The Second Saturday Music Series presents genre-blending pianist, composer, and storyteller Katherine Nies for an evening of outdoor arts and entertainment. Nies combines classical, folk, and improvisation into a sound that feels both timeless and otherworldly, drawing inspiration from her mother’s Peruvian and Puerto Rican folk songs on guitar and her father’s late-night jazz piano, […]
The Second Saturday Music Series presents genre-blending pianist, composer, and storyteller Katherine Nies for an evening of outdoor arts and entertainment. Nies combines classical, folk, and improvisation into a sound that feels both timeless and otherworldly, drawing inspiration from her mother’s Peruvian and Puerto Rican folk songs on guitar and her father’s late-night jazz piano, […]
The Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 26th season with a series of concerts including a free community performance on September 12. The eclectic program for strings, clarinet, and piano features music from Brazil as well as short works by classical composers Niccolò Paganini, de Beriot, Rebecca Clarke, Osmo Vänskä, and others in a one-hour […]
Adam Sandler still makes jokes. You may be Gen X or a Boomer and think of him as the doofus next to Chris Farley on “Saturday Night Live,” but aside from being an extremely well-paid Hollywood movie star, writer, and media producer, he’s also a musician who plays for laughs. It may surprise you to […]
I am impressed by Mannequin Pussy. The band makes contemporary indie rock that excels without posturing or abducting the riffs of pre-internet college radio’s heyday. MP writes melodies that sound as if no other option would make as much sense or satisfy the notes. This forgone conclusion of artistry is especially true on the choruses. The […]
North Carolina roots stalwarts Chatham County Line, known for its blend of bluegrass, folk, country, and rock ‘n’ roll, is riding high off the release of its 10th studio album last year. Singer/guitarist Dave Wilson and bandmates John Teer (fiddle/mandolin) and Greg Readling (bass/pedal steel) bring evocative tales of love and heartbreak, joy and sorrow, […]
Birmingham, Alabama’s Mountain Grass Unit is growing a following with fresh cuts blending traditional bluegrass with country, jazz, funk, rock, and metal influences. Featuring Drury Anderson (mandolin, vocals), Luke Black (guitar, vocals), Josiah Nelson (fiddle, vocals), and Sam Wilson (bass, vocals), the quartet chugs through foot-stomping sets that bring old-time Americana sounds to new heights […]
Singer-songwriter Valerie McQueen treks in from the Shenandoah Valley for an evening of Americana at Offbeat Roadhouse. Drawing influence from genre standouts like Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss, McQueen’s strong voice drives a sound that brings folk to the front, with touches of country and rock inflections. Her songs tease out narratives drawn from everyday […]
The lyrics may be seriously connected to societal concerns, but the bluesy, high-energy funk from Gordon Sterling and The People tells you that this Washington, D.C., sextet comes to town to get down. It’s easy to get caught up in the hip-swingin’ freedom of the group’s groovy dance numbers—and Sterling’s charismatic leadership takes you there, […]
If you don’t have anything nice to say, word on the street is you’re not supposed to say anything. This Soul Meets Body / Shagwüf / Ladada show is an event worth looking into. Soul Meets Body’s record release party comes with a caveat, though. While I have no idea what SMB cooked up for […]
Digital wizard Todd Rundgren was making electronic music way before it was cool, and so naming his current tour Still Me (Still We) indicates we can expect him to bring out his rock radio classics—“Hello It’s Me” and “Bang the Drum All Day”—while plugging into some of the longplay prog and experimental suites of his […]