ARTS Pick: Pavel Haas Quartet

Hailed as “the world’s most exciting string quartet” by Gramophone magazine, Prague’s Pavel Haas Quartet features two violins, a viola and violoncello. Thanks to its rich, vivid sound, the group has collected an array of awards including the top prize at the prestigious Paolo Borciani competition in Italy and Best Chamber Music Recording at the […]

ARTS Pick: People’s Champs

Brooklyn-based septet People’s Champs artfully fuse West African and South American dance rhythms with futurist synths to create a unique sound endorsed by various music scenes from indie rock to funky soul. The talented ensemble features members of Superpower Horns, the Grammy Award-winning horn section for Beyoncé, as well as powerhouse vocalists. Thursday 10/15. Free, 8pm. […]

All-nighter: UVA’s TechnoSonics festival returns for 16th year

“The connection between music and many people’s sense of their spiritual nature is one of the essential engines driving our mad (yet perfectly reasonable) devotion to music,” says Ted Coffey, associate professor in composition and computer technologies at UVA’s McIntire Department of Music. Each year, CCT faculty members lead the process of selecting a theme […]

Getting personal: Waxahatchee shoots straight from the heart on new album

Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield released her second album, Cerulean Salt, in 2013 to high critical acclaim. Full of punk-edged folk songs that are at once quiet and powerful thanks to a stripped-down performance and sublime lyrics, the record was rated an 8.4 out of 10 and dubbed Best New Music by Pitchfork. It landed at No. […]

ARTS Pick: Cabinet

Formed in eastern Pennsylvania in 2006, Cabinet is a band that honors Appalachian tradition by channeling bluegrass, country and folk into a hard-driving style that’s been deemed slamgrass. Through steady harmonies, soaring vocals and storytelling, the group’s music takes the long way home, inviting its listeners to sit back and relax on a virtual ride […]

A wonderful thing: Lyle Lovett on how to get a song going

In the three decades since the notoriously idiosyncratic and gentlemanly Lyle Lovett erupted onto the country music scene with the single “Cowboy Man,” the Texas native has earned a reputation as being an artist’s artist. Lovett’s genre-bending 1986 eponymous debut received unanimous critical acclaim, even winning a spot on Rolling Stone’s best albums of the […]

David Duchovny talks about performing in the moment

Confession: Without “The X-Files,” I wouldn’t be a professional writer. Way back in middle school, I thought I hated writing. At least, I hated writing dry, research-based essays for class. But every Sunday night I found inspiration in the form of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, characters whose investigations into paranormal phenomenon inspired me so […]

A time for place: The Anatomy of Frank makes discoveries on North America

Take a look at The Anatomy of Frank’s song catalog and one thing is immediately clear: These guys are really into geography. The group named its debut album Pangaea, after a supercontinent, and its forthcoming second album, North America, includes songs with titles such as “Occupy Anchorage,” “Vancouver (for child astronauts)” and “A Bridge Over […]

ARTS Pick: An Evening with Lucero

Lucero was born out of boredom during the spring of ’98, when a group of Memphis, Tennessee, buddies who were tired of the punk rock and metal that dominated the local music landscape decided to pick up instruments and pluck out edgy, country tunes. After a period of woodshedding and experimentation, the band grew to […]

ARTS Pick: Dr. Dog and Trampled by Turtles

When two of the most beloved live bands on the circuit are packaged together on the same tour, it’s time to put your party hat on. So, get your fix from Dr. Dog before getting Trampled By Turtles late into the evening. (Sorry, we couldn’t resist.) The indie bluegrass meets neo-psych rock blowout promises a […]