Like many Grateful Dead fans, Rob Barraco has been a devoted Deadhead since his teenager years. It’s safe to say the versatile keyboardist has found the perfect gig as a member of Dark Star Orchestra. Since forming in 1997, the lauded tribute act has earned its own legion of fans for spot-on re-creations of entire […]
Like many Grateful Dead fans, Rob Barraco has been a devoted Deadhead since his teenager years. It’s safe to say the versatile keyboardist has found the perfect gig as a member of Dark Star Orchestra. Since forming in 1997, the lauded tribute act has earned its own legion of fans for spot-on re-creations of entire […]
On a chilly Friday in late November, Ross McDermott of the Charlottesville Mural Project gathered a large group on the railroad crossing at First Street to dedicate the organization’s newest mural, designed by local artist Kaki Dimock. The mural’s theme is the Rivanna River, a subject originally proposed by Rose Brown of the organization StreamWatch, who […]
Named after the Spanish festival in Pamplona famous for the running of the bulls, San Fermin is the pop music outlet for Brooklyn-based composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. Along with vocal contributions from Allen Tate, Jess Wolfe, and Holly Laessig of Lucius, Leone brings baroque stylings to the indie arena in an operatic composition that unites familiar […]
Harvard graduate, University of Chicago professor, and literacy director for the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Trust, Srikanth Reddy shares selections from his two books of poetry, Facts for Visitors (2004) and Voyager (2011). Using a variety of methods, including prose, syllabic, and terza rima, Reddy’s form plays like a pop-up book of images and ideas that feel odd and inclusive. Monday 12/2. […]
Four County Players’ production of A Christmas Carol has been a local favorite since 2008, but in this go-around director Joncey Boggs and local playwright Miller Murray Susen are keeping it fresh by taking a step back and using Dickens’ age-old text while adding some musical numbers for originality. Through 12/15. $12-16, times vary. Four County Players, 5256 Governor Barbour St., […]
“I am a 33-year-old man applying for a job as an elf,” wrote David Sedaris at the outset of his career. Like most great writers, Sedaris has worked a variety of menial, often humiliating, jobs to support his literary career, and the humorist’s turn as an elf at Macy’s in New York City may be […]
A quick rack of the brain and I come to this conclusion: I cannot remember a major, big budget action film that is at once so emotionally draining, deeply dramatic, and incredibly bleak. Thought the death of Rue was difficult in The Hunger Games? Just wait to see what happens when Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta […]
Maria Taylor Something About Knowing/Saddle Creek Inspired by a new phase in her life—that of being a first-time mother—Something About Knowing breaks slightly from singer-songwriter Maria Taylor’s traditional folk pop leanings and adds some new aesthetics to the mix. On “Up All Night,” her ode to motherhood and a baby not sleeping, she juxtaposes thoughtful, […]
White Star Sound recording studio, located on a bucolic farm in Louisa County, is a friendly, professional spot that attracts national acts like O.A.R. and The Infamous Stringdusters, along with local musicians like Sarah White, The Hill & Wood, and Invisible Hand, as well as several bands that have crossed that divide, like Sons of […]
Bridging the gap between jazz and rock, virtuoso drummer Cindy Blackman Santana is gigging on her new release, Another Lifetime. The album is a showcase for the critically acclaimed style that pays homage to her mentor Tony Williams, and the classical training that focuses her sonic explorations. Rising from humble beginnings as a busker in […]