Some childhood interests turn out to be just a passing fancy. But that was not the case for Fiona Balestrieri when she was a young musician. “My first instrument was actually the fiddle,” she says. “I only played that for a year because I discovered the Irish flute. … The sound of the wooden flute […]
Some childhood interests turn out to be just a passing fancy. But that was not the case for Fiona Balestrieri when she was a young musician. “My first instrument was actually the fiddle,” she says. “I only played that for a year because I discovered the Irish flute. … The sound of the wooden flute […]
Ripley Johnson’s created such a specific body of work, his name’s been used as a song title to signify a sound. For more than two decades, the Portland guitarist has investigated various forms of psychedelia, ranging from metronomic minimalism to fuzzy freakouts. So when he started releasing country music a few years back under the […]
By Tami Keaveny, Ella Powell, and CM Turner | Photography by Tristan Williams For songwriters and musicians of all genres, going from the page to the stage can be intimidating. Participating in an open mic night is a natural first step in public performance for a fledgling musician, and for seasoned performers, it’s an opportunity […]
Reverberating walls of guitars, manic drumming, screeching vocals, and ponderous lyrics with obfuscated motives give a sense of Bay Area-bred Deafheaven’s typical touchstones. Beyond those descriptors, the band has expanded its repertoire of sounds and arrangements to provide a freshness that demonstrates growth without abandoning its roots. The latest release, Lonely People with Power (2025), […]
Ryan Calonder has a simple vision for something that’s become a sprawling enterprise: a music festival, but limited to two days and featuring nothing but bands from Charlottesville proper. “From where I’m standing, this town has so much good, original music coming out of it,” he says. “But over the last 10 years or so, […]
Chronicling the extraordinary life and career of a prolific artist, A Savage Art: The Life & Cartoons of Pat Oliphant illustrates how, over five decades and 10 U.S. presidents, the Australian transplant became America’s most renowned and feared political cartoonist. Featuring interviews with Oliphant, his family, friends, and colleagues, plus archival footage and hundreds of […]
The Second Saturday Music Series presents genre-blending pianist, composer, and storyteller Katherine Nies for an evening of outdoor arts and entertainment. Nies combines classical, folk, and improvisation into a sound that feels both timeless and otherworldly, drawing inspiration from her mother’s Peruvian and Puerto Rican folk songs on guitar and her father’s late-night jazz piano, […]
The Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 26th season with a series of concerts including a free community performance on September 12. The eclectic program for strings, clarinet, and piano features music from Brazil as well as short works by classical composers Niccolò Paganini, de Beriot, Rebecca Clarke, Osmo Vänskä, and others in a one-hour […]
Adam Sandler still makes jokes. You may be Gen X or a Boomer and think of him as the doofus next to Chris Farley on “Saturday Night Live,” but aside from being an extremely well-paid Hollywood movie star, writer, and media producer, he’s also a musician who plays for laughs. It may surprise you to […]
I am impressed by Mannequin Pussy. The band makes contemporary indie rock that excels without posturing or abducting the riffs of pre-internet college radio’s heyday. MP writes melodies that sound as if no other option would make as much sense or satisfy the notes. This forgone conclusion of artistry is especially true on the choruses. The […]