Urinetown: The Musical

When you gotta go, you gotta go—unless a 20-year drought has led to a government ban on private toilets and a proliferation of paid public toilets owned and operated by a single megalomaniac company: the Urine Good Company. Such is life in Four County Players’ Urinetown: The Musical, a fast-paced comedic romp that follows a […]

Yolanda Rabun

Following her show-stopping success last summer as Nina Simone in No Fear and Blues Long Gone, Yolanda Rabun returns to the Virginia Theatre Festival for a special evening of stories and song. Backed by her band, Rabun takes audience members on a musical journey through jazz, blues, folk, pop, gospel, and more. The powerhouse vocalist, […]

Ark Of Mark

Jam out with fellow local rockers at a record release party for Ark Of Mark, the latest project of Charlottesville native Mark Coffman. The full-length record, Still Defined By You, fuses alternative rock, folk, and jazz, resulting in a unique sound that combines classical composure with improvised instrumental intermezzos. The songs, which were recorded inside […]

Destroyer of worlds

Based on Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus, writer/director Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer follows physicist Robert Oppenheimer as he develops and detonates the first atomic bomb, then spends his life regretting it. The subject is fascinating, but, despite Nolan’s visual razzle-dazzle, the film only works sporadically. The movie occurs mainly in […]

Standing up for yourself

I didn’t see the ocean until I was in seventh grade, when my friend Sallie (future homecoming queen) invited me (congenital nerd) to Amelia Island with her family over spring break. It was freezing and windy, and I had no idea how to get in or out of the ocean, so I just tripped along […]

August galleries

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library 2450 Old Ivy Rd. Permanent exhibitions include “Flowerdew Hundred: Unearthing Virginia’s History” and “Declaring Independence: Creating and Recreating America’s Document.” Botanical Fare 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Familiar Scenes: Recent Landscapes in Oil” by Randy Baskerville. Through September 4.  Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. […]

Albemarle County Fair

Get your pies and pickles ready, it’s Albemarle County Fair time. Fairgoers are treated to a food truck lineup and live music from Baby Jo’s, Dark Hollow, Virginia Rain, and Charles Frazier & The Virginia Ramblers, as well as demonstrations, craft exhibits, and a livestock showcase that flaunts well-raised cows, bunnies, goats, and more. Makers […]

Drew Pace

Straight out of Scottsville, singer-songwriter Drew Pace is making his mark in country music. Pace rekindled his passion for music at age 13, after a devastating injury ended his football career. The multi-instrumentalist, who plays drums, acoustic and electric guitar, recently signed a record deal in Nashville, and released his debut single, “Heart of an […]

Will Overman

Will Overman may be based in Nashville, but his music is still a dynamic and nostalgic ode to his time in central Virginia. The country Americana artist tackles personal and fictional narratives with a powerful voice and heart-worn lyrics on his recent Heart Pine EP. The ballad-like title track focuses on Overman’s own struggle with […]

One-string wonder

The TinkerTar, a kids’ guitar trainer widely available for about a month now, is in many ways the synthesis of Charlottesville instrument and board-game maker Brian Calhoun’s eclectic career. Calhoun’s craftsmanship has been well known around town, and beyond, for many years. Through Rockbridge Guitar, he makes high-end instruments and has worked with renowned musicians […]