Crystal baller: What can C’ville music fans expect to see in 2015?

When I sat down to think about the best concerts I saw in 2014, the only events that came to mind were disappointments. Don’t get me wrong. There were highlights. Joe Pug got intimate at the Southern. Shovels and Rope entranced the Jefferson. But by and large, the most highly anticipated events of the year […]

ARTS Pick: Miss Massive Snowflake

When the weather outside gets frightful, you might not be eager to curl up in front of a band called Miss Massive Snowflake, but Shane de Leon’s witty contemporary pop tunes of love, family and loss of trust make for some truly heartwarming, emotive storytelling. With quirky simplicity and moody, sometimes psychedelic lyrics, the Portland, […]

ARTS Pick: Bowie, Bolan and Blondie

Time warp your way back to the 1970s and the golden age of glam rock with Bowie, Bolan and Blondie, a triple tribute featuring all local bands. The multi-talented Thomas Dean (left) leads The Jean Jeanies through David Bowie’s expansive, psychedelic discography; Harrisonburg-formed septet P. Dactyl revives the classic hits of T. Rex; and Sunday […]

January First Fridays Guide

  First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many Downtown art galleries and additional exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions. Listings are compiled in collaboration with Piedmont Council for the Arts. To list an exhibit, please send information two weeks before opening to arts@c-ville.com. First Fridays: January 2, 2014. Batesville Market 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. […]

ARTS Pick: The Black Candle

The award-winning Kwanzaa documentary, The Black Candle, will be screened as part of the annual heritage celebration. The film, narrated by poet Maya Angelou, tells the history of Kwanzaa and includes well-known sports, music and arts leaders who explore the African-American experience as it relates to seven founding principles (unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, […]

Under and out: Some of 2014’s best films flew below the radar

Under normal circumstances, assembling a list of a given year’s best films is a simple matter of keeping score as you go, adding and removing movies as the months roll on, knowing full well that your carefully assembled rankings will probably just get blown to hell in the fall when the big studios start rolling […]

Art lessons: Advice for living a more creative life

Every week for the last 10 months, I’ve interviewed area artists for this column. Over coffee and phone lines I’ve been privileged to speak with writers, painters, sculptors, musicians, dancers, actors and mixed media creators. We’d talk for an hour, I’d write for three more, and in the process I’ve found a few themes that […]

ARTS Pick: Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men takes the stage at London’s National Theatre as part of its HD broadcast series. The play is a powerful and raw depiction of struggles during the Great Depression and the heart-wrenching bonds of friendship. James Franco and Chris O’Dowd step out of their comedic comfort zones to play two […]