Shutter to think

“Tom Chambers and Fax Ayres: Everything is Extraordinary,” currently on view at Chroma Projects at Vault Virginia, features two artists using distinctive approaches to alter and enhance photographs in order to capture a mood, an evocation of a place, objects, or some mystical imaginary region. Fax Ayres enjoys playing with perception. This is evident in […]

The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon

Try to keep up at The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, a rollicking production that attempts to tell all 206 Brothers Grimm fairy tales in one act. Two narrators put a comedic spin on classic and lesser-known stories, including Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Faithful Johannes. These fractured fairy tales keep the original endings intact while mixing […]

Evening of Music and Poetry

Move and groove at Ellington’s Evening of Music and Poetry, a celebration of the arts through spoken word poetry, R&B, and soul music. Grammy-nominated vocalist and producer Stokley headlines a stacked line-up of performers, including singer-songwriter and poet Saul Williams and turntablist DJ Spark, with openers Jade Novah and Nathaniel Star. Known for his past […]

Eliza Mary Doyle

Alternative country artist Eliza Mary Doyle’s latest studio album, Pretty Strange, is a 10-song summation of her illustrious 20-year career. Recorded live at Sidekick Studios in Nashville, the album opens with driving banjo, catchy melodies, and pedal steel licks. The single “Them Boys” is a high-energy, banjo-heavy tune written after Doyle’s car broke down while […]

Futures past

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ 65 is a lean, tight science fiction adventure—an exceedingly simple survival story. Don’t expect anything new or revolutionary. But at its own pulp level, it’s an engrossing—and at times, touching—film. Spaceship pilot Mills (Adam Driver) leaves on a two-year exploratory mission that comes with a massive raise to pay for […]

Fairy tales and universal truths

Inspired by her own experiences with clinical depression and childhood grief, National Book Award finalist Amber McBride published We Are All So Good at Smiling, her second young adult novel in verse, earlier this year.  Though heavy at times in its examination of the lasting impacts of trauma—and complete with content warnings for readers who […]

April galleries

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library 2450 Old Ivy Rd. “Women Making Books,” a new exhibition exploring women’s contributions to English and North American bookmaking from the mid-18th to the 21st centuries, “Visions of Progress,” and other permanent exhibitions. Botanical Fare 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Paths and Roads,” oils by Julia Kindred. […]

Katen Reynolds in the HotSeat

Katen Reynolds has served as director of advancement at The Front Porch for nearly five years, and this summer she’ll step into a new leadership role when founder Emily Morrison completes her tenure as executive director. Before joining The Front Porch, Reynolds worked as a gardener, dance teacher, and most recently, an elementary school teacher. […]

Twelfth Night

UVA Drama’s production of Twelfth Night is not your average play. The classic tale of mistaken identity, true love, and survival is reimagined as a musical with a vibrant, funk-jazz score from Shaina Taub. Chloe Rogers stars as Viola, a young woman who is separated from her twin in a shipwreck, and assumes a male […]

Underground Springhouse

“More of the good, less of the bad” is the motto upon which Underground Springhouse built its sound and style. For USH, the good is a little bit of everything—reggae, country, and funk within a rock ‘n’ roll context. The most recent addition to the outfit’s genre-bending catalog, “Tallulah,” a tender, emotional ballad rooted in […]