Falling for it: Just like local alt-weeklies, local alt-radio stations are fans of the well-crafted pun. Which is why WTJU’s Freefall Music Festival is exactly what it sounds like: concerts throughout the fall, completely free! The series kicks off with a Labor Day weekend cookout. Munch on hot dogs and chug local brews as WTJU […]
Falling for it: Just like local alt-weeklies, local alt-radio stations are fans of the well-crafted pun. Which is why WTJU’s Freefall Music Festival is exactly what it sounds like: concerts throughout the fall, completely free! The series kicks off with a Labor Day weekend cookout. Munch on hot dogs and chug local brews as WTJU […]
Totally mental: Mentalist and illusionist Craig Karges opens PVCC’s live performance season with a challenge: If you can prove that volunteer audience members are actually coached ahead of time, and planted at his show, he will donate $100,000 to charity. The entertainer dazzles audiences around the globe by reading minds and performing baffling tricks. Karges […]
Southern goodness: Brent Cobb found fame in Nashville, but his heart remained in his home state of Georgia. Now that he’s based in the Peach State again, he’s taking a more intuitive approach to his music, and the resulting album is soft, reflective, and soulful. South Carolina’s Nikki Lane pairs her “vintage ’60s country-pop swagger” […]
Swan Song R, 105 minutesViolet Crown Cinema Debating answers to thought experiments is only frustrating when you need an answer: If a tree falls in the forest, do you feel stonewalled discussing the answer? Todd Stephens’ Swan Song is based on a similar riddle. Stephens wants us to enjoy the journey, allowing only one question: […]
Lobs to love There’s still time to get your claws on some claws at Shadwell’s Lobstravaganza. Through the end of August, Shadwell’s is serving citrusy lobster ceviche, decadent lobbie sliders, and, for those ready to get crackin’, a whole steamed lobster. Ivy Provisions is also riding the crustacean current with limited-time lobster rolls—take your pick […]
Mystery machine: Finish up your summer reading list with a bang during an evening with mystery author Elle Cosimano. She’s got a stack of young-adult thrillers to her name, and the recently published Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the debut novel in her mystery series for adults. The reading is hosted by Bluebird Books, […]
Face forward: Soul of Cville wants to “bring the soul back to the city” with a celebration of Black excellence and culture in Charlottesville. The event includes a market featuring African American artwork and crafts, a showcase celebrating local community members, a fashion show, and lots of music. Headliner E&J Band is joined on the […]
Setting the tone: The contributions of Black musicians to bluegrass and Americana are often ignored, and Jake Blount is here to change that. An acclaimed fiddler, Blount centers Black, Indigenous, and queer experiences at the heart of his music, paying tribute to the integral role those voices have played in the formation of Appalachian music. […]
Expanded memory: With a range of work that explores “decolonization, memory, language making, transnationality, Afrofuturism, and radicalization of the imagination,” it’s fair to say that multi-media artist Adama Delphine Fawundu takes a broad approach. But her genius lies in powerful details: a transformative shower, a vivid line of paint, an indigenous mask, the light across […]
By Julia Stumbaugh On August 23, 2020 a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer shot a 29-year-old Black man named Jacob Blake in the back. In the days that followed, Charlottesville actor and director David Vaughn Straughn sat down to write a play. “I felt this anger and intolerance and frustration,” says Straughn. “I knew that was […]