Willie Watson

Willie Watson, Americana singer-songwriter and founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show, brings more than 30 years of musical experience to the stage with songs exploring torment and redemption. Through stories of heartbreak, hurt, hope, and growth, Watson channels old-time American folk, weaving in contemporary reflections on loss, love, addiction, and burdens in a complex […]

LA LOM with The National Reserve

Friday 12/6 at The Southern Café and Music Hall LA LOM, an acronym for the Los Angeles League of Musicians, floats out a dreamy-yet-driving instrumental soundtrack with West Coast cool. More of a three-piece than a league, per se, the band’s sound careens smoothly through adventurous, succinct tracks that lilt with well-placed, heartbreaking chords and […]

Thankful Dead

As you prepare for the big feast this Thursday, why not start off with a side of jam? The table is set for an evening of Americana music at Thankful Dead, featuring early Grateful Dead tunes performed by local five-piece group Mama Tried, and covers of Jerry Garcia Band songs by Sisters & Brothers. It’s […]

Palmyra x Ramona & the Holy Smokes

Beat the Black Friday blues with a night of Americana holler-core and down-home honky-tonk. Palmyra (above) and Ramona & the Holy Smokes take the stage for a post-holiday double bill sure to shake you out of your tryptophan stupor and take the edge off holiday shopping. It’s always a foot-stomping, booty-shaking, sing-along good time when […]

Lucinda Williams

Following the 2023 release of her 16th studio album Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart and candid memoir Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, Lucinda Williams and her band bring a unique stage show functioning as a career retrospective. Though Williams can no longer play the guitar in the wake of a […]

Six Organs of Admittance

Inspired by East-meets-West solo guitar ruminations and a desire to merge fingerstyle acoustic guitar with improvisational elements, Six Organs of Admittance is the ongoing project by Northern California guitarist Ben Chasny. His “new folk” combines drone, percussion, and resonant vocalizations in experimental arrangements anchored by expert fingerpicking. The creator of the Hexadic System—a chance operation […]

Charlottesville Symphony channels unique makeup for talent, longevity

When the schedule for this year’s 50th-anniversary season of the Charlottesville Symphony hits the desk of Elizabeth Roberts, the orchestra’s principal bassoonist eyes the first piece in the first show. It’s Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and she’s played it many, many times. For professional players like Roberts, seeing Beethoven 5 on the setlist is like […]

Illiterate Light

If you’ve listened to Illiterate Light, you know it can be hard to pin down the band’s sound. The task hasn’t gotten any easier with new album Arches, the third LP from singer-guitarist Jeff Gorman and drummer Jake Cochran. Moving between easy indie rock, kaleidoscopic neo-psychedelia, and electro-embellished Americana, the duo weaves together a sonic […]

Danish String Quartet

Tuesday 11/12 at Old Cabell Hall Universally hailed for its instrumental prowess, emotive performances, and wide- ranging repertoire, the Danish String Quartet kicks off a series of seven eastern U.S. dates at UVA’s Old Cabell Hall. The Grammy-nominated foursome, who have been tearing it up for more than 20 years, will perform a program rich […]