Sound choices

By Samantha Federico darzo Single Cell (self-released)  Adar Seligman-McComas is darzo. Over the past two years, the band had a name change and Seligman-McComas went solo, yet darzo held on to release its debut record. The eight-track, 30-minute Single Cell packs a powerful punch in a swell of horns and drums that complement Seligman-McComas’ vocals. […]

Sense memory

With three shows scheduled for 2022, Krista Townsend found herself in an enviable position as an artist. But she had a problem: She needed work to exhibit. “I realized I had to speed up my process,” says Townsend, who’d primarily worked with oil paint. “I decided to explore using acrylic paint to block in the […]

Failed mission

Director Juan Jose Campanella’s “Night Sky” grounds its fantastic premise heavily in the everyday. This is a venerable dramatic tradition, and an intelligent approach, especially when science fiction has become synonymous with space operas and action. Unfortunately, when the miraculous and the mundane collide in “Night Sky,” the mundane wins.   The series opens in […]

Pick: Juneteenth Celebration

Commemoration: The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center’s Juneteenth Celebration kicks off with Honoring the Ancestors, during which community members give presentations about local ancestors through readings and songs. Saturday’s day-long celebration features a parade, food, music, dance, an expo of over 30 Black-owned businesses and orgs, and the Emancipation Concert. Performers over the weekend […]

Pick: Fae Festival

Fare thee well: Hear ye, hear ye, ‘tis time for merriment and revelry galore, as the Fae Festival is nigh upon us. Meander through a medieval market, where vendors display their wares, and witness demos and workshops from Raptor Hill Falconry, The Amethyst Cauldron Witch Crafts, and more. Feast on a fine selection of food […]

Pick: Andy Grammer

Stay positive: Andy Grammer’s head-bobbing pop anthems go hard on the radio, and even harder on stage. The multi-platinum artist is currently on The Art of Joy Tour, where he performs earworms like “Honey, I’m Good,” “Fine By Me,” and “Keep Your Head Up ‘’ with contagious energy. On Naïve, an encouraging, spiritual pop record, […]

Small bites

Regional beers crush it at the CBMA The Craft Beer Marketing Awards, a global event that lets brewers compete for titles like Best Tap Handle and Best Beer Related Podcast, recently announced its 2022 winners, and multiple Virginia brands were on the list. For amateur beer consumers who are overwhelmed by the array of craft […]

Music muse

The book deal for My Life According to Rock Band traces back to a Christmas morning 15 years ago. Charlottesville native Cade Wiberg unwrapped his favorite video game ever on December 25, 2007. The young gamer had played and enjoyed Guitar Hero, Rock Band’s predecessor, but it had always felt like a solitary pursuit.  When […]

With feeling

For Hagan Tampellini, the current Les Yeux du Monde show felt right. “Modern Alchemy: Rosemarie Fiore & Ana Rendich” is the first exhibition conceived and curated by Tampellini, the gallery’s director and daughter of LYDM founder, the late Lyn Bolen Warren.  “Many of the shows we’re having this year are ones my mother was in […]

Pick: Radio Relics

Radio gaga: Whether you’re a morning commuter listening to the soothing sounds of “Classical Sunrise,” a night owl working along to “Virginia Overnights,” or an early riser enjoying “With Good Reason,” you’ve probably tuned in to WTJU during the last 65 years. In celebration of its six-plus decades of community broadcasting, a new micro-museum, Radio […]