With the recent release of Put Your Needle Down, produced by T Bone Burnett, The Secret Sisters prove they’ve come a long way from their Alabama youth. The sweet-voiced siblings have managed to retain their innocence and charm following projects with big shots like She & Him, Ray Lamontagne, Paul Simon, and Elvis Costello, as […]
With the recent release of Put Your Needle Down, produced by T Bone Burnett, The Secret Sisters prove they’ve come a long way from their Alabama youth. The sweet-voiced siblings have managed to retain their innocence and charm following projects with big shots like She & Him, Ray Lamontagne, Paul Simon, and Elvis Costello, as […]
Roberto Lange apologizes after stammering through some small talk. The bilingual musician’s just gotten off the phone with another interviewer in Chicago in Spanish, and he’s having a little linguistic difficulty switching back to English. The music Lange makes under the nom de plume Helado Negro similarly slides between languages; sometimes, as on the gliding […]
Born into a folksy family, Daphne Lee Martin has music in her blood. After years crafting harmony-rich, traditional gospel and Appalachian ballads with her mother and sister, the sultry songbird struck out both solo and with a variety of bands, and playing a range of tunes from edgy, innovative punk to fresh Southern roots. She’s […]
The “queen of modern folk” Anais Mitchell is an expert storyteller who makes a solid case for such lofty status through her songs. An avid traveler, the Vermont-born musician touches everything from folk music to opera and melds it with intelligent lyrics. Mitchell meticulously crafts her sometimes dramatic music in reflective testament to the complexity […]
Based on its sound, Nashville’s Scythian could be pegged as a band of Riverdancing Irish folkies. With their unique blend of Celtic bluegrass rock, the quintet fires on dueling fiddles, banjos, and mandolins in an unparalleled high-energy weave. The self-proclaimed “immigrant rockers” are on tour in support of the new album Jump at the Sun […]
Even though Adrian Duke is based in central Virginia, his bluesy roots music lives in the heart of New Orleans. His funk and jazz prowess on the piano is matched by raw, expressive vocals, and elevated by a tight backing band that shares the work in bringing down the house. Duke has received critical acclaim […]
The Head and the Heart have the holy grail of indie rock band success: One good male singer, one good female singer. It’s a combination, along with a well-timed whistle or catchy chant, that has made Peter Bjorn and John, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Gotye, and a handful of others huge overnight sensations […]
Celebrate 40 years with the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia at its inaugural season performances. Kate Tamarkin directs the masters of classical music through a specially commissioned piece entitled “Fanfare for a Ruby Celebration,” composed by Randol Alan Bass, and Emmanuel Sejourne’s “Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra,” featuring intrepid percussionist I-Jen Fang. […]
With little more than an acoustic guitar and a junkyard drum kit, husband and wife team Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent beat out skillfully harmonized country-punk anthems as Shovels & Rope. With roots in Charleston and all eyes on the road, the two take a minimalist approach to romantic, vintage melodies. Their new release […]
Boasting gritty, authentic vocals and a solid backbone to his melodies, Darrin Bradbury returns to town, acoustic guitar in tow, to open for singer-songwriter Carl Anderson. His homespun storytelling reflects his new Nashville address as he bobs and weaves through rustic tales of love and protest punctuated by a dark sense of humor. August’s Motel […]