Jazz and world beat

Robert Jospé and Inner Rhythm - Blue Blaze
Robert Jospé and Inner Rhythm - Blue Rumba
Robert Jospé and Inner Rhythm with Heather Maxwell - Malado

buy tickets online

Classical string quartet and woodwind ensemble join forces for a Bach fugue

visit Old Cabell Hall online

New rock project from 6 Day Bender’s frontman in which he drops the banjo in favor of distorted electric guitar.

visit The Box online

Rock and alt-country covers

buy tickets online

Country-pop piano cowboy

Meade Skelton - My Loudon County Home
Meade Skelton - Sweet Tea
Meade Skelton - Those Bad Things You Do
Meade Skelton - Hipsters

visit Mudhouse Crozet online

Jazz pianist

visit Siips online

Richmond jazz singer with accompaniment from local pianist Evan Mook.

visit Siips online

Folk singer-songwriter

visit Rapunzel's online

Americana quartet Skeedaddle is usually acoustic-oriented and prone to picking up unusual instruments (uke, kazoo, etc) but this time around they’ll also be bringing a horn section.

visit Rapunzel's online

Jazz singer

visit Rapunzel's online

Local singer-songwriter plays originals and jammy classic rock covers on acoustic guitar accompanied by loop samplers and other gizmos.

Acoustic quintet plays plays jazz, bluegrass, and rock.

visit Fardowner's online

Acoustic songwriter

Brian Chandler - The Last Resort

Large all-female ensemble singing barbershop. Also featuring instrumental bluegrass from Acoustic Cookin’.

visit Play On! Theater online

Melodic Miles-influenced jazz trumpet fills the halls of UVA’s anthropology department.

Eric Vloeimans - Wet Feet

visit Brooks Hall online

Filing the thumping, bumping, electronic beats of Brooklyn-based experimental dance rock trio These Are Powers under a label like “ghost punk” may seem silly, but the emphasis on ethereal, spooky, and avant-garde sounds and textures in their first few releases is very real. “What ‘ghost punk’ means to me is approaching music with a kind of spirituality between this world and the ‘other’ world,” explains founder Pat Noecker, formerly the bassist for the experimental rock trio Liars, who you may remember from their midnight show at the older incarnation of the newly-revamped Jefferson Theater back in 2006. On the upcoming Powers EP World Class Peoples/Candyman, Noecker and his new band may have moved away from the heebie-jeebies and instead focused on themes like angst and meditation, but sometimes the music can still give you goosebumps. The Hook: What’s your favorite thing about the new EP? Pat Noecker: We’re closer to realizing some of the electronic ideas that we have. It’s not fully there, but we’re really excited. The Hook: Where is it headed next? Pat Noecker: We’re going to keep going forward by reducing more— we don’t have live drums anymore and we’re psyched about that. There’s no limit on what we can do. The Hook: How is this band a better fit for you than Liars? Pat Noecker: Liars was a band that required traditional playing, and what we’re doing is very futuristic. I can explore the instrument for every possible sound it can make. In Liars, it was just bass, bass, bass. The Hook: You often work closely with visual artists on your projects. Why? Pat Noekcer: As a result of the internet, all art forms are meshing together, and I feel that you can’t have one sense without the other— it’s hard to experience something on an auditory level without a visual component. A song is a sculpting space. The Hook: Why did you decide to name this tour “Teen Yoga?” Pat Noecker: It represents two states of mind: teen is angst and a kind of nervousness, restlessness, while yoga represents this meditative, calm, still state. You go through those two juxtaposed states of mind on tour: being stretched to the max, but when you finally play, you’re at peace and it feels great. These Are Powers perform at The Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar on Saturday, February 27. JEFF the Brotherhood opens. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $8.
visit Brooks Hall online

