Unseelie

Get an early start on your New Year’s resolution to read more, and pick up a copy of Virginia-based author Ivelisse Housman’s debut young adult novel, Unseelie. The first in a swoony, high-energy duology, Unseelie follows two sisters on a magical journey of love, discovery, and acceptance. Housman’s writing is inspired by her own lived […]

Curtain call 2022

Watching the film industry transform in 2022 has been more fascinating—and alarming—than anything currently playing in theaters. The hammer blow COVID dealt to movie theater attendance became more obvious than ever: Heavy-hitters like Steven Spielberg and George Miller delivered box office duds, while viewers stayed home en masse and binged on their favorite streaming series.  […]

A year in reading

The past year was a continuation of a period of mostly escapist reading, during which I found pleasure in re-reading old favorites, and really took my time with books that I sped through in the past. Taking refuge in joy-infused, thoughtful, and imaginative books occupied most of my time as a counterbalance to the heavier […]

Heard that

By Samantha Federico The live music scene is better than it’s been in the last few years, and 2022 felt like a new era for music creators, with area artists being no exception. Fewer songs are being inspired by the pandemic, and it’s back to existential quests to wring something meaningful out of this world, […]

Pick: The Nutcracker

At Charlottesville Ballet’s The Nutcracker, Clara and her Nutcracker embark on a magical Christmas Eve journey, during which they battle the vicious Mouse King, dance with merry snowflakes, and enter the enchanting Land of Sweets. CB’s professional company brings the holiday classic to life with the help of over 100 community dancers, Tchaikovsky’s treasured score, […]

Pick: A Christmas Carol

If you’re feeling a little Grinchy, the American Shakespeare Center’s production of A Christmas Carol is sure to turn that frown upside down. The immersive show follows miserly Ebenezer Scrooge as he gets a visit from the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Audience members should arrive early so they have time to take […]

Pick: 15th Annual Xmas Jam

Deck the halls, throw back some eggnog, and cut loose at the 15th Annual Xmas Jam. The evening features a lineup of local musicians performing old favorites, new surprises, and holiday hits, and the gig benefits The Front Porch. Hosts Tucker Rogers and BJ Pendleton keep the festivities rolling between sets by Andy Waldeck, Joe […]

Shared experience

Untrained and subject to the dual, almost insurmountable, constraints of economics and Jim Crow, the artists on display in “Of Another Canon: African American Outsider Art” at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center possessed a creative fire. Despite cruelly stacked odds, Mozell S. Benson, Rudolph Bostic, Bessie Harvey, Anderson Johnson, Mary Proctor, Bernice Sims, […]

Pick: Holiday Music Series

Seasonal classics are revitalized with dazzling virtuosity and merry fervor at the Quirk’s Holiday Music Series. In this weekly installment, violinists Minchae Kim and SoHyun Ko, violist Jerome McCoy, and cellist Dilshod Narzillaev of the Heifetz International Music Institute perform a seasonal program. Highlights include glittering solo pieces, Baroque gems, chamber masterworks, and some special […]

Pick: National Anthem

One-hit-wonder Clint has fallen on hard times in National Anthem, a new full-length experimental feature from local filmmaker Will Goss. Through a blend of animation and live action, the movie follows Clint as he receives an email from another planet, Rena Lara, that asks him to come visit and write its national anthem. Goss, who […]