Sometimes you’re in the mood for that mysterious alchemy of nostalgia and masochism that drives you to read your high school journal entries, love letters from exes, or hometown obituaries—searching for a good kind of sadness, a pain that reminds you of how precious and fleeting this life can be. And along comes Chloë Ester. […]
Sometimes you’re in the mood for that mysterious alchemy of nostalgia and masochism that drives you to read your high school journal entries, love letters from exes, or hometown obituaries—searching for a good kind of sadness, a pain that reminds you of how precious and fleeting this life can be. And along comes Chloë Ester. […]
More than words: Poetic lyricism, creative ambition, and layered, lush production are alt-folk-pop artist Rachael Sage’s specialties. For two decades, Sage has steadily released over a dozen albums, winning awards and touring with an eclectic mix of artists in the process. Created in lockdown, her new band Poetica has a spoken-word album of the same […]
On the enclosed patio of the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Reagan Riley reclines into a stack of jewel-toned pillows scattered on the bench behind her as grey-white wisps of fruit-flavored tobacco vapor curl through the afternoon air, dissipating into a thin haze that’s more sunshine than hookah smoke. The room’s hardworking window A/C unit hums […]
Literally literary: The first full album from Boston’s John Shakespear, Spend Your Youth (released May 10), is described as a coming-of-age record tinged by the times. Now making music in Nashville, Shakespear’s harmonies draw comparisons to the wistful pinings of Fleet Foxes and Elliott Smith, while his lyrics reflect the current political climate, his personal […]
Two of UVA’s favorite crooners join forces for a rare, one-night-only show. Nathan Colberg graduated back in 2017, and his music career has quickly gained traction with beautiful, keyboard-driven tracks like “Charlottesville” (understandably, a local favorite), and his first full-length, Silo. Grant Frazier is a rising fourth-year, but he already has a 2016 album under […]
If you’ve been on the Downtown Mall this summer, you’ve likely seen four young musicians set up in front of Kilwin’s, beside a white board that reads “Help Us Pay For College” propped in a guitar case with a shallow sea of coins and crumpled bills pooling at its base. The Rainey Day Quartet formed […]
If bluegrass doesn’t typically grab your attention, Man About a Horse might be the band to change that. This five-piece from Philadelphia is on a mission to transform the folksy genre into dance music. Formed in 2014, the group employs mandolin, fiddle and banjo to create an up-tempo sound that both pays homage to and […]
A bowl of soup is a comfort. Whether you are seeking relief from a head cold or cold weather, or want to pour your soul into cooking a meal shared with friends, soup is the answer. In 2013, Victoria Williams, Maureen Brondyke and Brooke Ray infused those ideas of sustenance and community into Charlottesville SOUP—a […]
Describing themselves as “a band that plays super-cool music,” Heartmeat is the collective effort of musicians Frank Storey, Lilly Hartmetz and James Rios, who bring a variety of experience, from folk and jazz to alternative and funk. “All in all though, it’s the thrill of songwriting that really fuels the band,” says Storey. Sunday, July […]
As consumers, we’re inundated by success. Hit records, blockbuster movies, the latest app. Creators, on the other hand, are surrounded by failures. They churn out ideas—some brilliant, some bad—and create until something sticks. How do they find the guts to fail their way to success? Three accomplished local artists are opening up in The Art […]