ARTS Pick: Elizabeth Wise and the Shoo Flies

Dance the night away to acoustic blues that swing from Elizabeth Wise and the Shoo Flies. Richmond native Wise updates old classics with funky folk overtones and her smooth vocals run the gamut from soothing to tearing down the bar. This is heat that you can’t escape, so kick your boots up to rollicking original […]

Artist Laura Snyder remaps personal experiences

 “I don’t really like going on trips,” said Laura Snyder, standing among half-painted maps and other travel miscellany in her second-floor studio at The Haven. “When I go somewhere I like to be able to just stay. I’m a one-way ticket kind of girl.” A New City Arts’ artist-in-residence, Snyder was in the midst of […]

Techne project takes electronic music beyond boundaries

Accomplished local jazz musician John D’earth says people get too hung up on what is music and what isn’t music. Kids, for example, don’t need to play an instrument properly to be making music. They just need to be making noise. If you’re too square for that jive, Suzanne Thorpe and Bonnie Jones are ready […]

ARTS Pick: Ashley McMillen

When she’s not talking about country music on her own local radio show, Ashley McMillen is whipping up tunes that get boots clickin’ and brass buckles swayin’. Born in the hills of West Virginia, the Southern songbird embraces classic country using traditional instruments and heartfelt lyrics to capture the essence of the genre. McMillen carved […]

ARTS Pick: Kings of Belmont

Nothing defines America’s pop music culture quite like rock ‘n’ roll, and no local outfit rocks out quite like the Kings of Belmont. In the midst of a summer schedule that takes them up and down the east coast, KOB turns inland for a brief holiday homecoming to jam with friends and family in the […]

ARTS Pick: Thoroughly Modern Millie

The winner of 2002’s Tony Award for best musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, kicks off the Heritage Theatre Festival in retro fashion. The show follows Millie, a wide-eyed Midwestern farm girl-turned-flapper, through a series of misadventures in New York City’s Jazz Age. Big city lights and Big Apple nights set the stage for this fish-out-of-water story […]

Film review: The fourth Transformer movie fails to dazzle

There are so many bad movies out there that it’s not reasonable to suggest Transformers: Age of Extinction is the worst movie ever made. It’s entirely reasonable, however, to suggest it’s the dumbest movie ever made. It’s also criminally dull, but designed to feel exciting. Here are five examples that make the latest Transformers flick […]

ARTS Pick: Grizfolk

“The Struggle” by Grizfolk Smell the roses When five musicians from different parts of the globe meet in a Southern California beach town, the serendipity results in Grizfolk, a band whose music embraces the essence of discovery. Lyrically reflecting on the spirit of travel, the band takes audiences on a journey through hardship and joy […]