C’est si BON: Local café and art gallery changes its beat

Charlottesville’s newest event venue, café, and chill spot, BON, is kicking off its first month of business on the ground floor of the Pink Warehouse on South Street.  Though BON has existed as a drum shop and mecca for drum circle enthusiasts for almost five years, its reopening in May marked a recommitment to fostering […]

The voice: Joan Baez gives old songs new life

Joan Baez still possesses the unwavering ability to make any song her own, even when she didn’t write the lyrics. It comes from her voice, an unmistakable soaring soprano with nightingale soul that took her to the stage of the Newport Folk Festival at the tender age of 18 and still carries a music career […]

Film review: After Earth

Will Smith and M. Night Shyamalan made a movie together. See, they’re both into patterns. After all, in a recent interview in New York Magazine, Smith said, “I’m a student of patterns.” Shyamalan made a movie, Signs, about crop circles (which, really, are patterns). And finally, they’re both in a holding pattern of making shit movies, so it should be no surprise they combined their talents for After Earth.

June First Fridays Guide

First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many Downtown art galleries and additional exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions. Listings are compiled in collaboration with Piedmont Council for the Arts. To list an exhibit, please send information two weeks before opening to arts@c-ville.com. First Fridays June 7 Bank of America. 306 […]

ARTS Pick: Ivan & Alyosha

Seattle-based indie folk-pop quartet Ivan & Alyosha is nothing if not adaptable, which proved to be a crucial trait during the recording of its first full-length album, All the Times We Had. The band felt pressured, fell out of sync, and scrapped the first attempt. But the challenges eventually paid off in a new record […]

Kris Bowmaster unmasks the inner “Predator/Prey”

Whether hanging on the walls of a Charlottesville hotspot or on display on the Downtown Mall, paintings by Kris Bowmaster are immediately recognizable. Not only does Bowmaster create pieces with distinguishable vibrancy and wistfulness, but he paints with a purpose that speaks. Bowmaster’s upcoming show “Predator/Prey,” was inspired by photographs of animals attacking and consuming […]

ARTS Pick: Langhorne Slim and David Mayfield Parade

Inspired by the joys, perils, and emotional trials that continuous travel can impart on an individual, Langhorne Slim shares the crazy soul that has become a product of his many adventures in life. He keeps it real (along with his band The Law) playing hard-drivin’ folk rockers and ’50s-style rock ‘n’ roll ballads that speak […]

ARTS Pick: Bach’s Lunch Break

Take Bach lunch. Lunch breaks appear to be a dying ritual, as indicated by the chip crumbs around the wheels of your office chair. It’s time to mark your Thursday calendar for a noon date with J.S.B. and a change of the workday pace. Bach’s Lunch features uplifting 30-minute musical performances by the area’s classical talent […]

Interview: Cut Copy blends indie rock, EDM, and skinny jeans

Have a quick look at Cut Copy’s upcoming tour schedule, and the first song that is likely to come to mind is “One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others).” After kicking off in C-Ville on June 6, the Australia-based electronic pop quartet will head to D.C. and New York. So why Charlottesville, a […]

Realistically Viewing

I’ve been thinking a lot about weddings and marriage recently. This is mostly because as a husband I’m required to say that I’m pondering my marriage (in a good way, “Hi honey!”) at least once a month, but also because I attended a friend’s wedding at Pippin Hill last weekend. Also, “The Bachelorette” just returned […]