Get fresh

By Thomas Crone Dirty Honey doesn’t rehash tired old rock. Rather, live shows and last year’s second album, Can’t Find The Breaks, finds the Southern California rock ‘n’ roll band injecting propulsion, youthful energy, and a new spin on sound that is rooted in the ’60s. “To have people say that they feel like what […]

Rooted in the past

By Thomas Crone Willi Carlisle has a healthy respect for the past, modeling his career, in part, on the folksingers of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s—people who traveled a self-made circuit of coffeehouses, clubs, and theaters that catered to a hip set. Pete Seeger, in particular, is someone who Carlisle feels kinship toward, though he […]

Sarah Jarosz

Promoting her new album Polaroid Lovers, four-time Grammy Award-winner Sarah Jarosz performs an evening of new music tied to old memories. Simultaneously nostalgic and current, Jarosz ruminates on the mundane yet magical moments that shape a life. Her contemporary Americana stylings are injected with infectious pop-rock motifs and Southern inflections. Following the lineage of artists […]

The Howard Levy 4

Swinging into town for an exceptional sonic experience, The Howard Levy 4 brings pep to your step with bouncy compositions saturated with blues riffs, jazz runs, and world music sensibilities punctuated by blistering diatonic harmonica. Scorching solos showcase each member’s considerable skills, from the bumping bass and drums, to the trilling guitar and harmonica. The […]

Rodrigo y Gabriela

While heavily grounded in the music of their native Mexico City, Grammy Award-winning guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela brings weightier world music to their incendiary stage shows. With influences ranging from flamenco and classic rock, to heavy metal, spiritualism, and philosophy, their albums and live concerts serve as transcendent listening experiences that set both the […]

Writer’s perspective

By Aaron Irons Brandy Clark has long been a lauded pen among Nashville songwriters, landing hits with chart-toppers like Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert, while handily stepping out with her own records woven from classic country and contemporary heart-on-the-sleeve fearlessness. On her self-titled fourth album, Clark is as powerful as ever, showcasing stunning personal narratives […]

Songs and stories

At the intermission of his concerts, John McCutcheon asks attendees to submit song requests for the show’s second set. It’s how the Grammy-nominated folk singer, who’s released 44 albums during his five-decade career, figures out what to play. With a huge catalog of material, McCutcheon says his performances are spontaneously constructed, and singing is just […]

Support system

By Erin Lyndal Martin “Charlottesville is in the heart of why I do what I do because of the Dave Matthews Band,” says Ruston Kelly. “They, Kurt Cobain, and Jackson Browne are why I make music. I ended up signing to Red Light Management because the owner, Coran Capshaw, called me and said they wanted […]

Keep on shining

It adds up that flipturn—a group of Florida teens who formed an indie rock band in their senior year of high school—plays sundrenched, cinematic music. Nearly 10 years since its inception, the group emerges from a DIY journey resulting in over 100 million streams on Spotify, and slots at 2022’s Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, with Shadowglow, […]

Rock you

Big riffs and tight hooks never get old with Charlottesville supergroup New Boss. The bigger is better combo of Devon Sproule on vocals, Thomas Dean and Jordan Perry on guitars, Scott Ritchie on bass, Parker Smith on drums, and Nick Rubin on keys stack it up to tear it down live for the 2024 Rock […]