Canine performers steal the show at American Shakespeare Center

The first thing they teach you in theater school is…well, don’t go to theater school, because you won’t make any money. But, the second thing they teach you is to avoid getting on stage with a dog. And the reason has nothing to do with dogs being difficult or unpleasant; it’s just that no matter […]

ARTS Pick: Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears

Monday 9/3 Greasin’ the groove In an age of dub step and rap versions of ’80s new wave, Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears stand apart with gritty, funky, dirty-picking, soul-howling blues. But don’t mistake Joe’s crew for a novelty act. This band is puttin’ hands on hips, lettin’ backbones slip, and establishing themselves as […]

ARTS Pick: Rebirth Brass Band at the Jefferson

Second lining is a tradition that stretches back through centuries, thought to have originated as the outer circle, or second line, of West African circle dances. The tradition evolved from jazz funerals to choreographed, brass band, dance party parades that are inextricably associated with the life and spirit of NOLA, the city that incubated them. Get […]

ARTS Pick: Final Fridays

Friday 8/31 Finals begin According to the UVA art scene, a final during your first week is the ideal way to ease back in to college life.  The Final Fridays series kicks off with four special exhibitions at the Fralin Museum of Art. “Ancient Masters in Modern Styles,” “The Valley of the Shadow,” “Jean Hélion,” and “Making Science […]

“Picasso, Lydia and Friends” at Les Yeux du Monde

Friday’s opening of “Picasso, Lydia and Friends,”  features the work of Anne Chesnut, Dean Dass, David Summers, Rosemarie Fiore, Russ Warren, Sanda Iliescu, Lydia Gasman and last but not least, Picasso. The exhibition heralds the advent of the Lydia Csato Gasman Archives for Picasso and Modernist Studies under the leadership of Lyn Bolen Warren and […]

ARTS Pick: Ralphie May

Friday 8/31 Bust a gut Having built a comedy career around fat jokes, Ralphie May’s Too Big to Ignore tour follows suit. Beyond his notable physique, May grabs wanted attention on the gossip wire along with his comedienne wife Lahana Turner through punchy sarcasm and eye-popping antics—from the marginally famous marijuana arrest and the release […]

TV Previews: “Abby & Brittany,” “Gigolos,” and “Girlfriend Confidential: LA”

 Race to the bottom “Abby & Brittany”  Tuesday 10pm, TLC There is a growing sentiment that TLC—which originally stood for The Learning Channel—has now become the modern-day equivalent to the circus freak show. An endless parade of extreme human behaviors are put on the airwaves—families with 19 children, teenage gypsy brides, extreme couponers and hoarders. While […]

Film review: The Bourne Legacy

The best way to enjoy The Bourne Legacy is by not having seen the other three Bourne films. (Oops.) That way, those trilogy tidbits which play out again here, as a sort of instigating background action, won’t seem redundant but instead like alluring ads for the better and more adroitly managed movies that still await […]

WTJU’s back to school concert goes beyond UVA Grounds

In the world of radio, WTJU is something of an anomaly: a community station owned by a university, a college station whose staff includes locals, teachers, grad students, and alumni. And while WTJU can boast decades of support from the local community, it faces the challenge of attracting new listeners in the digital age. “I […]

“Stay Prayed Up” at the Haven

Lift your spirits with a gospel music event at the Haven on Sunday, August 26th. Traditional gospel music — from Louisa County’s Ladies of Praise, Richmond groups the Golden Jubilees and the Sons of Praise (authors of the excellently-titled song “Stay Prayed Up”), and Gum Springs, VA’s Healing Prayer — will be accentuated by gospel comedian […]