Can we talk? Making the most of your TEDx experience

This town is no stranger to open mic nights. We boast Big Blue Door storytelling and improv night; the musicians, poets, and comedians of Verbs & Vibes; and Olio, a pechakucha-style series that was popular until its untimely demise in 2011. So, how is the upcoming TEDxCharlottesville Open Mic Night different? In a word, glory. […]

ARTS Pick: Tig Notaro

Comedienne Tig Notaro has risen to the top thanks to an unabashed, honest commentary about life and love through laughter. Her 2012 set at Largo in Los Angeles, in which she spoke openly about her breast cancer diagnosis, mother’s death, and the end of a long-term relationship was nominated for a Grammy and touted by […]

ARTS Pick: Anais Mitchell

The “queen of modern folk” Anais Mitchell is an expert storyteller who makes a solid case for such lofty status through her songs. An avid traveler, the Vermont-born musician touches everything from folk music to opera and melds it with intelligent lyrics. Mitchell meticulously crafts her sometimes dramatic music in reflective testament to the complexity […]

Album reviews: GRMLN, The Hill and Wood, Sons of Bill

GRMLN Soon Away/Carpark Records Bay Area-based Yoodoo Park a.k.a. GRMLN, has undergone quite a metamorphosis in his several years as an artist. Originally something of an ambient singer-songwriter with a penchant for beautiful, mellow melodies, he’s gone full-on rock and roll on Soon Away replete with driving rhythms, engaging choruses and guitars, guitars, guitars. “Jaded” […]

ARTS Pick: Fiesta del Sol

Despite being a ballet company, there are no tutus or relevés in this celebration of movement by the Latin Ballet of Virginia. You will find dazzling costumes and acrobatics mixed with the electric flair of Latino dance in a high-energy performance that celebrates Central American traditions. “Fiesta del Sol” fuses technical perfection and rich narratives […]

Review: The Lyrical Line at The Fralin Museum of Art

“The Lyrical Line,” which is on display for four months at The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, features work from two of the most innovative printmakers of the early 20th century: Stanley William Hayter and Jacques Villon. “Imagine thousands of lines engraved in metal make up a print, and they all […]

October 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: October 3, 2014. CitySpace 100 Fifth St. NE. “Rising […]

Film review: Denzel Washington team adds sizzle to The Equalizer

Let it hereby be known that director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington are the only team in Hollywood capable of making middle-of-the-road action scripts into movies that are way better than they have any right to be. Before Training Day became the legendary character study it is and the first film in decades to feel […]

ARTS Pick: Scythian

Based on its sound, Nashville’s Scythian could be pegged as a band of Riverdancing Irish folkies. With their unique blend of Celtic bluegrass rock, the quintet fires on dueling fiddles, banjos, and mandolins in an unparalleled high-energy weave. The self-proclaimed “immigrant rockers” are on tour in support of the new album Jump at the Sun […]