For more than two decades, Spoon has forged a path that embodies consistency. Across nine studio albums, the Austin quartet has dabbled in mainstream success (think “I Turn My Camera On” from 2005’s Gimme Fiction), but lives comfortably in the hook-laden, meticulous ebbs and flows that have solidified the group’s status as indie stalwarts. Comprised […]
Music has, at times, seemed to serve as a therapeutic venture for Tim Showalter, the voice and vision behind Strand of Oaks. On past albums, he’s used his songs to grapple with his inner demons, but the 2017 release Hard Love takes a different approach with a rollicking album that celebrates life’s delights, from sex […]
Since its sold-out premiere in 1851, Rigoletto has been one of the most popular operas of all time. Verdi’s interwoven tragedy follows father and daughter through scandal and curse to a bitter ending. While the Charlottesville Opera sticks to a traditional production, the opera’s themes remain so current it has been reimagined by other companies […]
South Korean pianist Hyojung Huh and the international duo PianoFlautée bring their talents together for a fundraising showcase of classical music billed as Corners of the Earth. Huh is an accomplished performer with two Carnegie Hall credits to her name, and the members of the duo—flautist and hometown prodigy Chelsea Meynig, who channels history and […]
Kasey Chambers has long been revered as one of Australia’s iconic roots-country performers, and her 2017 album Dragonfly shows why. Despite the fact that she’s been recording music since 1998, Chambers’ voice remains fresh and original, from sweet blues to sparkling jazz to twanging banjo. She shows off a sweeping range of musicality and emotion […]
At first, the biggest surprise move made by Marvel was placing fan favorite (yet far-fetched) Thor on equal footing with the iconic Iron Man and Captain America in its Cinematic Universe. Now we accept the character’s presence as a given. Then the studio defied expectations by establishing phase two of its master plan with new-to-film […]
“Things might get kind of weird in the background,” Pokey LaFarge says when he answers the phone for an interview in late June. He’s taken the call, despite being stuck on the highway in Ohio, trying to find a way to get to a gig in Cleveland, because his bright yellow tour bus is now […]
Climbing into your mom’s minivan when you’d lied only slightly about your whereabouts for the evening, reeking of cigarettes and blaming it on your friends when it really was you who was smoking. Claiming you’d only been drinking Pepsi and then trying to figure out how to throw away the beer bottle caps you’d stuffed […]
For Charlottesville-based author Stefan Bechtel, mystery is the essence of life. “I grew up in Chicago, in the white-bread suburbs where every lawn was perfect. But way out on the edge of town there was a swamp. Lincoln Swamp,” Bechtel says. “We would ride our bikes all the way out to Lincoln Swamp, and we […]
James Elkington Wintres Woma (Paradise of Bachelors) When bashful guitar hero Steve Gunn played the Tea Bazaar in fall 2014, a lot of the crowd ended up buzzing about sous guitarist James Elkington, whose electric and lap steel provided endlessly dazzling settings and accents. On Wintres Woma, his solo debut, Elkington sticks to acoustic guitar […]