Despite their improbable fairy-tale rise to prominence, Drive-By Truckers are now arguably the South’s preeminent alt-country rockers. Fueled by booze and buzz over their character-driven, lyrically-provoking albums, the Athens, Georgia-based band balances Southern charm with backwoods rowdiness, poignantly nostalgic imagery, and a rousing three-guitar approach to country rock. “We respect our audiences– times are hard, and it amazed me last year, with the horrendous downturn in the economy, that we had packed houses for most shows,” frontman Patterson Hood says. “We don’t take that for granted. It’s a cliche that every show counts, but it does.” Following in the footsteps of former Trucker Jason Isbell, who was the first act at the heavily anticipated re-opening of the renovated theater, the Truckers play two nights at the Jefferson Theater this week. Material from The Big To-Do, their upcoming and substantially more rock-and-roll oriented new album, should keep things plenty loud. The Hook: How has the live show evolved since your first live album? Patterson Hood: The material off the first two records were largely acoustic at the time and when we hit the road, we pretty much thrashed the hell out of those songs. The Hook: Was there ever a time when you weren’t comfortable on stage? PH: Not really, it’s more trying to find out how to be comfortable the rest of the time. The Hook: Did the recording of The Big To-Do go smoothly? PH: We went in to record an album and basically recorded two. We were making a pretty concise rock record and even had the title before— but then we had a bunch of songs that were the polar opposite: swampy, moody, spooky. We made two very different records. The Hook: How would you say it’s better than Brighter Than Creation’s Dark? PH: That last record was a breakthrough for us artistically. This time around it was probably more relaxed and fun just knowing we had more big rock songs. The Hook: Before that album, you had an avalanche of songwriting— 50 songs in six months. What happened this time around? PH: A lot of it was written on the road, which was something we’ve never done before. Now that we have kids, when we come home and have distractions, it’s hard to get anything done. As a writer, I had gotten burned out. It was a little scary. The Hook: You often incorporate your personal life in your lyrics, and the result is often angry or distressing. How has having children influenced that? PH: Having children has definitely made my writing take on an extra depth— even though it has made the actual physical act of writing harder, because of time restraints or distractions, I think the songs I’ve written have profited from it. Having babies hasn’t mellowed me out— I’m as angry about things as much as I ever was— this is just another reason to be mad about those things. I’m concerned about my well-being, my band’s well-being, but now this baby has to grow up in this fucked-up world. Drive-By Truckers play two nights at The Jefferson Theater— Friday, February 26 & Saturday, February 27. David Barbe and The Quick Hooks open. The shows starts at 8 pm and tickets are $25.
visit Brooks Hall online

Hip hop from the leader of the Illville Crew. With DJ Ducktape.

Energetic experimental “ghost punk” rock with a digital edge and weird noises aplenty and fits of genuinely cacophonous abstraction, brought to you by the former bassist from Liars. Opening, fraternal Tennessee guitar-drums rocker duo JEFF The Brotherhood (a misnomer, being that neither of the bros are named Jeffrey), who tear through their loud and crazy sets with devil-may-care punk-rock minimalism.

These Are Powers - World Class Peoples
JEFF The Brotherhood - Bone Jam

Hometown support from Andrew Cedermark and Rhythm Bandit.

visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar online
listen to These Are Powers at the Hype Machine
listen to JEFF The Brotherhood at the Hype Machine

Folk and indie-pop. Manorlady opens.

visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar online

UVA faculty jazz ensemble featuring guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel.

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Self-proclaimed “digital art rock,” which apparently means laptops, live looping, and three separate members whose responsibilities are listed as “MIDI,” “keys,” and “electronics.” With Bear War.

ArpLine - Parts Unknown

visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar online
listen to more ArpLine at the Hype Machine

Guitarist

visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar online

Django-style gypsy jazz from the popular local guitar player.

Olivarez Trio - Choti
Olivarez Trio - Adieu, Bienville
Olivarez Trio - Chez Drennon

visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar online

Local fingerstyle folk guitarist plays blues

Bill Adams - Elzic’s Farewell

visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar online

Guitarist and pianist

Hippie funk

Singer-songwriters

Rock

Acoustic guitarist

Funky rock

Acoustic covers

Frat boy classic rock

Acoustic soul from the Sweetbriar frontman

Up-and-coming student groups viciously fight to the death in a competition that has established a pretty great track record as far as picking the next major players in local music (past winners have included Sons Of Bill, The Blackout Project, and more). Featuring Astronomers, Pompadour, and a bunch of other bands who better not win because we haven’t heard of them yet.

Astronomers - Or Maybe It’s Nothing
Astronomers - Perpetual Emotion
Astronomers - Stratagem
Astronomers - The Singularity
Astronomers - Shoes
Astronomers - My Hologram
Astronomers - Fermata

Brainy, adventurous local rockers.

