Two horse-lovers mobilize social media to save animals from slaughter

Colby’s Crew started with one horse and one decision from the heart. Colby, a 4-year-old chestnut stallion with white markings, had run out of options. Allison (Ally) Smith, an experienced equestrian studying nursing and training horses on the side, saw an online post about him: “Bound for slaughter. Needs experienced handler.” “He was flashy and […]

Ailey II

Founded by pioneering choreographer Alvin Ailey in 1974, Ailey II has been pairing the talent of early-career dancers with emerging choreographers to shape the next generation of modern dance for the past 50 years. In Revelations, his seminal work, Ailey incorporates African American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel music, and holy blues to plumb the nadir of […]

The Emily Kuhn Quintet

Chicago-based jazz trumpeter Emily Kuhn returns to her hometown with The Emily Kuhn Quintet. As part of a residency with the Charlottesville Jazz Society and WTJU, the group will perform a public concert featuring new original music and selections from Kuhn’s recent release, Ghosts of Us. Pulling on the threads of connection, stillness, grief, and […]

“The Monster Squad”

Spooky season is upon us, so it’s the perfect time to revisit the camp and comedy of ’80s cult classic The Monster Squad. Dracula believes the creatures of the night should rule the world, and he’s enlisted a cadre of creeps to aid the cause. Can a plucky pack of prepubescents stop the monsters before […]

An otherwise brilliant version of The Scottish Play

“We do it with the lights on,” says The American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse website about its use of “universal lighting.” So right up front you know that whatever you see in its elegant, woody environs will take place with the house lights aglow.  Understandably, in its staunch attempt to maintain historical accuracy wherever possible, […]

JSAAHC adds highly detailed Black spaces exhibition to its permanent collection

“Toward a Lineage of Self” is the latest addition to the “Pride Overcomes Prejudice” permanent exhibition at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. Featuring an interactive digital map, the exhibition uses deed records, oral histories, documents, and photographs to show how Charlottesville’s historically Black neighborhoods came to be, the struggles they faced when confronted […]

Virginia Film Festival lineup has broad reach

Stories of survival, the trials and triumphs of friends and families, animated offerings, and films from around the world. The 37th Virginia Film Festival brings together an incredibly diverse program of features, shorts, and documentaries for your consideration. The festival takes place from October 30–November 3 at various theaters throughout Charlottesville, opening with Sean Baker’s […]

Live Arts Voyages season

The Voyages season is underway at Live Arts. Whether capturing the spirit of adventure, making way into the unknown, or steppingback in time, the 2024-25 lineup shares thematic elements related to trailblazing, travel, and trips near and far. On stage now, An Iliad and What the Constitution Means to Me embody very different voyages. The […]

Kishi Bashi

Boasting indie bona fides as a founding member of Brooklyn’s Jupiter One and a former member of the Athens, Georgia-based of Montreal, Kishi Bashi is touring in support of his new album Kantos. Witha sound that defies easy categorization, the multi-instrumentalist draws inspiration from diverse sources of culture, history, and expression. He defines Kantos as […]

Vampire Weekend

Borne of NYC nights, indie darlings Vampire Weekend have been defining the sound of alternative pop and hipster house parties since the early aughts. Incorporating Afro-pop, ska, hip-hop, ’80s rhythms, and more, VW gets the blood pumping with tracks that tear up the stage like a bat out of hell. Promoting the new album Only […]