Country music queen Carrie Underwood’s career is soaring to new heights—literally. The Grammy-winning artist kicked off The Denim & Rhinestones Tour with multiple midair performances that incorporate big top-style fun—from sky-high flames to a floral-adorned swing. Decked out in a wardrobe of bejeweled outfits, and singing into a denim microphone, Underwood performs her chart-topping hits, […]
Country music queen Carrie Underwood’s career is soaring to new heights—literally. The Grammy-winning artist kicked off The Denim & Rhinestones Tour with multiple midair performances that incorporate big top-style fun—from sky-high flames to a floral-adorned swing. Decked out in a wardrobe of bejeweled outfits, and singing into a denim microphone, Underwood performs her chart-topping hits, […]
A cacophony of innovative sounds define the New York-based experimental music duo Popebama. Composer-performers Erin Rogers and Dennis Sullivan use text, custom electronics, multiple instruments, and intricate set-ups to create heavenly, high-energy listening experiences. On their debut album, Nation Building, Rogers and Sullivan cover new ground in sound and performance. “Gamma Chamber” is a 20-minute […]
Charlottesville Players Guild continues its presentation of August Wilson’s Century Cycle with Seven Guitars, a heart-rending and humorous blues opera. In 1948, a group of friends gather inthe backyard of a Pittsburgh rooming house to mourn the death of Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton, a young guitarist who had big dreams. With touching elegy, musical lyricism, and […]
In Soul Culture: Black Poets, Books, and Questions that Grew Me Up by Remica Bingham-Risher, the poet and essayist, reflects on her life and the influences of the Black poetry community, as framed by interviews with 10 influential mentors. An Affrilachian Poet, Cave Canem fellow, and winner of the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award as […]
Though Sarah Lawson lives far from the coast in Nelson County, they have been keeping tabs on the climate crisis for some time now, following it internationally in the news, and even mapping the movement of a particular iceberg in Antarctica. At home, Lawson (a contributor to C-VILLE) has been monitoring the changes occurring in […]
Infinity Pool is the third feature by writer and director Brandon Cronenberg, and comparisons to his extraordinary father, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg, are inevitable. With Infinity Pool, Brandon explores dark, grotesque territory similar to what his dad’s work has charted, but only superficially. The younger Cronenberg has a long way to go as a director […]
Gospel musician Jonathan McReynolds isn’t a fan of church clichés and “Christian-ese.” According to the Grammy Award winner, his albums “are about being authentic and genuine, pure and transparent.” His latest full-length, Make Room, is an exciting addition to the genre with powerful vocals and candid songwriting. McReynolds is joined by fellow musician and collaborator […]
Billy Strings’ live shows are guitar shred-filled fever dreams that feature all the improv aspects of bluegrass while totally rocking out. His 2021 release, Renewal, is an ambitious 16-song collection that infuses acoustic bluegrass with elements of heavy metal, jam bands, psychedelia, and classic rock. On Me/And/Dad, Strings leans into tradition for a collaboration with, […]
Nobody’s doing it like NNAMDÏ. Mere months after releasing his genre-fusing LP Brat, the Chicago-based do-it-yourselfer released Krazy Karl, a brain-tingling tribute to Looney Tunes composer Carl Stalling. NNAMDÏ pays homage to Stalling’s iconic style on songs like “Coochie Cannon,” “The Lord is My Glock, I Shall Not Want,” and “Milkshake made my tummy hurt! […]
John Kelly is a writer. Sometimes, he’s a songwriter. And with “Three Bright Stars,” he proves he’s a pretty damn good one. Best known for his work as the Virginia Film Festival’s PR pointman, Kelly has been writing for decades—penning reams of corporate communications along with songs. Before moving to Charlottesville in 2001, Kelly started […]