It’s December, and that means the awards-fodder movies are out. And guess what. Some of them are good! Here’s a list of five movies that range from near-great to head-scratching (but worth seeing) to one guilty pleasure. The Book Thief If Life is Beautiful is absolutely the wrong way to make a non-military World War […]
It’s December, and that means the awards-fodder movies are out. And guess what. Some of them are good! Here’s a list of five movies that range from near-great to head-scratching (but worth seeing) to one guilty pleasure. The Book Thief If Life is Beautiful is absolutely the wrong way to make a non-military World War […]
For Nashville-based singer-songwriter Brooke Annibale there was never any doubt that a career in music was in her future. “My family owns a music shop in Pittsburgh,” she said. “I started taking lessons and as soon as I knew enough chords, I started writing songs.” Annibale has four self-releases to her name including 2013’s Words […]
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, […]