PICK: Jurassic Park

Paleo diet: Thanks to Steven Speilberg’s Jurassic Park, we learned that theme parks populated by cloned dinosaurs are a bad idea. Revisit the Costa Rican island where plans for a new tourist attraction go horribly awry when the dinosaurs break out and go on the attack. The billionaire park owner desperately tries to underplay the […]

Erin & the Wildfire

Friday’s fired up: Channeling ’60s soul and ’70s disco funk, Erin & the Wildfire tackles everything from female solidarity to pizza. That quirky range is backed by the solid grooves of Matt Wood on bass, Ryan Lipps on guitar, and Nick Quillen on drums, a rhythmic soundscape bolstered by Erin Lunsford’s powerful, soaring vocals. Spudnik […]

PICK: Mama Tried

Locally made jam: Mama Tried is a local supergroup, pulling talent from Charlottesville favorites like Alligator, Mojo Pie, The Cows, and The Skip Castro Band. The all-star band features Susan Munson (guitar and vocals), Charlie Pastorfield (guitar and vocals), Stuart Holme (bass), Kent Raine (drums), and Sam Johnston (keys, vocals, and harmonica). Expect an evening […]

Death wishes

Longtime NPR host Diane Rehm is arranging flowers as she talks about death. Rehm became involved in the right-to-die movement after watching her husband of 54 years die from Parkinson’s disease. John Rehm could no longer stand, walk, or eat by himself, but his Maryland doctor said there was nothing he could do to hasten […]

Hometown influences guide new releases

Butcher Brown Encore, Concord Jazz Richmond collective Butcher Brown made its major label debut last year on Concord with the release of #KINGBUTCH, an expansive full-length album that showcased the group’s unique fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and soul. Now, the quintet of DJ Harrison, drummer Corey Fonville, bassist Andrew Randazzo, trumpeter/saxophonist/MC Marcus “Tennishu” Tenney, and […]

PICK: The Quebe Sisters

Swing out sisters: Straight from low-lit honky-tonks and dusty dance halls, The Quebe Sisters saunter in with their progressive take on the traditions of Western swing and songs from yesteryear. Archtop guitar, upright bass, and fiddles add to Grace, Sophia, and Hulda’s captivating three-part harmonies. The Sisters combine jazz, country, and Texas-style fiddling to sweep […]

PICK: Back to Barboursville

Sweetheart of Barboursville: You’ve probably seen Terri Allard gracing one of our local stages or on the tube as host of Virginia Public Media’s “Charlottesville Inside-Out,” but did you know she’s from Barboursville? Which is why she’s right at home at Back to Barboursville, Four County Players’ first mainstage show since the start of the […]

PICK: AbbeyRoad

Come together: All you need is love—and the ultimate Beatles party band AbbeyRoad. For years, AbbeyRoad has been channeling the four lads from Liverpool with a wide-ranging repertoire that spans Beatles covers and deep cuts with an attention to detail that includes using vintage replica instruments. The performance benefits the Reclaimed Hope Initiative. Friday 7/9, […]

Collard greens for the soul

Vast culinary traditions influence Southern food—European, Native American, African, Caribbean. But if you’re thinking individually about those traditions when you’re thinking about Southern food, you’re kind of doing it wrong, according to food historian Leni Sorensen. Those traditions hit American soil in the 1600s and immediately began to mingle, even as they traveled south, she […]

PICK: Kendall Street Company

Out of this world: Kendall Street Company turns up the heat with a midsummer concert celebrating its newly released “pop-ambient space opera,” The Year the Earth Stood Still: Ninurta. The group’s blend of generous garage band energy and Americana soul meanders through waves of esoteric ambiance, then quickly turns into mind-melting psychedelia backed by a […]