ARTS Pick: Rock the Gospel

Traditional Christian tunes get a contemporary update at the third annual Rock the Gospel, a benefit concert supporting victims of domestic violence. Award-winning comedian Rich Praytor, the American Gospel Music Awards’ Christian Comedian of the Year, hosts this showcase of local and regional talent. Performing groups include Portico Band, the Sanctuary Choir from Mount Zion […]

Film review: San Andreas searches for glory amid disaster

If your favorite part of Independence Day is when the dog jumps to safety, San Andreas is your movie. Thematically and tonally inconsistent, it has one goal and one goal only: to make you cheer. Never mind the deaths of millions upon millions of human beings as the backdrop in a story that leads to […]

June First Fridays Guide

Richard Freeman is one of Virginia’s little-known art institutions. His frame shop sat stalwartly on the Corner for most of the last century, after opening under print-loving Paul Victorius’ ownership in the late 1930s. When the ’60s rolled around, Victorius took notice of Freeman, a former naval officer running a small art gallery in the […]

ARTS Pick: Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds

Since 2008, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds has been on a meteoric rise to the top: playing over 600 shows, releasing three full-length studio albums (as well as an EP produced by American Idol’s Randy Jackson) and getting kudos from the press, including the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Glamour, USA Today and […]

More than facts: Brendan Wolfe reimagines Virginia history

“The thing about working for the encyclopedia is that you’re just surrounded by stories all the time. I never get tired of all the interesting stuff that you come into contact with.” As the managing editor of Encyclopedia Virginia, it’s no surprise that Brendan Wolfe feels this way. Where many would envision dull days of […]

ARTS Pick: The Decemberists

Part modern folklorist, part “Portlandia,” The Decemberists never fail to deliver a fascinating set of intelligent, cathartic indie rock. Front man Colin Meloy defines the band’s stylish, experimental narrative while throwing in enough whimsy to lighten things up and extract a few giggles. The revered act seems to have discovered the secret to engaging the […]

Film review: Tomorrowland takes good intentions over the edge

There is far more wrong than right with Disney’s Tomorrowland, but there is one bright, gleaming asset to the film that should be taken into as much consideration as its (many, many) setbacks. It’s been noted that apocalypse fatigue has set in among moviegoers who are beginning to wonder how many times they can witness […]

ARTS Pick: Lilly Hiatt

When you’re the daughter of a well-respected singer-songwriter and blazing a trail with your own talent, it stands to reason that you’d feel some added pressure. Lilly Hiatt shines brightly enough to illuminate the shadow of her Americana rock star dad John, and kicks it up a notch through a blend of punk, indie and […]