Winston Hodges

With his Southern charm and edgy wit, it’s hard not to laugh along with Winston Hodges. The comedian is from a small town outside of Farmville (he would know you if you were from there), and is known for his energetic takes on everything from growing up in a Christian home to working with children […]

Regarding home

It’s been a busy publishing year for Ann Beattie, with her 22nd and 23rd books both coming out in 2023. Her most recent, Onlookers, is set in Charlottesville during the pandemic, and it’s chock-full of local references: The Pointe, Timberlake’s, Orzo, and of course, those statues. Onlookers is a collection of six stories, with some […]

Jaewar King in the HotSeat

Few people know how to curate good vibes like Jaewar King. The hip-hop artist is getting ready to drop his seventh annual Vibe Fest, a lively celebration with good music and good people. This year’s fest pays homage to 50 years of hip-hop, and celebrates music as a powerful force for change and connection. Lupe […]

Urinetown: The Musical

When you gotta go, you gotta go—unless a 20-year drought has led to a government ban on private toilets and a proliferation of paid public toilets owned and operated by a single megalomaniac company: the Urine Good Company. Such is life in Four County Players’ Urinetown: The Musical, a fast-paced comedic romp that follows a […]

Yolanda Rabun

Following her show-stopping success last summer as Nina Simone in No Fear and Blues Long Gone, Yolanda Rabun returns to the Virginia Theatre Festival for a special evening of stories and song. Backed by her band, Rabun takes audience members on a musical journey through jazz, blues, folk, pop, gospel, and more. The powerhouse vocalist, […]

Ark Of Mark

Jam out with fellow local rockers at a record release party for Ark Of Mark, the latest project of Charlottesville native Mark Coffman. The full-length record, Still Defined By You, fuses alternative rock, folk, and jazz, resulting in a unique sound that combines classical composure with improvised instrumental intermezzos. The songs, which were recorded inside […]

Destroyer of worlds

Based on Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus, writer/director Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer follows physicist Robert Oppenheimer as he develops and detonates the first atomic bomb, then spends his life regretting it. The subject is fascinating, but, despite Nolan’s visual razzle-dazzle, the film only works sporadically. The movie occurs mainly in […]

Standing up for yourself

I didn’t see the ocean until I was in seventh grade, when my friend Sallie (future homecoming queen) invited me (congenital nerd) to Amelia Island with her family over spring break. It was freezing and windy, and I had no idea how to get in or out of the ocean, so I just tripped along […]

August galleries

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library 2450 Old Ivy Rd. Permanent exhibitions include “Flowerdew Hundred: Unearthing Virginia’s History” and “Declaring Independence: Creating and Recreating America’s Document.” Botanical Fare 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Familiar Scenes: Recent Landscapes in Oil” by Randy Baskerville. Through September 4.  Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. […]

Albemarle County Fair

Get your pies and pickles ready, it’s Albemarle County Fair time. Fairgoers are treated to a food truck lineup and live music from Baby Jo’s, Dark Hollow, Virginia Rain, and Charles Frazier & The Virginia Ramblers, as well as demonstrations, craft exhibits, and a livestock showcase that flaunts well-raised cows, bunnies, goats, and more. Makers […]