When you’re ambitious, you do what you can to chisel out your chunk of fame. So what has Sharon Van Etten been doing? In following a singer-songwriter migration pattern that’s led her to Tennessee, New York, and California, she’s stockpiled her cred in indie circles (note her press release being penned by none other than […]
When you’re ambitious, you do what you can to chisel out your chunk of fame. So what has Sharon Van Etten been doing? In following a singer-songwriter migration pattern that’s led her to Tennessee, New York, and California, she’s stockpiled her cred in indie circles (note her press release being penned by none other than […]
The Charlottesville Jazz Society presents an evening of bold, straight-ahead jazz with lyrical intensity from the Todd Marcus Quartet. Based in Baltimore—where he exerts considerable influence in the local music scene while also working as an activist and organizer—Marcus is one of the rare jazz artists to primarily focus on the bass clarinet. Eschewing the […]
Appalachian folk hero Tyler Childers returns with his neotraditional blend of country, bluegrass, folk, and honky-tonk. The Kentucky-born singer-songwriter has earned several Grammy Award nominations over six albums. On his seventh, Snipe Hunter, Childers rocks out, dabbles in ragtime, and connects with his interest in Hinduism. Ticket sales benefit Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund, as […]
Here’s a failed movie pitch: A 1980s-era top 40 solo artist of some success finds his way into a time machine and emerges in 2025 with the songwriting and production knowledge of all the years he missed in between. Yet in spite of that new understanding, he stays comforted by the tastes that defined his […]
Some childhood interests turn out to be just a passing fancy. But that was not the case for Fiona Balestrieri when she was a young musician. “My first instrument was actually the fiddle,” she says. “I only played that for a year because I discovered the Irish flute. … The sound of the wooden flute […]
Ripley Johnson’s created such a specific body of work, his name’s been used as a song title to signify a sound. For more than two decades, the Portland guitarist has investigated various forms of psychedelia, ranging from metronomic minimalism to fuzzy freakouts. So when he started releasing country music a few years back under the […]
By Tami Keaveny, Ella Powell, and CM Turner | Photography by Tristan Williams For songwriters and musicians of all genres, going from the page to the stage can be intimidating. Participating in an open mic night is a natural first step in public performance for a fledgling musician, and for seasoned performers, it’s an opportunity […]
Reverberating walls of guitars, manic drumming, screeching vocals, and ponderous lyrics with obfuscated motives give a sense of Bay Area-bred Deafheaven’s typical touchstones. Beyond those descriptors, the band has expanded its repertoire of sounds and arrangements to provide a freshness that demonstrates growth without abandoning its roots. The latest release, Lonely People with Power (2025), […]
Ryan Calonder has a simple vision for something that’s become a sprawling enterprise: a music festival, but limited to two days and featuring nothing but bands from Charlottesville proper. “From where I’m standing, this town has so much good, original music coming out of it,” he says. “But over the last 10 years or so, […]
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, […]