ARTS Pick: United Nations of Comedy

Lots of funny things happen when the United Nations of Comedy brings its talent-filled lineup to a local stage—and most are courtesy of Funnyman Skiba. The Washington, D.C. comic has become a repeat player in the UN of C’s effort to promote diversity through the common ground of laughter. He returns along with the “Taiwanese […]

Deerhunter’s manic dance with praise and punk

Deerhunter’s second album, Cryptograms, made it a household name in indie rock circles. Released in early 2007 by the legendary and long-running Kranky record label, the album features an appealing mix of sprawling and dreamy guitar sounds, anchored by slow-building, bass-heavy grooves and distorted, distantly cool vocals. It sounds almost as if the Atlanta-based quintet […]

ARTS Pick: Dónal Maguire

In celebrating the area’s rich vein of Irish heritage, the Blue Ridge Irish Music School sponsors Dónal Maguire, a vocalist with profound reverence for his roots and one who instills pride and passion for his homeland. Singing unaccompanied or with mandolin, Maguire makes accessible the Emerald Isle’s enchanting melodies in songs about love, labor, and […]

Album reviews: Switchfoot, Josh Matthews, Billie Joe + Norah,

Switchfoot Fading West/Atlantic Records Switchfoot has long been known as a maverick of modern Christian rock because of its thoughtful writing as well as its faith-inspired content. After the gritty, soul-searching 2011 album Vice Verses, Fading West feels like a deep exhale. The latest release is a slight, though pleasant, curveball, both sonically and lyrically. […]

ARTS Pick: 24/7

Set the timer, choose your topic, write the script, select your cast (random drawing), rehearse, lights, action, and it’s show time. So goes the frenzied creative collective of 24/7, a wild theatrical ride that brings together a wide network of local talent in writing, directing, and acting to produce seven finished plays in 24 hours. […]

ARTS Pick: Adam’s Plastic Pond

Songwriter and UVA alumnus Adam Long has popped in and out of various groups on the Virginia music circuit for the better part of a decade. His current group finds Long writing the lyrics while his friends play the tunes. Scrapping early names like Adam Long and the Quest for the Grapefruits, the band settled […]

Film review: Ride Along is heavy on plot and light on laughs

The buddy cop movie is a familiar trope with many variations. You could have a cop and a crook (48 Hrs.); two cops and a fish-out-of-water cop (Beverly Hills Cop); a straight-and-narrow cop and a by-the-book cop (Lethal Weapon); the villain-is-the-sidekick-in-spirit gag (Die Hard); and the send-up/homage flick (Hot Fuzz). What do the first four […]

Artist Lisa Beane meditates on loss and honor in “Chapters”

“These paintings are so raw; they’re so far from anything I’ve ever done before,” said Lisa Beane about her show “Chapters,” now on view at The Jefferson School African American Cultural Heritage Center through March 30. Beane is a Los Angeles-based artist. But for many years she lived in Charlottesville, while raising her daughter Leslie […]

ARTS Pick: The Currys

After a successful Kickstarter funding, and a month-long session cloistered in the studio, folk rock family act The Currys are celebrating the release of their first full-length album, Follow, fresh from the hallowed boards of White Star Sound. Formerly an acoustic act consisting of Jimmy, Tommy, and Galen Curry, the trio has added Matt Kauper […]

Interview: Matthew Houck steps from behind Phosphorescent

Musicians. They’re just like the rest of us. Some of them you hit it off with immediately—you get them, and they try their best to understand you. With others, you just don’t see eye-to-eye. Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck is the type of guy it would be hard not to see eye-to-eye with. An Alabama native who […]