I’ve been thinking a lot about weddings and marriage recently. This is mostly because as a husband I’m required to say that I’m pondering my marriage (in a good way, “Hi honey!”) at least once a month, but also because I attended a friend’s wedding at Pippin Hill last weekend. Also, “The Bachelorette” just returned […]
For more than 27 years, musical outlier Primus has been creating some of the most unique, boundary-pushing music since the early days of Zappa and Pink Floyd. Its first album in 11 years, Green Naugahyde is another experimental project that pays tribute to the band’s earlier days. According to Primus’ leading man, Les Claypool, “We’re […]
Guided By Voices is one of the most prolific and beloved rock bands of the past 30 years. The Dayton, Ohio group fronted by Robert Pollard has released dozens of albums, EPs, singles, and three boxed sets of original material, frequently changed band members, broke up and reunited, splintered off into various solo and side […]
The first full-length album from London-based band Daughter is a sonic and emotional feast. “Lifeforms” encapsulates the album’s sound, tone and content, with echoing, reverb-heavy guitars, singer Elena Tonra’s husky, lilting vocals, and her metaphorical lyrics about cleaning up after your dead. The ebullient “Human” focuses on recognizing self-worth despite our shortcomings.
Under the direction of Michael Slon, The Oratorio Society of Virginia is filling an afternoon with choral masterworks that express “the best of the human spirit.” The Gems of the Baroque Era includes Bach’s Orchestral Suite #3 in D Major, and Handel’s Coronation Anthems, originally commissioned for the 1727 coronation of King George II and […]
Wow. Where does one begin? The insipid dialogue? Paul Walker’s non-presence? A plot that makes almost no sense? Stunts that defy the laws of physics? Nah. Let’s start here: I can’t believe how much fun I had watching Fast & Furious 6. Don’t get me wrong. It’s so absurd and stupid that it doesn’t really […]
Known around the state as a one-man, country-bluegrass-blues band, Jason Ring improvises fiery, intricate loops on the guitar, banjo, mandolin, dobro, and bass. Ring grew up in Galax, Virginia, a town that echoes with tunes from the world famous Galax Fiddler’s Convention, and at age 5 he started picking his own brew of bluegrass, Piedmont […]
Beverly Weston, aging poet and professor, sits among overstuffed bookshelves and reflects on the sum of his life: a marriage bound by whiskey and pills, a career lost in the shadows of tortured art. He quotes T.S. Eliot—“life is very long”—to his newly hired, live-in housekeeper, a young Cheyenne woman named Johnna, and admits it […]
Singer-songwriter Holly Renee Allen (left) plays enchanting, vibrant, and lyrically intelligent music that captures the soul of the South. The Shenandoah Valley native has logged hours on the road, collaborated with some of Nashville’s heavyweights, and has the guitar string calluses to prove that hard work pays off with Big Love, the title of her […]
Josh Urban is on the search for good in the world, and this Friday, May 31, he’ll be looking for it in Charlottesville. His stop is part of the Josh Urban Rail Tour, also known as “The Search for Good Tour-finding those who rock the world,” which involves playing music (a mix of blues, rock, and […]