ARTS Pick: Rhiannon Giddens

After spending several years reviving the time-tested tradition of the African-American string band with the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, vocalist, violinist and banjo player Rhiannon Giddens is breathing new life into early ’60s folk with her first solo effort. Her debut album, Tomorrow is My Turn, dropped this past February and showcases Giddens’ R&B-influenced interpretations of classics […]

ARTS Pick: GRiZ

Grant Kwiecinski aka GRiZ is only going to get bigger. At age 23, the multi-talented artist has carved out a unique musical niche that’s a little bit of funk, a little bit of rap, a little bit of soulful sax, and it’s all GRiZ’s eclectic sound. His rising popularity landed him on festival stages from Coachella to Red […]

Talent search: Get Hard shakes down a stand-up cast

Was prison rape even funny to begin with? The team behind Get Hard seems to think it’s the funniest thing in the world, maybe the only thing that’s ever been funny. A few jokes here and there are to be expected—though it’ll be nice, not to mention not gross, when we no longer delight at […]

ARTS Pick: The Murphy Beds

Traditional folk duo Eamon O’Leary and Jefferson Hamer (above) sing and play the guitar, bouzouki and mandolin as The Murphy Beds. They draw on experience from Irish and American traditions (O’Leary grew up in Dublin and Hamer has roots in the New York music scene) on numbers like “Rise Up, My Darling,” a folk song […]

April First Fridays Guide

Contemporary artist Susan Northington specializes in capturing her Central Virginia surroundings in exaltations of personal expression. Her abstract interpretations of the Blue Ridge Mountains and flat horizon lines aim to evoke the emotion of a place, rather than the physical reality of location. Northington’s works are currently included in the McGuffey Art Center’s collaborative exhibit […]

ARTS Pick: Danny Schmidt

Although acclaimed singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt is currently based out of Austin, Texas, his musical career began in Charlottesville. A contemporary of Devon Sproule and Paul Curreri, Schmidt got his start playing The Prism Coffeehouse and The Gravity Lounge, and was named oneof “the 50 most significant songwriters of folk in the last 50 years” by “The Midnight […]

ARTS Pick: Mother Bombie

Mother Bombie is an Elizabethan comedy that tells the timeless story of parents’ fruitless efforts in matchmaking. Plans go awry when two couples are caught in the middle of an arranged marriage scheme. The roller coaster plot features disguises, servant’s antics, awkward teen love and a shocking reveal. With snappy one-liners like, “You must, for […]

Little bit fixed: Lauren Hoffman shifts back into the local spotlight

Lauren Hoffman had never heard of Paste Magazine. But in 2006, soon after the release of her most acclaimed record Choreography, the LP’s lead single was included on one of the national magazine’s music samplers alongside the likes of The Hold Steady, Bright Eyes and The Shins. It wasn’t the only reach enjoyed by “Broken,” […]

ARTS Pick: ONWE

Derisive punk pranksters ONWE make their second local appearance this month at the end of a tour that has booked up and down the East Coast as well as four shows at Austin, Texas’ South by Southwest Festival. Since the 2014 release of the single “Unpaid Internship,” the trio has risen to the summit of […]