Trees On Fire - In The Middle [via WXJM Live!]

visit Rapunzel's online

Rock quartet

visit Rapture online

Flamenco/rumba fusion

visit Maya online

Religious pop-rock band performs at a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research.

Tim Be Told - System
Tim Be Told - Analyze

Charlottesville restaurants— already hammered by chilly wintertime sales, zealous alcohol rules, and a nine-percent tax on all they sell— have decided to rise up to fight the latest thing threatening their livelihood: a proposed noise ordinance that would limit nighttime restaurant noise to just 55 decibels, a sound level lower than a typical conversation.

“I really think we’re being steam-rolled here,” says Alan Katz, the music director for Coupe DeVille’s and one of several speakers at City Council Tuesday night.

An Elliewood Avenue restaurant that features live music six nights a week, “Coupes” (as it’s known to regulars) would, Katz said, be irreparably harmed by (more)

St. Vincent is the marquee name of the unassuming Ms. Annie Clark, recently-liberated former backup musician for both The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. Now flying solo as a guitarist extraordinaire and acclaimed indie-pop songwriter, she offers enough structure and arrangement twists to land her somewhere between Feist and Fiona Apple in both shadowy gloom and a wobbling quirk factor, a balance she’s excited about having fine-tuned for last year’s disarmingly engaging Actor. She says her her early exposure to digital recording came from her computer geek stepfather, instruction she now takes to extremes with multitracking. Even though it may get buried under horns and clarinets that seem to go to Spinal Tap’s proverbial “11″ in breadth if not in volume, the angst comes through. The Hook: You’ve talked extensively about how controlling you are on your solo records. To what extent is that a reaction to working with the Polyphonic Spree, a huge, sprawling ensemble where you were just a tiny little speck? Annie Clark: I come from a big family, so I’m happy to just sort of be a tool in somebody else’s vision. But when it comes to my own music, I’ve never really been a collaborator. The Hook: So then why the decision to release music under a name other than your own? Annie Clark: My name is not mysterious in any way, shape, or form. The Hook: Do you ever write things via multitracking that you then can’t actually play? Annie Clark: All the time. The Hook: What’s the point? Annie Clark: It means you’re making music that’s bigger than your own abilities, and I think that feels like a good place to be. Making the second record, I figured out what I’m good at and what I’m less good at. The Hook: Such as? Annie Clark: I’m going to not say, but I know where I suck. The Hook: Your music is really thick, with a lot of concurrent ideas. Where does that vividness come from? Annie Clark: Actor is really based on film in a lot of ways; Technicolor was really important to me, this super-saturated color palette. David Mamet talks about what makes compelling drama, and he boils it down simply to “What does the character want?” and “What happens if they don’t get it?” Or worse, sometimes, “What happens if they do get it?” And then also visually I was watching things like the Wizard Of Oz. And a lot of Disney songs from the ’30s and ’40s— the scores of those are pretty excited and whimsical and innocent and lush. The Hook: “Innocent” is a funny word to use there, because your songs often have an unsettling edge under the Technicolor. “Marrow,” for instance. Annie Clark: If you just listened and didn’t hear words on the record, a lot of it is pretty whimsical and cute. The Hook: So the music is happy and only the lyrics are dark? What does that split say about you? Annie Clark: I’m not sure how to answer that question, but I can give you my psychoanalyst’s number. Even better, readers can leave their theories below. The best armchair psychologist will win a free pair of tickets (be sure to use a real email address). St. Vincent performs at the Jefferson Theater at 8pm on Monday, February 23. Wildbirds and Peacedrums open. Tickets are $13-$15.

