The Longest Ride, like all Nicholas Sparks movies, is overlong, contrived and blatant in its pandering. Yet by being one of the most preposterous Sparks adaptations yet—a mishmash of pop-country neo-Americana with Barry Levinson-esque nostalgia and good old-fashioned sexy wish fulfillment—there is enjoyment (or at least begrudging respect) to be found in how openly and […]
Power rock trio Anyone’s Guess is currently based in Florida, but it’s a C’ville connection that shapes the band’s intensity. Frontwoman and former Bosnian refugee Sanja Jovanovic attended Charlottesville High School after assistance from the International Rescue Committee made it possible for her to come to America in 2002. Jovanovic made use of the local […]
When you walk into Freddy Jackson’s home studio, you are immediately greeted by the legends that influenced the Charlottesville-based musician, and helped to cultivate his diverse taste in music. His walls are covered with images of Bob Marley, Kurt Cobain, Parliament, Jimi Hendrix, Betty Wright—and he even gets down with a little Elton John. Although […]
Where does style live? Is it found in a teacup, a pair of boots, the lift of a chin in a photo? Is art embodied in a perfect square made of daffodils, or a painting hung on the ceiling? Can a way of life, or a network of people, be designed, just like a skirt […]
Fo shizzle Charlottes-vizzle. Rapper, producer, actor, activist and all around icon Snoop Dogg commands the stage with his smooth rhymes and patented swagger. Snoop’s catalog stretches over twenty years and thirteen albums, breaking through with hits like “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang,” “Gin & Juice,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and his most recent, “Peaches and […]
Two years ago, Texas tunesmith James McMurtry was playing a solo showcase at the famed South by Southwest Festival in his hometown of Austin, when his friend, producer CC Adcock (Robert Plant, Neko Case), introduced him to publishing executive Francois Moret, who was in the process of starting a new record label. That evening set […]
Sol Driven Train’s musical psyche has been self-diagnosed with “sonic schizophrenia.” Citing influences from Paul Simon and John Prine, to New Orleans jazz, Caribbean island-rock and Afro-beat, the group has amassed a loyal fan base through its musical diversity. The band members first jammed together in their middle school music room, and formed a strong […]
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Chasing Yesterday/Sour Mash Noel Gallagher’s stellar second solo effort, Chasing Yesterday, furthers the notion that Noel was the creative thrust behind Oasis (compared with the failure of Liam ’s band Beady Eye). Riff-heavy hook fests like “Lock all The Doors” demonstrate that Gallagher’s flair for rock ‘n’ roll dramatics hasn’t dwindled […]
Founded in 2013 by Jason Burke, the quarterly Six Pack Songwriter Series hosts a lineup of native Virginia musicians with diverse acoustic styles and subject matter. This time around, the series takes the stage in a bigger venue and places past participants John Kelly, Justin Storer, Michael Coleman, Sue Harlow, Susan Munson and Thomas Gunn […]
“I remember being at my mom’s house when I saw these two silhouettes she had done of my brother and I when we were toddlers,” said Charlottesville-based photographer Rich Tarbell. “Her house is full of quilts and artwork that have rotated over the decades, but those were always there somewhere. They struck me as timeless.” Tarbell, […]