Renowned singer-songwriter, musician, artist, and bestselling author Josh Ritter brings The Book of Gold Thrown Open tour to town, showcasing more than 20 years and 12 albums of Americana sounds. One of the most thoughtful and prolific voices in American roots music today, Ritter’s empathy, indignation, and penchant for storytelling shine through in songs that […]
Renowned singer-songwriter, musician, artist, and bestselling author Josh Ritter brings The Book of Gold Thrown Open tour to town, showcasing more than 20 years and 12 albums of Americana sounds. One of the most thoughtful and prolific voices in American roots music today, Ritter’s empathy, indignation, and penchant for storytelling shine through in songs that […]
The Robert Jospé Quartet performs its distinctive modern jazz in celebration of its new studio album, The Night Sky. Played with the passion and precision the group is known for, the evening’s set features new tunes and old favorites that traverse jazz, blues, funk, Latin, and African rhythms, led by Jospé on drums, Daniel Clarke […]
Penned by Pulitzer Prize finalist and MacArthur “genius” grant recipient Sarah Ruhl, Stage Kiss is a charming and profound comedy about romance and the theater itself. The narrative follows a play-within-a-play, exploring the lines between professional performance and personal passion. When two actors with a steamy past are cast as lovers in an overwrought 1930s […]
Those of us who come from people whose past has been deemed unworthy have often found ourselves fighting for preservation in order to be counted,” writes Imani Perry in Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People. She continues, “Our preservation commitments insist upon fuller and often more accurate stories than […]
River Hawkins knows tequila. More to the point, he knows mezcal. When you’ve gone deep down the wormhole of tequila’s smokier, more bracing brethren, Hawkins says, tequila is almost too sweet. “I think of it as a dessert drink,” the Bebedero and Mejicali owner says of the typically 80 proof liquor—without a trace of irony. […]
Since the mid-’80s, Jon Spencer has been fronting bands and serving as a notable supporting character in what the world used to call alternative music. Despite using the word blues in everything from his group names to song titles to lyrics, he’s been steadily pumping out rock ’n’ roll in the traditionally dirty sense of […]
Barboursville Vineyards gets global props while we wait for the dirty horchata glazed donut By James Sanford The British wine periodical Decanter is raising a glass to Barboursville Vineyards’ Octagon 2017, which was named one of its top 50 U.S. wines of 2025. The Bordeaux-style blend of merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot is the […]
Soundscape Architecture, a new book co-authored by former UVA School of Architecture Dean Karen Van Lengen, explores how architecture and art can enhance listening as a social and political act. “When we listen, we begin the first act of engagement and communication with others,” writes Van Lengen. “Listening is also critical when we consider our […]
Washington, D.C.-born rapper and former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer Cullen “Fellowman” Wade kicks off the 2026 Third Rail music series with a performance of his recent album No Safety Net, backed by DJ Blade Relic. The Charlottesville-based musician, producer, promoter, poet, and educator returns to the aggressive directness of his earlier material with new tracks […]
Originating as a form of festive courtly entertainment in 16th-century Europe, masques contain music, dancing, singing, acting, and allegory. The Death of Dido: An English Masque features an Italianate musical score by Johann Pepusch with an English libretto by Barton Booth, employing the same section of Virgil’s Aeneid as Henry Purcell’s famous 1689 opera Dido […]