It promises to be a night of wild, sweaty rock– but don’t worry, the only trouble this local threesome will cause should be confined to the stage. Combining the energy, talent, and glamor of three of the area’s most-buzzed new bands, this triple-release show really does offer something for everyone– so long as you’re passionate about your rock. Ready to rage, jump off tables, and dance until you collapse? The high energy glam-rock of relative newcomers Red Satellites is sure to feed your fire. The science fiction-influenced prog-rock of local quartet Corsair satisfies both space junkies and Black Sabbath fans, while the straight forward indie, post-punk of Drunk Tigers fills in all the space between. Not convinced? Beside the opportunity to snag new releases from all three bands– Corsair’s Alpha Centauri and Red Satellites’ Cherry Cleveland are both debuts– attendees get to absorb buzz that includes raves from the regional and DC-area blogosphere. Red Satellites, Cherry Cleveland “Energy” is the only way to describe the loud, yet romantic art-rock of Red Satellites whose EP comes with a simple instruction: “To Be Played At Maximum Volume.” Frontman Kevin Hivick has become known for aggressive live shows— swinging from chandeliers and jumping off high perches— even as he admits the group is “emotional and probably pretentious.” Hivick and his younger brother, keyboardist Daniel, decided to start playing as Red Satellites (a nod towards Communist satellite states) in the summer of 2008. Finding additional members over the next year, the five-piece line-up began in late 2009, went into their basement recording studio in December (guitarist Drew Carroll studied recording engineering at Florida State University) and had a four-track EP ready for release two months later. Fueled by the classical training of the brothers — Kevin performed opera as a teenager while Daniel studied classical piano— and a flair for the romantic, Red Satellites combines a brash confidence in their melodic songwriting with passion for the local music community. “I like to try and play with pretty words when I’m writing a story and see where it goes,” Hivick explains. “I like to see something that’s really true and tries to be grand, not worrying that it might be over-the-top.” Corsair, Alpha Centauri “What’s cooler than dragons and space ships?” asks Corsair guitarist Marie Landragin. Indeed, the imagery associated with Russian folklore and mystical mythology provides a compelling juxtaposition with Ray Bradbury-inspired spacescapes– and it’s just such stories that provides the four-piece progressive rock band with the ability to span time and space. “We want to write something you can dig into— the stories transcend the average person’s life,” Landragin says. “The hardships of new things, new discoveries, dealing with monsters of different kinds— our characters are challenged constantly.” Along with an eye to sharp and compelling story-telling, Corsair adds in an obvious jolt of guitar-shredding, genre-meshing talent. Produced by local rock guru Lance Brenner, the group’s debut EP is a polished, harmony-driven nod to 1970s psychedelic metal— yet Alpha Centauri’s greatest strength comes from its wide range of melodic allusions, from a gospel-esque chorus to stripped-down baroque strains. “The harmonies make it stand out, but it’s done in a way that’s accessible and melodic,” bassist Jordan Brunk says. “It’s edgy, but with a little pop sentiment– you can always remember the licks as well as the lyrics.” Guitarist and vocalist Paul Sebring agrees. “Every song is a short story.” And although the band is still young, having only formed in late 2008, don’t expect them to rest on any laurels. “We’ll see what we can do about getting our horn section, putting a string section in,” laughs Brunk. “Do we come across sounding like nerds?” Drunk Tigers, Black Square It makes sense that the feel-good rock of the Drunk Tigers has a certain suburban, everyman, feel to it— guitarists Matt Bierce and Zach Carter did meet while working at SNL Financial in 2008, after all. In the band’s first single, “Winter Party,” from their summer 2009 EP, the lameness of corporate holiday parties and the fading of youth is grimly depicted in the line, “I’ve been living cigarette to cigarette / and all my friends are dead.” And although they’ve retained that satirical edge to their work, the quartet— Bierce, Carter, drummer Mike Parisi, and bassist Dan Sebring (brother to Corsair’s vocalist Paul)— has grown upward and onward from their original basement-recorded debut and occasional shows at the Tea Bazaar. A regionally-raved rock outfit, DT has evolved its songwriting into the thick, lyrically-catchy EP Black Square. “In a few of the bands I’ve been in before, I played sweet, shoe-gazer songs,” remembers vocalist Bierce. “This has a little more edge, dissatisfaction.” From punk to country, the musical stylings exhibited here reward listeners with the slick, raw sound available most often in a live show. Featuring both primal drumbeats and twangy chords, pulsing riffs and the contrasting vocals of Bierce and Carter, Black Square reflects an intimacy of DT’s live shows, where audiences are often mere feet away from the band. One listen may have you itching to jump up and dance, while the second will have you appreciate the hooks and catches of the riotous ballads and heart-wrenching, poppy tunes. “At a certain point,” says Parisi, “we don’t worry about what people think.” Red Satellites, Corsair, and Drunk Tigers release EPs Saturday, February 20 at The Southern. New Rock Church of Fire opens. The show starts at 8 pm and tickets are $6.

