ARTS Picks: BANFF Mountain Film Festival’s World Tour

BANFF Mountain Film Festival’s World Tour is the greatest trip you can take without leaving your seat. Presented by Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, the two-day event features 18 films that span the worlds of skiing, climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and more. Though each film is unique, they all strive to protect the planet. Proceeds benefit […]

ARTS Pick: JJ Grey & Mofro

Over the past decade, swamp-funk outfit JJ Grey & Mofro has built a solid following and a reputation for intense, intimate performances. The Florida-based band incorporates soul and jazz into tight, guitar-driven original grooves, backed by bluesy basslines and bold brass. Though the group’s latest album Ol’ Glory, has garnered a slew of rave reviews from […]

A funny thing: Jordan Rock brings fresh comedy to the family name

If you’ve never heard of Jordan Rock, who’ll take the stage at Piedmont Virginia Community College on February 28, you can be forgiven. He’s never played Charlottesville, and his Web presence isn’t exactly on the level of an “Ultimate Split.” Come to think of it, his Web presence isn’t really on the level of an […]

ARTS Pick: Edwidge Danticat

Author Edwidge Danticat weaves stories of strong women overcoming hardship and forging new identities in unfamiliar places. Born in Haiti, Danticat moved to Brooklyn when she was 12 years old, and the experience of transporting from one culture to another has since informed her writing, which is dominated by characters that have their feet in […]

Winning it back: Songwriter Robin Wynn returns with a musical departure

Robin Wynn said Google might lead you astray if you’re looking to find out what she’s up to these days. A C’ville-based songwriter who toured extensively from 2005 to 2008 and saw one of her songs get attention from NPR’s “All Songs Considered,” Wynn recently licensed a tune to the CW show “Vampire Diaries.” Put […]

Film review: The DUFF lacks too many laughs to be funny

Why is popularity always the reward for quirky high schoolers in movies where the whole plot is about learning to be happy without it? You don’t celebrate your twelfth step with a shot, you don’t get a mansion after reaching nirvana, but somehow our teenage morality scripts are still peddling the idea that trying to […]

ARTS Pick: I’m Not Racist…Am I?

Watch the documentary I’m Not Racist… Am I? and you can’t help but ask yourself  the same question. The story unfolds around 12 students of varying backgrounds who complete a year-long program of workshops and discussions about race and privilege. As they grapple with these issues, the students find their relationships with each other, their […]

ARTS Pick: The Convolution of Pip and Twig

Observing the fantastic world of The Convolution of Pip and Twig, it’s as if you’ve stepped through the looking glass and into a children’s pop-up book. The minimal, vibrant set uses low tech manipulations, visual metaphor and physical magic to tell a story almost entirely without words, and Performer’s Exchange Project members Sian Richards and […]