The five songwriters who make up the Nashville-based American roots outfit Forlorn Strangers carefully blend their distinct styles into a cohesive sound that’s driven by danceable rhythms, upbeat instrumentals and tight harmonies. The band celebrates its first full-length, self-titled album, produced by Grammy Award-winner Phil Madeira, and is queued up for a debut on this […]
Who knew that our great state of Virginia had a favorite stripper doctor? Dr. Ophelia Derriere claims the title while taking a break from her medical residency to examine a few bumps and grinds in the burlesque show Advanced Anatomy. Derriere, who gets backing from the New Orleans jazz act Soggy Po’ Boys, says that […]
Don’t hang out with Diet Cig if you’re not willing to risk arrest or have your exploits immortalized in song. That’s not to say that every night the self-proclaimed “slop-pop” duo spent on the road over the past two years ended in flashing lights. It simply means that as in life, anything can—and will—happen. “I […]
David Ayer’s Suicide Squad is DC’s first attempt at unshackling its Extended Universe from Zack Snyder’s hollow style and unrelenting gloom, with an eye to demonstrating that building a franchise around the Justice League is a worthwhile endeavor on its own and it’s not just piggybacking on Marvel’s formula for The Avengers. On both counts, […]
Local favorite Jason Burke draws from a broad range of influences, such as James Taylor, AC/DC and The Beatles, to create what he describes as a “California country sound.” His latest album, Burning Daylight, pulls jazz, blues and soul into the mix. Burke (who’s a big promoter of local musicians) had a setback due to […]
Charlottesville transplant and UVA alumni Lee Clay Johnson’s debut novel, Nitro Mountain, was released to raves from both critics and peers. Kirkus Reviews called it “Appalachian noir at its darkest and most deranged.” Novelist David Gates, a former Guggenheim fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist, introduced it at a reading as “appallingly funny,” saying it’s “the […]
Local abstract artist Aimee McDavitt lives with chronic illness, though it is rarely the subject of her art. “My experience has emphasized the importance of learning to seek, create and enjoy happiness within the confines of my situation,” she says. McDavitt’s acrylic works reflect free experimentation of several techniques—drips, drops, swirling, crinkling and color layering—to […]
Paul Simon Stranger to Stranger (Concord) Paul Simon was once called “one of rock’s great lightweights,” though I’d offer “one of lightweight rock’s greats” instead. While Simon has never shown interest in proper rocking, he’s imbued pop songs with short-story richness while keeping them catchy, allowing you to sing along with lines like “the poor […]
Former “Seinfeld” writer Pat Hazell stars in The Wonder Bread Years, a fast-paced production that rides the line between stand-up and theater. The nationally touring one-man show is steeped in nostalgia from Eskimo Pies and lawn darts to kids at the dinner table and sitting in the back of a Country Squire station wagon. It’s […]
Joe Walsh started his career in bars and clubs as a solo act before James Gang showcased his guitar chops on a national level with “Funk #49.” In 1975, Walsh joined the Eagles, where he helped transform the rock music scene with the release of Hotel California, his first album with the band. Walsh says […]