Simple, straightforward southern-leaning Laurel Canyon roots-rock in which the roots are also rock, by which we mean that this folky group’s precursor was an alternative rock band.

In addition, Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes drummer Jason Boesel switches to guitar for his twangy new solo Americana project, which features contributions from (check this out) Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, longtime Gillian Welch foil David Rawlings, Orenda Fink of Azure Ray, and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith. Only one will be appearing on this tour, however; betcha can’t guess which.

Also featuring singer-songwriter Cory Chisel.

Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons - See It My Way

buy tickets online
listen to Dawes at the Hype Machine
listen to Corey Chisel at the Hype Machine
listen to Jason Boesel at the Hype Machine

Hip hop. The Dubsettors and the Rhythm Administration open.

buy tickets online

Salsa from Richmond

buy tickets online

Moody electronic rock and trip-hop quartet from Sweden who are featured on the upcoming new Gorillaz album, way more friendly on songs like “Blinking Pigs” than Massive Attack could ever be and probably less likely to actually throw themselves off the bridge in the end than Portishead. Still plenty lonely, though, as is to be expected.

Singer-songwriter VV Brown opens.

As That 1 Guy, former upright bassist and one-time Righteous Babe artist Mike Silverman plays disjointed comical funk with an otherworldly, futuristic edge on a giant harp-like bass instrument he built for himself out of pipes, samplers, Rube Goldberg’s nightmares, and a cowboy boot.

That 1 Guy - Buttmachine

DJ Cliff Hux opens.

visit Rapture online

This would be the big kaboom in local music this week — an EP-release threesome from indie rock quartet Drunk Tigers, old-school metalhead astronuts Corsair, and glam-rock youngsters Red Satellites, all buzzed-about up-and-comers across the board.

Red Satellites - Good Press
Red Satellites - Dancing

Kicking things off is New Rock Church Of Fire, to whom we will pay no further attention because they’re not from Charlottesville. Sorry guys.

buy tickets online

The local bluegrass and Americana quartet releases their new album, Moonshine Remorse Redemption.

The Buzzard Hollow Boys - Sue Cow
The Buzzard Hollow Boys - Banty Rooster Blues
The Buzzard Hollow Boys - Who Killed Poor Robin
The Buzzard Hollow Boys - Rocksalt N’ Nails
The Buzzard Hollow Boys - Pick Poor Robin Clean
The Buzzard Hollow Boys - Kentucky Moonshiner

Older material:
The Buzzard Hollow Boys - Mission To Moscow
The Buzzard Hollow Boys - Why Don’t You Do Right

visit Bel Rio online

17-piece big band swing ensemble

visit Fry's Spring Beach Club online

Motown and top 40 cover band raises funds for non-profits serving area veterans and firefighters.

visit Fry's Spring Beach Club online

Motown and top 40 cover band raises funds for non-profits serving area veterans and firefighters.

visit Fry's Spring Beach Club online

Finger-pickin’ foot-stompin’ folk rock.

HoboJac - Uncle Joe
HoboJac - Ramblings Of A Sinner
HoboJac - Crossroads

visit Bel Rio online

Flamenco fusion

visit North Branch School online

The popular local worldbeat band of yesteryear reunites again to play the newly rebooted Jefferson, at which they first performed back in 1995. Beleza Brasil opens with Latin jazz and samba fused with blues, and funky string wizards Morwenna Lasko and Jay Pun twist their fiddle and guitar tunes in unusual ways.

Baaba Seth - Wonderful
Baaba Seth - Upside Down [live]

Beleza Brasil - Water To Drink
Beleza Brasil - Fever

Morwenna Lasko and Jay Pun - B-Loose

buy tickets online
visit Jefferson Theater online

Acoustic bluegrass

visit Stone Soup online

Guitar and vocal duo plays standards from the 20’s and 30’s by Cole Porter and Fats Waller, among others.

visit Stone Soup online

Celtic music from the dulcimer player and guitarist

visit Stone Soup online

80’s music on acoustic instruments, “Eye Of The Tiger” on banjo and so on. Personnel include Old School Freight Train guitarist Jesse Harper; Zack Hickman, guitarist and uke player for Josh Ritter, and Adam Larrabee.

buy tickets online

Local bassist leads his funky trio

visit Miller's online

Local bluegrass-rockers. Carolina-via-D.C. twang-rockers The Moderate make this an entirely stylistically coherent bill.

