Burning love: Since 1801 the life of poet Robert Burns has been celebrated with an annual meal on or near his January 25 birthday. Deemed a Burns Supper, the dinner consists of haggis (sheep or calf offal seasoned, and boiled in a bag made from the animal’s stomach), tatties (mashed potatoes), and neeps (mashed rutabaga). […]
Burning love: Since 1801 the life of poet Robert Burns has been celebrated with an annual meal on or near his January 25 birthday. Deemed a Burns Supper, the dinner consists of haggis (sheep or calf offal seasoned, and boiled in a bag made from the animal’s stomach), tatties (mashed potatoes), and neeps (mashed rutabaga). […]
Count to three: There’s never been a better time for a magic show. (Please Wes Iseli, make it disappear!) Iseli, a consultant for “The Carbonaro Effect” on truTV, has been wowing audiences with his magic since age 7, and gained local fame through his 24-hour fundraising shows. In Virtual Magic Show, he promises to teach […]
Cullen Wade considers himself a guest in the house of hip-hop. And he’s trying to make the most of his visit. Going by the name of Fellowman, the Charlottesville emcee recently dropped a new LP and performed it in its entirety during a late December Facebook livestream. The 12-track collection, Death of the Author, is […]
Cheesy goodness: In the intro to her cookbook Hot Cheese: Over 50 Gooey, Oozy, Melty Recipes, Polina Chesnakova writes: “…something happens when you apply heat to curds: a setting of the stage. A bubbling pot of fondue, a half wheel of raclette as it blisters and caramelizes under a grill.” To salivate even more, break […]
Solidarity in song: Raising voices and raising awareness since 1973, Sweet Honey in the Rock is an African American a cappella group with a broad range of performance credits, from “Sesame Street” to Carnegie Hall. With mesmerizing harmonies and gifted lyrical flow, the ensemble addresses civil rights, justice, equality, and freedom through gospel, blues, and […]
Hot licks: It would be a disservice to call Jorma Kaukonen anything other than rock royalty. The Washington, D.C., native is on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists list. He’s a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, has performed with Janis Joplin and Jerry Garcia, and still jams frequently with Phil Lesh. Kaukonen has […]
Whether they are willing to admit it or not, all documentaries make an argument. Michael Moore is never shy about voicing his opinions, while at the other end of the spectrum, Ken Burns frames his work as recording history. Some Kind of Heaven, the debut work from Lance Oppenheim, never shouts its thoughts from rooftops, […]
Two decades ago, Terésa Dowell-Vest embarked on a research project. After attending grad school in California, the actor and playwright set out to collect the oral histories of family and community members in her hometown of Charlottesville. The product of this research was 1999’s Vinegar Hill, a play named after the town’s once-thriving Black neighborhood. […]
Birthday Bowie: In the mid-’80s, a Jim Henson and George Lucas film collaboration was guaranteed to generate big buzz—tack on the casting of rock star/actor David Bowie, and the anticipation was palpable. The musical fantasy Labyrinth follows the journey of a teenage girl through a maze to rescue her baby brother. Other than Bowie and […]
Band of brothers: With a sound beyond their years, you’d never guess that the Heetderks brothers are all under age 17. Picking out traditional bluegrass and gospel as The Earlysville Bluegrass Boys, David (banjo, dobro), John (mandolin, fiddle), and Daniel (guitar, bass) have made a name for themselves by charming audiences at church picnics and […]