Month: September 2016

Categories
Living

New momentum has Virginia winemakers racing to meet demand

Robert Harllee of Market Street Wineshops has watched an increase in Virginia wine sales at his various locations. Photo by Martyn Kyle

As Virginia’s tobacco industry wanes, the food and wine sector builds momentum. With more than 80 cheesemakers in the state, an intense focus on sustainability at farms such as Polyface, Free Union Grass, Radical Roots and Wolf Creek, and a large, passionate beverage industry, the state is poised to contribute a unique chapter to America’s evolving culinary story. Virginia’s wine industry, in particular, brings much to the table and shows no signs of slowing down.

Restaurants around the state have noticed increased demand for Virginia wine in the last decade. Some early champions of local wine recall the first Virginia wines on their lists: Ivy Inn wine director Farrell Vangelopoulos carried early bottlings from Barboursville and Whitehall vineyards in the mid-to-late 1990s. And C&O’s former sommelier, Elaine Futhey, remembers making the drive to Linden Vineyards to pick up dessert wine.

Today, most restaurants carry between five and 12 different Virginia wine labels on their list. Justin Ross at Parallel 38 pours 12 state wines by the glass, including some on tap. Neal Wavra’s highly anticipated new restaurant, Field & Main, in Marshall, pours mostly Virginia wines by the glass—18, to be exact, plus four Virginia ciders. Booth Hardy, of Richmond’s Barrel Thief, has a penchant for rosé and has enjoyed watching that category grow over the last five years.

Wineries are feeling the momentum of the industry. “We’ve more than doubled our production in less than 10 years, and it is still a challenge to meet demand,” says King Family Vineyards winemaker Matthieu Finot. “But it’s nice to be able to focus on making a high-quality product as we grow, knowing that the demand is behind us.”

Rachel Stinson Vrooman, winemaker at Stinson Vineyards, is also under pressure to meet high-volume demands. “We opened our tasting room in 2011 and have seen a crazy growth curve in the industry since then,” says Vrooman. “It’s almost impossible to predict when and where it will level out. Our total sales in 2015 were up 27 percent from 2014, which can be challenging to maintain in terms of production and inventory. We’ve tried to slow things down in 2016 by cutting back on advertising. Agritourism is strong, and more and more people are seeking out specific wines and even specific vintages.”

State statistics mirror the feeling of growth among wineries and restaurants. Governor Terry McAuliffe recently announced record sales for fiscal year 2016, “with more than 556,500 cases, or over 6.6 million bottles, sold,” representing a 6 percent increase from 2015 sales and a 34 percent increase since 2010.

Local vintage variation likely plays a part in the numbers. Some of last year’s growth might reflect the outstanding 2015 vintage that brought in a large, high-quality crop. And it’s possible we may see a dip next year, because early-season frost damage decreased the 2016 harvest in many areas across the state.

But aside from supply statistics, Robert Harllee of Market Street Wineshops points to consumer trends driving a new kind of demand. At his stores, he’s noticed that “people are making more regular purchases of Virginia wine, and many seem to be younger people. Ten years ago you’d see people getting a bottle of Virginia wine for a special-occasion dinner or a special gift, but now I’m seeing more people get Virginia wine for everyday drinking.”

And the variety of Virginia wine has expanded, which attracts a broader audience. “In the last couple years,” Harllee says, “we’re seeing a lot of unique grape varieties outside of the classic international varieties, like Jump Mountain’s grüner veltliner, lemberger at Ox-Eye, vermentino and fiano at Barboursville, and petit manseng and nebbiolo are doing quote well with several producers. I’m drinking a little more Virginia wine now, myself.”

At Wine Warehouse, “we try to have a selection of Virginia wines from around the state,” says manager Geoff Macilwaine. “One of our better sellers is Lovingston Winery, and the winemaker, Riaan [Rossouw], we think, is a terrific winemaker.” Macilwaine points to Lovingston’s 2010 Meritage as a benchmark local example.

The momentum of Virginia’s local wine trade is a confluence of increased interest in wine, high-quality production from dedicated wineries and support from the state level. “Virginia is making intelligent, inspired wines,” Vrooman says, “and the word is starting to get out.”

One of the most exciting aspects of the wine boom is how it fits in with the other emerging industries in the state—it pairs perfectly with all of the carefully farmed vegetables, cheeses and meats produced by thoughtful local farmers. Virginia food and wine forces are joining together in restaurants, and with all of the creative new pairings out there, we just might be watching the genesis of a new food and wine center of the United States.

