’s a long pause. It’s not unexpected—not even awkward at this point. Pauses are more common than flowing conversation with the experimental singer-songwriter. But this pause is different. This time, War’s answering a question about her mental health, and the pause is alarming. So, too, is her eventual […]

Folk Marathon

Wake up to the sounds of Andean folk music by Savia Andina and Sukay, or Johnny Cash’s classic country, then tune in for a late-afternoon program on the women of bluegrass during WTJU’s round-the-clock Folk Marathon. Artists including Buzzard Hollow Boys, Mama Tried, Erik “Red” Knierim, Barling & Collins, and Uncle Henry’s Favorites perform live […]

Vino & Cinema

Date night is easy at Vino & Cinema, a romantic evening of wine tasting paired with a screening of Moonstruck. The 1987 rom-com follows Italian American widow Loretta, who finds herself in a love triangle with her fiancé and his brother. Market Street Wine pours curated flights of Italian wine, while Cher and Nicolas Cage […]

Drum Tao

Drumming meets dynamic choreography in Drum Tao, a collective formed in 1993 that elevates the art of Japanese taiko drumming, alongside flute, marimba, harp, and more. Using wadaikos, handheld snares, and large odaikos, the band performs intricate and electrifying routines of traditional and modern compostitions that come alive with vibrant sets, aesthetic costuming, and precise […]

Protest songs

Josh Vana’s folk song “To the River” has the good bones of a powerful protest anthem: a timeless chord progression, an urgent message of opposition, and an uplifting chorus ready for joined voices. In the lyrics, he laments environmental degradation at the hands of industry, and speaks for the small communities that have been embroiled […]

Arts initiative

January 29 marks the start of Karen Elizabeth Milbourne’s tenure as the J. Sanford Miller Family Director of The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia. Milbourne comes to UVA from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., where she was senior curator and acting head of knowledge production. A […]

Hypercube

You never know what’ll come through the amps when Hypercube hits the stage—death metal vocals, trilling saxophone, cartoonish scale bursts. The new music quartet performs across the boundaries of classical chamber music, incorporating electric and acoustic sounds for sax, guitar, piano, and percussion. For its concert, Hypercube performs new pieces composed by UVA music department […]

CJ Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band

Creole music royalty CJ Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band fuses the traditional sounds of accordion-driven zydeco with rock and blues. The son of zydeco music pioneer Clifton Chenier, CJ grew up surrounded by the sounds of music indigenous to Louisiana Creoles, and joined his father’s band when he turned 21. Today, his live […]