As anybody who logged into Gmail this morning and tried to access an amazing new feature called Gmail Motion already knows, it’s April Fool’s Day—otherwise known as April 1. Tonight’s show at the Southern is somewhere between a gag and fine art, but whatever it is, it sounds worth seeing: A benefit for St. Baldrick’s features a set by We Are Star Children and local performers reading the "R. Kelly Monologues." Tickets are here.
R Kelly’s "When a Woman’s Fed Up."
An interesting performance kicks off The Bridge/PAI‘s annual month-long celebration of sounds, Audio April. UVA composition student Erik DeLuca spent last June as an artist in residence at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park—the largest in the country. He recorded everything from house-size blocks of ice calving from Hubbard Glacier, to the underwater sounds of Tanada Lake. On returning he teamed up with poet Chelsea Hicks to create "Onomatopoeias and Songs for Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska," a collection of sound and word portraits of the park. That performance is tomorrow. A third installment of the Experimental Music Showcase fills the gallery with out-there sounds on Sunday.
For the regionally inclined, dozens of bands congregate in Harrisonburg all weekend for MACRoCk, Central Virginia’s answer to South by Southwest. In addition to shows, shows, shows downtown Harrisonburg grows overrun with panels and expos. Outsized headliners this year are the Jersey punk group Bouncing Souls, plus lots of Charlottesville bands—Corsair, Invisible Hand, Borrowed Beams of Light and Wes Swing—are scheduled to do their respective things.
New Jersey’s Screaming Females ("Wild") also play MACRoCk tonight.
Tonight locally-adored songwriter John McCutcheon hits the Haven at First and Market for a show to benefit the homeless shelter there. He released his 34th album—that’s no typo, folks—back in October, Passage. Tonight folk lovers have to choose between that show and one at C’ville Coffee, where the lovely modern folk duo Friction Farm performs. C’ville Coffee, go. McCutcheon’s show info is here.
John McCutcheon’s "Step by Step."
Lots of First Fridays highlights for this afternoon. At the opening for a new show called "Small Breaches in the Firmament," at Chroma Projects, UVA art prof Bill Bennett unveils a "performance machine" he created with students. It will be outside the gallery from 5-9pm. New City Arts presents work by its artist-in-residence Patrick Costello at WVTF studio on Water Street. Interested in buying art? Second Street Gallery has the work that will be up for sale at its New Art Auction on April 8. Pick up a copy of this week’s C-VILLE for complete openings and listings.
What’re you up to this weekend?
