ARTS Pick: Shooter Jennings

The son of country music icons Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings has forged a name for himself that has nothing to do with family ties. Country rock’s bad boy came slamming onto the music scene with his rebellious Southern rock in the early 2000s, and has remained a favorite across genres. Although his […]

Heritage Theatre Festival’s Red depicts an artist in turmoil

The year is 1958, and abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko sits in a chair in his New York studio, smoking a cigarette and considering the audience. Or rather an invisible canvas that hangs between us. Aside from a coffee pot, a phonograph, and scotch, every surface is dedicated to artistic detritus. Rusty buckets, stained drop […]

Pun Picks: Dan Bechdolt of Mingo Fishtrap

In the summer of 2010, Morwenna Lasko and I flew to Salina, Kansas to play the Smoky Hill River Festival. We played a total of five sets throughout the weekend with our full band (Pete Spaar, upright bass; Devonne Harris, drums; and our friend Lester Jackson, vocals). Kansas was HOT, dripping hot, but we had […]

ARTS Pick: Midlife Crisis at Carter Mountain Sunsets

With spectacular views, local wines, summer food favorites, and live music, the Carter Mountain Sunsets series is ironically the perfect setting for Midlife Crisis, the classic rockers who are performing next in the orchard’s family friendly concert run. Relax on the deck with your bag of fresh picked fruit and some of the bakery shop’s […]

Film review: Despicable Me 2

How does a reformed supervillain, Gru (Steve Carell), have anything to do in a sequel in which he’s not made the villain? Simple: He’s recruited by an international crime-fighting organization led by Silas Ramsbottom (ha, yeah; he’s played by Steve Coogan and resembles an obese James Fox) and partnered with Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) to […]

With a twist: Live music at the tea house flourishes under new booking team

The Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar (affectionately known to locals as the “tea house”) has been hosting live music since it opened a decade ago. The first concerts were organized by Jason Andrews (whose business card read “Hospitality Czar”). But since Andrews’ departure in 2006, a dozen different individuals have taken turns working out arrangements with […]

ARTS Pick: Shantel Leitner

Music is in indie folk singer-songwriter Shantel Leitner’s blood. Following in the footsteps of her mother, aunt, and grandfather (all country singers), Leitner began singing at a young age. “I was pretty bashful, so I didn’t sing with them until my grandfather lovingly nudged me to,” Leitner said during a recent phone interview. Now at […]

ARTS Pick: Storyline Project

What makes Charlottesville go? To answer that particular question, the Storyline Project will team students grades 4-6 with local artists and designers for the fifth annual public art experience. As part of this year’s “transit” theme, the group will take bikes, buses, and boats around the area to explore the spaces, places, and stories that […]

ARTS Pick: Glenn Jones and Dais Queue

Glenn Jones first made his musical mark as a member of the experimental rock band Cul de Sac in the ’90s. His work with that group eventually led to him become the protégé of the legendary, beloved, and notoriously difficult John Fahey, who was then enjoying a late-career resurgence. Since Fahey’s passing a decade ago, […]