American bluegrass band Nickel Creek first performed together as children at a pizza parlor in San Diego in 1989. The trio of mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins, and guitarist Sean Watkins has since released seven albums, won a Grammy, and been credited with helping revolutionize folk and roots music. The Celebrants is the band’s […]
American bluegrass band Nickel Creek first performed together as children at a pizza parlor in San Diego in 1989. The trio of mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins, and guitarist Sean Watkins has since released seven albums, won a Grammy, and been credited with helping revolutionize folk and roots music. The Celebrants is the band’s […]
Under the mononym L’Rain, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek performs music rooted in R&B, jazz, noise, and pop. Her sophomore album, Fatigue, blends hauntingly delicate vocals with an array of keyboard and synth, and incorporates manipulated samples and voice memos in the production. The record “is an exploration of the simultaneity of human emotions … […]
In celebration of Juneteenth, Early Music Access Project presents Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Folk Traditions, a concert that explores the unique repertoire of accomplished Black fiddlers, including Sally Hemings’ three sons and the Scott family, who lived on Main Street and played for multiple presidents. Raucous reels, stately minuets, and a new composition by Jonathan […]
Travel to a galaxy far, far away during Pops at the Paramount, a symphonic sci-fi spectacular. The Charlottesville Symphony, led by conductor and music director Benjamin Rous, performs highlights from iconic science fiction film and television soundtracks, including Back to the Future, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, “The Expanse,” Star Trek, “The X-Files,” and […]
From viral success on YouTube to the smash single “See You Again,” Charlie Puth built a name for himself in pop music—and he’s pushing it forward on his current tour The Charlie Live Experience. His third album, CHARLIE, has passed a billion streams and includes songs like “Left and Right,” featuring Jungkook of BTS. “Light […]
Entertainment time is precious, and venue calendars are stacked with options. Music writer and on-air radio pro Samantha Federico says these bands are on their way up. You should see them live, and here’s why: Shagwüf Latest release: Trendy Weapon EP, 2020 Staunton’s Shagwüf will make you howl, just like the band’s singer and bassist, […]
Folk troubadour and 10-year Charlottesville resident David Wax befriended a fellow aspiring musician while studying at Harvard University. The students had a lot in common, Wax recalls, also having met briefly during high school trips to Washington, D.C., where they pursued their passion for politics. The two friends did not go on to found the […]
The weather was clear, and the pickup truck show was a go. Koda Kerl brought the idea to Dürty Nelly’s when he started managing the local bar’s music booking in spring of 2021. Nelly’s owner Jordan Brunk had hired Kerl to kickstart his sound coming out of lockdown, and one idea was to formalize “the […]
Pianist James Fernando gives a matinée performance as part of the Charlottesville Jazz Society/WTJU Jazz Concert Series. The virtuoso composer and musician merges influences from jazz, classical, and electronic into thought-provoking, genre-expanding original compositions on albums such as The Lonely Sailor and Piano Poetry. Fernando is joined by area vocalist Moji for select arrangements. Sunday […]
On his eponymously titled new album, Scivic Rivers, the nom de plume of singer-songwriter and UVA alum Randy Bickford, explores the labor of starting a family within the context of modern society. The record pulls together harmonica, pedal steel, and pointillistic arrangements in songs like “Shenandoah Granite,” on which Bickford sings about climate grief as […]