Outdoor music is officially here, with the 35th season of Fridays After Five. The summer lineup pairs area acts, including Kendall Street Company, Beleza, and The Chickenheads, with local nonprofits, which work the concession stands in support of their organizations. This Friday, catch Ramona and the Holy Smokes (above) on the stage for an evening […]
Outdoor music is officially here, with the 35th season of Fridays After Five. The summer lineup pairs area acts, including Kendall Street Company, Beleza, and The Chickenheads, with local nonprofits, which work the concession stands in support of their organizations. This Friday, catch Ramona and the Holy Smokes (above) on the stage for an evening […]
After nearly a decade of silence, The Wallflowers make some noise with Exit Wounds, the band’s 10-song studio offering. The Jakob Dylan-led rock outfit meshes timeless songwriting and storytelling with a hard-hitting and decidedly modern musical attack. Exit Wounds opens with “Maybe Your Heart’s Not in It No More,” a gentle, Americana-inspired song with Shelby […]
Michael Ketola Chef and general managerMas Tapas, mastapas.com A steak in the biz Without formal training, I entered the world of professional cooking in 1996, when some college friends from JMU mentioned that the steakhouse they worked at was looking for a cook. So, eager to try something new (and not move back home) I […]
Ah, springtime in Charlottesville, a veritable petticoat junction of daffodils, bluebells, and redbuds tossing their skirts in the breeze—as Shakespeare might say. After all, Shakespeare coined the phrase “petticoat junction” in one of his most excellent comedies, Much Ado About the Beverly Hillbillies. What’s that you say? My cultural references smack of senility? Fie on […]
Longtime pals Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have re-teamed to make Air, the true story of the development of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers. If this doesn’t sound like promising material, it isn’t. Although Air, directed by Affleck, undeniably has its moments—and there is plenty of talent involved—overall, it’s a story that isn’t worth devoting an […]
John D’earth knows Charlottesville music. Since settling in town in 1981, he’s come to define the local jazz scene—and beyond—with his considerable crossover into pop genres, and reach as a music teacher. So when D’earth decides to bring a French jazz pianist stateside for a local residency, culminating with a show alongside himself and the […]
This Saturday, Zach Miller will be one of many jockeys competing for a win at Foxfield Races, Charlottesville’s bi-annual steeplechase event. It’s a meaningful homecoming, years in the making, for the Charlottesville native, who’s raced, and won, at Foxfield numerous times—Miller even met his wife after a 2005 win. Foxfield has been hosting steeplechase races […]
After being canned from his job at Disneyland, struggling actor Alex hits the jackpot when he lands a gig working in Barbra Streisand’s Malibu basement mall—talk about dream job. Alex isn’t the biggest Barbra fan, but when the icon shows up, he can’t help but be charmed. The subterranean emporium (yes, it’s a real thing) […]
Natalie Merchant’s ninth studio album, Keep Your Courage, is a lush and beguiling examination of love in all its guises. In her first record of new material in nine years, Merchant mentions love 26 times across songs including the delicate “The Feast of Saint Valentine,” the horn-filled “Tower of Babel,” and “Eye of the Storm,” […]
Try as we might to not judge a record by its cover, good art makes the music sound even better, and impacts our perception of theartist and their work. Three experts discuss Music Album Cover Design in the latest installment of the Art in Life lecture series.Ernie Cefalu has designed for rock legends, including the […]