If Echosmith and Mumford & Sons had a love child in Baraboo, Wisconsin, the sextet PHOX would be the result of their union. The band operates like a family, living together and creating most of its music—coffee shop folk acoustic swirled into a chaotic mix of rock, psychedelic and soul—within the comfort of home. Lyrically, […]
Lloyd Cole is enjoying a career renaissance. The release of his new rock album Standards has reignited the guitarist’s popularity, most notably in Europe where he’s been selling out theaters nearly every night of his current tour, setting Cole up for a triumphant return to the U.S. The songwriting on his new record is being […]
Between the friendly insects peering over the Downtown Mall, photography exhibits throughout town and talks with celebrated, prolific photographers, there are plenty of opportunities to make the most of the annual LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph. But one of the festival’s most unique experiences can only be had this weekend, when the WORKS exhibition takes […]
It may have taken four years of failed vehicles and forced cameos, but Melissa McCarthy finally hits her stride in Spy. Packaged and marketed as more of the same from McCarthy—an alternately crass and sincere broad comedy that misunderstands the difference between empathy and mockery—the slyly progressive and engaging Spy may end up being the […]
Once upon a time, Charlottesville-based playwright Caruso Brown was a terribly shy, introverted student at Virginia State College (now University). He grew up writing poems. That may have been the end of it, if a drama director at the school hadn’t read one of Brown’s poems and insisted that he perform it during the school’s […]
There are many Charlottesville scenes that belong on a postcard: the grounds of UVA, the rolling fields of Albemarle, the bustle of the Downtown Mall. But, for this year’s photo contest, we wanted to be transported—not just to a place that’s pretty as a picture but to a moment in time. We asked for shots […]
One of the telltale signs of summer in Charlottesville is already visible high above the bricks of the Downtown Mall. Strung between trunks and limbs of the willow oaks, larger-than-life animals and insects gaze down at diners and pedestrians as part of the 2015 LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph. Images like these appear each June, […]
Jack Kilby wanted to go to music school. His parents weren’t so into the idea. He settled on UVA, earned a degree in biology and scored a job as a lab technician right out of school. The career trajectory was in line with Kilby’s parents’ wishes. But there was a note of discord: Kilby had […]
When Tim Showalter named his band Strand of Oaks, the serene, bucolic imagery was apt. He was for the most part a sleepy folksinger—though his beard and wild mane were always a little more Dimebag Darrell than Sam Beam. These days, the name seems a bit of a stretch. Showalter, who along with his band […]
After signing with ATO records and releasing the three Grammy nom debut Boys and Girls in 2012, Alabama Shakes has skyrocketed to stardom. The group’s follow-up record, Sound and Color, was highly anticipated by its fans, but even more so by the band members themselves. The Shakes thoughtfully embraced every facet of their influences, cut […]