Listen Up: Classical music is alive and well in Charlottesville

As Charlottesville’s character has broadened, so has its classical music scene, which is now largely driven by community efforts to build the culture. When Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach began transforming the sounds we were used to hearing, 250 years ago, people said it was the death of classical music,” says Benjamin Rous, music director of […]

YOU Issue: Charlottesville Threshold Singers soothe with bedside harmonies

“The Charlottesville Threshold Singers have been singing to hospice patients and others in need of comfort and peace for more than a dozen years.”—Lynn Pribus It wasn’t easy for Lynn Pribus to move from California to Charlottesville 11 years ago, despite being closer to her children and grandchildren. She missed writing for the Sacramento Bee, […]

Band together: Wild Common’s music knows no constraints

In the yard of Brennan Gilmore’s farmhouse outside of town, a jagged line of trees lie on their sides, torn from the ground by a recent tornado, chunks of red dirt still clinging to the roots. In the distance, mist settles in over the mountains, and the whole scene feels quintessentially Virginia, a feeling underscored […]

Weight lifted: Juliana Daugherty finds release with Light

Between sips of seltzer and small handfuls of Chex Mix, Juliana Daugherty lovingly runs her hand along her cat Monday’s back. “I’m still kind of shocked that I managed to get it out in the world,” she says, eyeing a thick cardboard box at the bottom of a bookshelf. It’s full of vinyl copies of […]

ARTS Pick: Adar

When a band’s music is described as genre-defying, it often means its musicians are struggling to find a successful sound. In the case of Adar, the local singer-songwriter does transcend genres and her songs successfully incorporate several types of music—funk, rock, and jazz—to create a smooth, innovative blend of sounds. Virginia funk acts Funktional Electrik […]

ARTS Pick: Gold Connections

Many associate Will Marsh’s band Gold Connections with Car Seat Headrest thanks to several collaborations, but Marsh’s group stands solidly on its own. After a label switch, the long-awaited release of Popular Fiction arrived in 2018, marking an impressive step forward. The album shows off the group’s broad musical range and challenging lyrics that address […]

ARTS Pick: Jacob Lourie

When you’re an independent musician in a competitive town like Charlottesville, it’s never too soon to get started. Jacob Lourie’s musical career began during his senior year at St. Anne’s-Belfield School. This month heralds his first full-length release, Sad Boi Bops Vol. 1, and it promises to live up to its name with tracks that […]