Multi-instrumentalist and singer Alice Gerrard says she’s lucky that her life turned out the way it did: making friends with and playing alongside some of folk music’s most historically resonant figures. On Friday, March 20, Gerrard and Virginia state folklorist Katy Clune are set to discuss her book, Custom Made Woman: A Life in Traditional […]
Multi-instrumentalist and singer Alice Gerrard says she’s lucky that her life turned out the way it did: making friends with and playing alongside some of folk music’s most historically resonant figures. On Friday, March 20, Gerrard and Virginia state folklorist Katy Clune are set to discuss her book, Custom Made Woman: A Life in Traditional […]
It came as no surprise when Chris Kelly told his parents he wanted to attend Vanderbilt University. Sure, Vandy’s a great school. But the subtext was clear: Kelly, the son of two accomplished local musicians and a serial band leader during his four years at Monticello High School, was a natural fit for the biggest […]
Poet and multimedia artist Diana Khoi Nguyen often explores themes of intergenerational and family trauma through her work, which includes two books of poetry: Ghost Of, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and most recently, Root Fractures. In both books, photographs play a significant role, including family photos that Nguyen’s brother cut […]
If you’re a big fan of Clueless (1995), or Emma (1996), or even EMMA (2020), you’ll want to check out Kate Hamill’s latest adaptation of the Jane Austen classic before closing weekend. Ella Caplin shines in Live Arts’ Emma as a mischievous matchmaker who plots romantic entanglements and learns a little bit about life and […]
Virginia Festival of the Book brings one of the foremost contemporary photographers to town as Lexington, Virginia, native Sally Mann speaks on her new book, Art Work: On the Creative Life. The renowned artist, known for ethereal landscapes of the American South and intimate portraits of her family, blends aspects of memoir and how-to manual […]
The Indie Short Film Festival returns for its third iteration, bringing 132 films, panel discussions, and cultural programming to five downtown venues. With a full slate of domestic and international shorts—including 20 with Virginia connections—the festival showcases independent storytelling. This year’s programming includes timely takes on AI- and tech-induced issues (AI Jesus, 2025; Deb and […]
Jazz is a big genre. So big, in fact, that many subgenres have emerged throughout its more than 100-year history. From the provocative connotations of its New Orleans origins to the ever-present smooth variety unobtrusively filling places such as the corridors of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, there’s no question that jazz has morphed into a […]
The Harlem Globetrotters 100 Year Tour marks a century of amazing athletic feats and breaking racial barriers by a basketball team that’s older than penicillin, electronic television, and sliced bread. What started as an exhibition squad of Black players from the South Side of Chicago has grown into a worldwide phenomenon of dazzling dunks, trick […]
Murder, mayhem, and musical numbers collide in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece—winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Book (by Hugh Wheeler), Best Original Score, and Best Musical—follows an unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th-century London and exacts a bloody revenge that also rehabilitates a failing pie shop. […]
Pull on your boots and tip back your hat for A Night In Nashville, a country-fied fundraiser supporting The Front Porch and local music education. Try your luck in silent auctions, raffles, and the casino room as downhome sounds fill the air. Timbo and Lonesome Country make their way up from Music City with soulful […]