ARTS Pick: Golden Banshee

Celtic couture King Golden Banshee is mysterious in the vein of traditional Irish folklore. With a limited presence online, the only information gleaned from the band’s Facebook description is a collective interest in Guinness. The five-piece counts flutes, fiddles, banjos, the bodhran, and tin whistles among its instrumental repertoire and uses them skillfully to recall […]

ARTS Pick: Third Day

Faithful foursome While the eleventh studio album by the well-established Christian southern rock band seems the result of hard work and posterity, Third Day has made it a goal to prove that its latest release falls into another category: miraculous. After a troubling start with a suspect record deal, Miracle, released in fall 2012, became […]

Film review: Oz the Great and Powerful

Behind the curtain: Oz the Great and Powerful is a playful take on the wizard’s rise In this day and age, when everything in life—movies, television, sporting events, you name it—seems rooted in money, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz feels like, perhaps, the most cynical of moneymaking schemes. Is there a more surefire […]

ARTS Pick: Stephane Wrembel

Django untamed A guitarist who learned his craft in gypsy campsites scattered across the French countryside sounds like the stuff of myths, but Stephane Wrembel’s colorful beginnings define his artistic career. His fifth album, Origins, was released last year and finds him reaching into that history to incorporate a broader palette of sound into his […]

Power Through The Zombie Apocalypse

My original plan for this week’s column was to discuss our culture’s obsession with zombies. I was going to talk about the popularity of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” I was going to explain that I think people are enthralled with zombies because they offer a rarity: judgement-free scenarios. You kill a zombie because they want to […]

ARTS Pick: Step Afrika!

Stepping it up Combining tradition with youth education, a global vision with local venues, and the visual with the audible, D.C.-based dance group Step Afrika! performs its own distinct fusion of spoken word, clapping, and footsteps. With ears attuned and eyes wide open, performers and fans are united to the beat of these lyrical feet. […]

ARTS Pick: Into the Woods

Broadway has a knack for re-telling classic children’s stories, and one of the early big ones was Into the Woods. Four County Players is mounting Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s multiple Tony Award-winning show in the continued celebration of its 40 seasons.