Steep Canyon Rangers

Grammy Award winner and purveyor of mountain music, Steep Canyon Rangers builds off traditional bluegrass to bring its Americana sounds to the stage. Hailing from the Appalachian and Piedmont regions of North Carolina, the group honed its songwriting craft through 14 studio records—including three collaborative albums with actor and banjo aficionado Steve Martin. Additional collaborations […]

WTJU Folk Marathon

Riding radio waves and stacking the stage with diverse acts, the WTJU Folk Marathon returns with lively local sounds. Evening and Saturday live performances include sets from regional acts Red & the Romantics (pictured), Scuffletown, Buzzard Hollow Boys, Richelle Claiborne & Friends, Please Don’t Tell, BRIMS, and Mama Tried, among others. You can listen online […]

Billy F. Gibbons and the BFGs

Friday 2/7, The Paramount Theater The voice and blues-riffin’, trademark long beard-wagglin’ leader of Texas rock trio ZZ Top, Billy F. Gibbons hits the stage backed by the BFGs, Mike Flanigin and Chris Layton. Gibbons—who presumably added the F. to his moniker to distinguish himself and his solo career from his 50-some-odd-year tenure with ZZ […]

Free as a bird now

Drive-By Truckers: Southern Rock Opera Revisited Tuesday 2/4, The Jefferson Theater Released in 2001, Drive-By Truckers’ Southern Rock Opera stands as a committed piece of Lynyrd Skynyrd fan fiction. The self-released double album that propelled the Athens, Georiga-based group to new heights on the strength of critical gushing received a second, wider release a year […]

Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes

Follow the beats of a life lived on stages and screens across the world with Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes. This solo show takes audiences through the ages and eras of the three-time Tony Award winner as she reflects on her life through the songs that made an impact on her. From the rock […]

The Mingus Awareness Project

Jazz compositions and charity coalesce in The Mingus Awareness Project. Since 2007, the project has provided opportunities for musicians to perform new arrangements of works by the venerated bassist, bandleader, and composer Charles Mingus. All proceeds from the shows go to funding research into Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the nervous system disease from which Mingus […]

The Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia

Romeo and Juliet February 8 Old Cabell Hall,  February 9 Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center Celebrating its 50th season, the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia is busting out its big Shakespearean guns with bits from Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet of Romeo and Juliet. Famously tinkering with the Bard’s failed teenage romance, Prokofiev […]

Umphrey’s McGee

Funk-forward Umphrey’s McGee has taken the long and winding road to build itself up over the better part of three decades, performing more than 2,700 live shows. Innovators of live sets and festival offerings, the group has earned a dedicated following of listeners eager to engage with its communion of music and technology. Fans of […]

The Blue Moon Diner Celebration

It was a sad day this past November when the doors shuttered at 606 W. Main St. While many gathered then to bemoan the loss of Blue Moon Diner, the long-time restaurant and music venue, others were unable to join in the immediate mourning. The Blue Moon Diner Celebration offers a chance to raise a […]

Neon Angels

Four local musicians join up for an intimate evening of original songs in the round, when Neon Angels brings singer-songwriters Holly Renee Allen, Blair Jones, Susan Munson, and Molly Murphy together to share music and personal stories. The performers, all members of the Blue Ridge region’s flourishing Americana music scene, celebrate individual musical achievements—and their […]