Pick: Gary Clark Jr.

Landing it Gary Clark Jr. tells it to you straight on his third studio album, This Land. “Fuck you, I’m America’s son. This is where I come from,” he sings on the titular lead single, a song that arose from an encounter with a racist neighbor at his ranch “in the middle of Trump country” […]

Pick: Love and Information

Full speed ahead Someone’s up to something in Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information, a thought-provoking play that explores the mysterious complexity of human connection at breakneck speed. Comprised of over 50 tantalizingly titled playlets portraying fragments of life, Live Arts’ production sees 10 actors bring more than 100 characters to life over the course of […]

Pick: Pilobolus

To the limit Bask in a kaleidoscope of movement at dance company Pilobolus’ Big Five-Oh! Tour. The iconic dance troupe is known for its radical performances that test the limits of human physicality to showcase the beauty and power of connected bodies. In celebration of turning 50, Pilobolus draws on its history to present a […]

Bringing banjo back

Bill Evans left a lasting impression on the Charlottesville music scene. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1978, the innovative banjo player stuck around town and started a concert series at C&O Restaurant with Cloud Valley, his bluegrass outfit.  The group, which also featured award- winning bassist Missy Raines, would also host guest […]

Better and better

As a founding father wine geek, Thomas Jefferson is typically the first person who springs to mind when discussing the history of our wine region. But it was Emma Randel who literally put Virginia wine on the map in 1982. Largely due to the efforts of Randel, who recognized the importance of the area as […]

Pick: PUP

Listen with caution: Canadian punk band PUP’s name may be an abbreviation for “pathetic waste of potential,” but don’t let that fool you—its fourth album, THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND, marks a clever new marriage between melody and chaos. And according to lead singer Stefan Babcock, chaos is where PUP feels most at home, saying “there […]

Pick: Love the Color of Your Butterfly

Metamorpho-sing: Revel in the atmosphere of a vintage jazz club at Love the Color of Your Butterfly, a deeply personal program from renowned soprano and Victory Hall Opera founding troupe member Janinah Burnett. Performing an original blend of “clazz,” a fusion of jazz and opera, Burnett musically explores her life and career with support from […]

Pick: Raymond & Ray

Don’t skip the preview: The 35th annual Virginia Film Festival is less than two months away, and organizers are giving us a head start with the sneak preview screening of writer-director Rodrigo García’s comedy-drama, Raymond & Ray. Shot in Richmond, Virginia, the film stars Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke as estranged half-brothers who reunite at […]

Joyful return

Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras sought to find harmony, or the “music of the spheres,” in the vibrations of planets as they orbited through space. Two thousand years later, Music Director Benjamin Rous is bringing the music of the spheres to Charlottesville in a surprising way: with harmonicas. In Sonic Spheres, the opening show of the […]

Touch me not

Back in 2013, Alfred Goossens—a certified Virginia Master Naturalist—started to think about poisonous plants. How often, he wondered, were outdoor enthusiasts like him encountering species that might actually be harmful? “There are poisonous plants in our day-to-day life,” he says, “whether in the backyard or when you’re hiking, that many people don’t know about.” He […]