6 Day Bender - Kick Out The Fire
6 Day Bender - Devil Lets You Dance
6 Day Bender

The Moderate - Ex-Lovers, Enemies
The Moderate - Your Favorite Too
The Moderate - Lost Boy
The Moderate - Chapel Hill

buy tickets online

Sort-of acoustic blues from the local guitarist

Eli Cook - Static In The Blood

Solo set from the man who brought you the Nice Jenkins and Gunchux.

Local roots-rock songwriter and guitarist.

The Brian Patrick Band - Tumbleweed
The Brian Patrick Band - Nowhere Left To Fall
The Brian Patrick Band - It Hurts Me More
The Brian Patrick Band - Don’t Believe In Me
The Brian Patrick Band - California
The Brian Patrick Band - Big Muddy

visit Rapunzel's online

Various singer-songwriters help raise funds for school arts programs

visit Rapunzel's online

For his entirely sequencer-free Matt Kurz One project, the titular Athens GA native plays a one-man garage rock band across five instruments — vocals, drums, keys, guitar, and bass — which works out to about one instrument per limb, roughly.

Matt Kurz One - One Solid Gold Coffin
Matt Kurz One - She’s A Shining Light
Matt Kurz One - Now We’re Really On Our Own
Matt Kurz One - Hey Renee
Matt Kurz One - God Said
Matt Kurz One - One Big Open

visit The Box online

Former Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay has been entertaining various solo projects for a while, but just recently announced his break with the almost absurdly critically acclaimed band to focus on them whole-hog and give more punk energy to the fire behind his retro gypsy rock. And yes — in person, his wax-loaded spiraling mustache really is as amazing as you’ve been hearing.

Franz Nicolay - Jeff Penalty
Franz Nicolay - World/Inferno Vs. The End Of The Evening

Local alt-country songwriter Megan Huddleston’s Americana band Mister Baby will be on hand to warm you up first.

visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar online
listen to more Franz Nicolay at the Hype Machine

Guitar and vocal duo plays country, swing, and Appalachian

visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar online

For their first 1.5 rounds (that’d be Candyapolis and its live followup sister EP Live Candy), local folk songwriter Keith Morris and his Crooked Numbers have tended toward tunes which are equally eccentric and youthful, but here they’ll be previewing songs from the upcoming second album, so anything goes — especially since gospel singers Davina and Davita Jackson will be involved this time around. Also featuring perennial C-ville fave Shannon Worrell.

Keith Morris - Candy Apples
Keith Morris - Snowday [live]
Keith Morris - Billy Weir’s Dress [live]
Keith Morris - Baby Saves World [live]
Keith Morris - Waltzing [live]
Keith Morris - Candy Apples [March Rosetta remix]

buy tickets online

Performing Brahms Requiem arranged for soloists, chorus, and two pianos.

buy tickets online
visit Paramount Theater online

Chorus with instrumental accompaniment for a performance of Carl Orff’s song cycle from the 1930’s, the first movement of which (”O Fortuna”) is undoubtedly the viking-stormingest movie soundtrack composition of the past century. (For further testimonials, head over to kickassclassical.com, where you’ll learn that it’s used as the background music for big showy introductory sequences by Ozzy Osbourne, the New England Patriots, and for everything that happens at Wembley Stadium.)

Then stay tuned for “Five Hebrew Love Songs” by California choral composer Eric Whitaker.

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Popular UVA vocal ensemble the Academical Village People hosts other a cappella groups like the Hullabahoos and the Virginia Gentlemen at this this benefit concert for Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

buy tickets online
visit Paramount Theater online

New rock duo from 6 Day Bender’s frontman in which he drops the banjo in favor of distorted electric guitar.

When we learned we were getting complimentary tickets for the Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk concert, my wife, herself once second fiddle in the Lane High School orchestra, seemed more than usually excited. “That’s second chair violin” she corrected.

Looking at Bell’s promotional posters at the Paramount Theater, I began to understand her excitement. The guy is drop dead beautiful.

