Band together: Wild Common’s music knows no constraints
In the yard of Brennan Gilmore’s farmhouse outside of town, a jagged line of trees lie on their sides, torn from the ground by a recent tornado, chunks of red dirt still clinging to the roots. In the distance, mist settles in over the mountains, and the whole scene feels quintessentially Virginia, a feeling underscored […]
ARTS Pick: Hiroya Tsukamoto
The swift guitar stylings of Hiroya Tsukamoto are the result of his discovery of the banjo, and a childhood love of bluegrass comes through in his playing, which includes takes on folk, jazz, and traditional Japanese music. As a teen, Tsukamoto worked tirelessly to perfect his craft, and it paid off in 2000 when he […]
ARTS Pick: Thomas Rhett
With Life Changes, Thomas Rhett delivers a collection of fearless rock and country vibes in a reflective ode to things lost and found. Growing up in the music scene, Rhett seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of his country singer dad, but found himself fostering the success of his peers, penning tunes for acts such […]
ARTS Pick: Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls
Acoustic-folk extraordinaire Frank Turner is an expert at traversing artistic and geographic borders. He was born in Bahrain before moving to England where he studied alongside classmate Prince William (and picked punk over posh traditionalism). Following the dissolution of his hardcore group Million Dead, Turner focused his energies on a singer-songwriter career. He attributes the […]
ARTS Pick: Brandi Carlile
Self-taught instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile broke out in 2007 with her second album, The Story, and a career built on bright folk-pop was launched. Eleven years later, Carlile’s sixth studio release, By the Way, I Forgive You, is a deeply personal record that grapples with loss, forgiveness, queer motherhood, and spirituality. Boston indie-folk quartet Darlingside […]
ARTS Pick: Birds of Chicago
Country twang that hops and sways, soul that trembles and soars—these descriptors make up two halves of an imaginative whole. Americana duo Birds of Chicago got their start with a leap of faith, when JT Nero and Allison Russell paused their individual music endeavors to celebrate their 2013 self-titled debut. Home is on the road […]
ARTS Pick: Yarn
For some artists, hitting the road is synonymous with coming home. The Brooklyn-based quartet Yarn, which recently planted its bluegrass roots in North Carolina, has notched more than a thousand shows across the country. It even has a Grammy nomination stapled to its name, and has shared the stage with both Alison Krauss and The […]
ARTS Pick: The Secret Rain
Casey Horn is growing old, and with age comes a whole lot of trouble—between his mother’s poor taste in men, his younger brother’s out-of-this-world obsession, and the neighbor girl’s frustrating lack of interest, he’s finding that life isn’t exactly grand. The Secret Rain follows Casey as he navigates these obstacles with the help of Audrey […]
Due diligence: The Wife is an intelligent look at love and conflict
There may be no better time for The Wife than this moment, in which the role of the male genius whose achievements came at the expense of unrecognized or exploited women is under scrutiny. (A few months in the doghouse, it seems, is plenty of time for celebrated entertainers to atone for sexually assaulting or […]