When you get the giggles: Laugh along with Theese Folks Crazy, a comedy special from Kerwin Claiborne. The Mississippi-raised comedian studied his heroes Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, and Tyler Perry to create the personalities of Ms. Mary, Uncle Leroy, and Miss Keisha. Claiborne’s characters went viral by exaggerating everyday situations in skits such as “When […]
When you get the giggles: Laugh along with Theese Folks Crazy, a comedy special from Kerwin Claiborne. The Mississippi-raised comedian studied his heroes Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, and Tyler Perry to create the personalities of Ms. Mary, Uncle Leroy, and Miss Keisha. Claiborne’s characters went viral by exaggerating everyday situations in skits such as “When […]
Half an hour before taking the stage in No Fear and Blues Long Gone: Nina Simone, actress and lawyer Yolanda Rabun sits in her dressing room listening to Bach. The room is filled with the music Nina Simone’s grandfather played for her as a young girl, which later inspired the compositions on Rabun’s desk. Even […]
Rock around: When creating its 2022 EP Born at the Right Time (Exquisite Corpse), experimental pop collective The North Country had one rule—don’t be afraid to get weird. The group, led by frontman Andrew Grossman, is known for its colorful, raucous shows and compelling, collaborative songwriting, which it took to new heights during COVID-forced separation. […]
Tale wagon: Shenandoah Valley natives Benjamin Ryan and Kyle Grim originally formed Dogwood Tales as a duo, but over time the roots band blossomed into a full ensemble. As the band grew, so did its music—going from acoustic, ghostly sparseness to robust harmonies and arrangements laden with pocket grooves, pedal steel, and Wurlitzer keys. Inspired […]
Erin & The Wildfire Touchy Feely (self-released) It’s been five years since the Charlottesville-formed and now Richmond-based Erin & The Wildfire released a new album, and 2022 finds the group exploring the past through a new sound glittering with ’80s glam. As many pandemic era albums go, songwriting and collaborating for Touchy Feely was done […]
Ruin(s) your evening: Song, comedy, and theater make a magical midsummer evening at Shakespeare at the Ruins. Four County Players, central Virginia’s longest continuously operating community theater, returns to the historic Barboursville ruins to open its 50th anniversary season with As You Like It. Katie Rogers, Kate Johnson, Robert Wray, and Robert Eversberg star in […]
Secret session: After 18 years together as musical and life partners, Kate McGarry and Keith Ganz have unlocked the formula to making remarkable jazz. Influenced by Celtic, Brazilian, and Indian music, as well as the New York jazz scene, McGarry’s luminous, seductive voice and Ganz’s expansive arrangements have earned the pair three Grammy nominations. In […]
Solo and soulful: The one-man band Theocles is the project of local singer-songwriter Theo Herrin, who left a job at the Mayo Clinic in 2020 to work as a full-time musician and teaching artist at The Front Porch. Equipped with just a mic, guitar, and loop pedal, Herrin’s live shows feature soulful pop covers, from […]
In the winter of 2019, Dr. Caroline Worra was in Hong Kong playing the role of wealthy widow Hanna Glawari, opposite Richard Troxell as her ex-lover Count Danilo, in a performance of Franz Lehár’s 1905 operetta The Merry Widow. Three years and 8,000 miles later, Worra and Troxell are preparing to reprise their roles with […]
March on: An old classic is infused with modern sensibilities at the Virginia Theatre Festival. Acclaimed playwright Kate Hamill takes Louisa May Alcott’s beloved Little Women in a contemporary direction that sees the March sisters grappling with traditional gender roles, political beliefs, family dynamics, and love, as they grow from children to adults in a […]