ARTS Pick: Primus

For more than 27 years, musical outlier Primus has been creating some of the most unique, boundary-pushing music since the early days of Zappa and Pink Floyd. Its first album in 11 years, Green Naugahyde is another experimental project that pays tribute to the band’s earlier days. According to Primus’ leading man, Les Claypool, “We’re […]

Guided by Bob: Hibernator Gigs releases a sly tribute to GBV

Guided By Voices is one of the most prolific and beloved rock bands of the past 30 years. The Dayton, Ohio group fronted by Robert Pollard has released dozens of albums, EPs, singles, and three boxed sets of original material, frequently changed band members, broke up and reunited, splintered off into various solo and side […]

Album reviews: Daughter, Dido, Xenia Dunford

The first full-length album from London-based band Daughter is a sonic and emotional feast. “Lifeforms” encapsulates the album’s sound, tone and content, with echoing, reverb-heavy guitars, singer Elena Tonra’s husky, lilting vocals, and her metaphorical lyrics about cleaning up after your dead. The ebullient “Human” focuses on recognizing self-worth despite our shortcomings.

ARTS Pick: Gems of the Baroque Era

Under the direction of Michael Slon, The Oratorio Society of Virginia is filling an afternoon with choral masterworks that express “the best of the human spirit.” The Gems of the Baroque Era includes Bach’s Orchestral Suite #3 in D Major, and Handel’s Coronation Anthems, originally commissioned for the 1727 coronation of King George II and […]

Film Review: Fast & Furious 6 is big, dumb summertime fun

Wow. Where does one begin? The insipid dialogue? Paul Walker’s non-presence? A plot that makes almost no sense? Stunts that defy the laws of physics? Nah. Let’s start here: I can’t believe how much fun I had watching Fast & Furious 6. Don’t get me wrong. It’s so absurd and stupid that it doesn’t really […]

ARTS Pick: Jason Ring

Known around the state as a one-man, country-bluegrass-blues band, Jason Ring improvises fiery, intricate loops on the guitar, banjo, mandolin, dobro, and bass. Ring grew up in Galax, Virginia, a town that echoes with tunes from the world famous Galax Fiddler’s Convention, and at age 5 he started picking his own brew of bluegrass, Piedmont […]

Live Arts hits home and heart with full force in August: Osage County

Beverly Weston, aging poet and professor, sits among overstuffed bookshelves and reflects on the sum of his life: a marriage bound by whiskey and pills, a career lost in the shadows of tortured art. He quotes T.S. Eliot—“life is very long”—to his newly hired, live-in housekeeper, a young Cheyenne woman named Johnna, and admits it […]

ARTS Pick: Holly Renee Allen

Singer-songwriter Holly Renee Allen (left) plays enchanting, vibrant, and lyrically intelligent music that captures the soul of the South. The Shenandoah Valley native has logged hours on the road, collaborated with some of Nashville’s heavyweights, and has the guitar string calluses to prove that hard work pays off with Big Love, the title of her […]

ARTS Pick: The Search for Good Tour

Josh Urban is on the search for good in the world, and this Friday, May 31, he’ll be looking for it in Charlottesville. His stop is part of  the Josh Urban Rail Tour, also known as “The Search for Good Tour-finding those who rock the world,” which involves playing music (a mix of blues, rock, and […]

ARTS Pick: Turnpike Troubadours

If you like to get down, the Turnpike Troubadours’ raw, blue collar energy is sure to speak to you. The Oklahoma quintet, featuring fiddle and bass, has become well-known in America’s heartland for its passionate authenticity and dynamic live show. Currently promoting a third studio album, Goodbye Normal Street, the rowdy and quick-witted Troubadours’ flinty genre-melding […]