A prodigy, Joshua Bell got his first violin at age 4, played with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 14, and recorded his first album at age 18. A web search to find the best violinist in the world doesn’t render any firm conclusion, but Bell’s name (more)

Perennially skyward-facing Trekkie alt-rock. With Americana quartet Hunter Smith and the Dead Men and local one-man electronica project Centric.

Astronomers - Or Maybe It’s Nothing
Astronomers - Perpetual Emotion
Astronomers - Stratagem
Astronomers - The Singularity
Astronomers - Shoes
Astronomers - My Hologram
Astronomers - Fermata
Centric - In Flight
Centric - Thanks For Something
Centric - Second Hand

buy tickets online

Gravity supporters and/or hopelessly smitten lovebirds, rejoice! Husband and wife again perform folky duets together in a continuation of their yearly tradition, among C-ville music’s coolest, which they started during the last incarnation of this space. It’s a little perplexing that there doesn’t seem to be a per-couple price, but still, lest there be any doubt: this is absolutely the place to go this evening with your shnookums.

Paul Curreri - Once Upon A Rooftop
Paul Curreri - California
Paul Curreri - Long Gone Again

Devon Sproule - Keep Your Silver Shined
Devon Sproule - 1340 Chesapeake St.
Devon Sproule - Let’s Go Out

buy tickets online

Or “Farewell To Birdlips,” as the Southern is billing it. Bummer — charming once-local indie-folk duo Birdlips relocated to D.C. some time ago, but even then they could still pop in from time to time. Now they’re off to San Francisco. You do the math.

Be sure to pick up a copy of their killer debut Cardboard Wings before they go, or you’ll surely find yourself wishing there was some way for their music to be distributed over large distances. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Birdlips - Tire Chains
Birdlips - Some Kind Of Death

Sarah White and The Cinnamon Band see them off. But you guys better not go anywhere or we’re going to have a situation here.

Sarah White - Apple In B Major
Sarah White - Half A Smile
Sarah White - Ply Me
Sarah White - Sweetheart
Sarah White - Where You’re Going
The Cinnamon Band - I’m Asking You

buy tickets online

Intricate guitar-and-sequence goth-rock

Bella Morte - Fades Like A Song
Bella Morte - On The Edge

buy tickets online

The local indie-pop quartet, typically inspired equally by the sounds of the 60’s and 80’s (and skipping the interim), here releases their new EP of home recordings, something that would have been largely unfeasible in any of the aforementioned decades. More romantic Valentine’s Day gifts do exist, sure, but this is as good a choice as any for those of you with relationships appraised at around five bucks. With DBB Plays Cups and The Caninos.

The Hilarious Posters - Absence
The Hilarious Posters - Geniuses

UVA vocal ensemble

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Richmond violinist

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Local folk duo. Featuring Mando Mafia bassist Vaughan Mairs.

Scuffletown - Barcelona, Someday
Scuffletown - Crazy Wind
Scuffletown - All These Roads Lead Out Of Town
Scuffletown - Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Folk and Americana singer-songwriter duo

Gene and Gayla Mills - Ghost Town
Gene and Gayla Mills - Fool’s Gold
Gene and Gayla Mills - Waiting For Rain

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Valentine’s day with the local folk songwriter. Also featuring Greg Trafidlo and other guests.

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Hosted by the Central Virginia Blues Society

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Old-school acoustic country with religious inflections

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Singer/guitarists

visit Old Cabell Hall online

Various staples from Charlottesville’s 1980’s music scene, somewhat dis- and then re-assembled

visit Miller's online

Bluegrass and Americana trio who incorporate, among other things, a Strumstick.

visit Miller's online

What a stunning curiosity Joanna Newsom is; hard to believe Devendra is the one who ended up as the figurehead of “freak folk” when she’s up there with a harp, right? But acclaimed records like The Milk-Eyed Mender and Ys instead set her up as the indisputable princess of indie folk over the course of the mid-aughts (presumably those genres are mutually exclusive), her enthusiastic reception by fans and critics alike due roughly in equal measure to the bizarre medieval-Appalachia redneck-knight vibe her chosen instrument brought to the mixes and to her occasional fits of borderline-Bjorky chirps. Her new triple album Have On One Me just came out on February 23.

visit Jefferson Theater online
listen to Joanna Newsom at the Hype Machine