This week Sir Salman Rushdie, Junot Díaz and Alice Waters are among the impressive group of literary figures, activists and scholars assembling in Charlottesville for Human/Ties, a free, four-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Rushdie, the author and free speech advocate perhaps best known for his novel The […]
Haunted by spirits of recordings past, music studios are just as legendary as the work they’ve cultivated, and they often come equipped with their own folklore. Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” echoes throughout RCA’s Studio B in Nashville. Memphis’ Sun Studio gave us the first recordings of both Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Muscle Shoals Sound Studio […]
The name Frightened Rabbit is attributed to lead singer Scott Hutchinson’s shy nature as a child, but this is not exactly a band cowering in a corner. With cynically humorous titles and bracing, sonically voluminous pop, the group charges through on-your-sleeve heartache, family dysfunction and political observations. The highly anticipated new album Painting of a […]
Frank Ocean Blonde (Boys Don’t Cry) In the midst of all the think pieces analyzing Blonde as an event, it seems worth restating the bottom line: Frank Ocean is a brilliant songwriter, musician and producer, and Blonde is overflowing with sonic and compositional gifts; it’s almost embarrassing. So when I played this for my dad […]
An evening of solace and reflection brings the UVA glee club, chorus and a cappella groups from the university and the surrounding community together in concert for Women Against Violence: Rise Up. The healing, uplifting musical selections include “Still I Rise,” based on the poem by poet laureate Maya Angelou, and the event features various […]
Compiled as a supergroup of local players, Man on a Horse brings together drummer Stuart Gunter, harmonica world champion Gary Green and bassist Andy Waldeck, with guitarist and songwriter Peyton Tochterman. Riding a stampede of talent, this band plays pure, Virginia rock for a laid-back, raise-your-glass, head-swinging good time. Thursday, September 15, 6pm. $8-10. The […]
On January 15, 2009, experienced pilot and aviation safety expert Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger saved the lives of all 155 people aboard US Airways Flight 1549, including his own, with only 208 seconds to turn what could have been a major disaster into the miracle the world saw. A collision with geese had disabled both engines, […]
For Lauren and Stephen Stonestreet, good hospitality runs in the family. As cicadas hum and the neighborhood sounds of 10th and Page reach the porch of their 1925 farmhouse on a Sunday afternoon, the siblings share stories of traveling missionaries and artists visiting their grandparents’ home near Charleston, West Virginia. They say these memories of […]
Charlottesville’s Chamomile and Whiskey mixes an intoxicating blend of Irish, old-time and gypsy music into its own brand of Americana. Since releasing its debut album, Wandering Boots, in 2013, the band, revered for its live performances, has played venues and festivals all over the U.S. The highly anticipated hometown show is bound to be a […]