Categories
Arts

Disney’s Queen of Katwe changes the game

Madina Nalwanga plays chess champion Phiona Mutesi in Queen of Katwe, an uplifting true story that breaks with Disney convention. Imagae courtesy of Disney

On the surface, Disney’s Queen of Katwe is a feel-good, fact-based movie whose familiarity is part of its charm. Based on the life of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi, the film, directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala), confidently navigates the Disney underdog formula, yet finds personal and occasionally political depth in its subject’s story. The movie’s impressive ensemble is made up of both world-famous talent (David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o) and complete newcomers (led by Madina Nalwanga as Phiona). This year has been seriously lacking in upbeat films, and Queen of Katwe may be just the thing we need.

Queen of Katwe
PG, 124 minutes
Violet Crown Cinema and Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX

Beneath the surface, Nair has led what might be a quiet revolution against Hollywood convention despite Queen of Katwe’s conventional structure: The film takes place almost entirely in Uganda from the perspective of Ugandans. This might seem unremarkable when stated so plainly, but consider most Western films set in Africa and the tropes they lean on—war, famine, atrocity, always seen through the eyes of some white savior, perhaps a journalist or NGO worker. Those sorts of films may be rooted in good intentions, but they ultimately essentialize entire countries to fit the particular sympathies of Western liberal guilt, and reduce the totality of their existence to their suffering.

Queen of Katwe is told completely from the point of view of its protagonists—nearly every speaking role is a black actor—and though it does not whitewash the social problems of its setting, the film never treats its characters as objects of pity but as individuals attempting to do the best they can with what they have.

Based on the book by sports reporter Tim Crothers, Queen of Katwe follows Phiona as she develops her gift for chess, a talent discovered by Robert Katende (Oyelowo), whose ministry helps disenfranchised youth by feeding them and teaching them chess. Phiona and her siblings are unable to attend school because they have to work to make rent following the death of Phiona’s father. Her widowed mother, Nakku (Nyong’o), is fiercely protective of her children, aware of the dangers and temptations that await them (including some surprisingly blunt references to war and sex work for a Disney film). And while she understands that her daughter is special, she is wary of the uncertainty that comes from so much pressure being put on a young teenager.

Phiona’s gift is impressive, but Katende gradually comes to realize that she has the potential to be an international contender, yet growing up illiterate and poor in the village of Katwe puts her at an unfair disadvantage. In another skewering of convention, Queen of Katwe is a thoughtful coming-of-age tale that focuses not on dating but on coming to terms with one’s own talent and ambition; after her first tournament victory at an elite school in Uganda, she’s convinced the wealthy city boy allowed her to win. As her confidence grows, her dissatisfaction with her surroundings causes conflict between Phiona and her mother, which balloons into overconfidence before an emotional loss on the international stage.

The child actors are all watchable and occasionally hilarious, and their chemistry with Oyelowo and Nyong’o will make you forgive the surprisingly long runtime of 124 minutes. In the most superficial ways, Queen of Katwe is nothing new, but within it is the potential to forever alter the film industry as we know it.

Playing this week  

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213
Blair Witch, Bridget Jones’s Baby, Don’t Breathe, The Magnificent Seven, Snowden, Storks, Suicide Squad, Sully, When the Bough Breaks, The Wild Life

Violet Crown Cinema
200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week-The Touring Years, Bridget Jones’s Baby, Complete Unknown, Hell or High Water, The Hollars, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Magnificent Seven, Snowden, Storks, Sully

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: The Comedy of Errors

Actor Julian Sanchez preps for UVA Drama’s production of The Comedy of Errors. Photo by Michael Bailey

Sorcery, magic and family feuds combine in The Comedy of Errors, one of 18 plays that entered the theatrical world when friends of William Shakespeare released First Folio in 1623, seven years after the Bard’s death. The tribute production coincides with the First Folio exhibit at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library on UVA Grounds, and is filled with surprises, including its 1970s semi-modern setting.

Through October 9. $8-14, times vary. Culbreth Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. 924-3376.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Paulien

Paulien sings from the heart of American jazz, in French, at the Southern on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Wick Beavers

Dutch-born, Charlottesville-based singer Paulien brings an array of languages and talent to the stage through her French jazz interpretations of the Great American Songbook. Dubbed as a musical story, she captures everyone from Edith Piaf to Cole Porter in an afternoon performance to benefit the WTJU Jazz Marathon.

Sunday, October 2. $15-17, 4pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.

Categories
Arts

Album reviews: Amber Arcades, EZTV and Ultimate Painting

Amber Arcades
Fading Lines (Heavenly)

A stereotypical indie-rocker might work as a barista or telemarketer; Utrecht songwriter Annelotte de Graaf is a legal aide for the international war crimes tribunal and the Dutch immigration office. As such, you could expect Fading Lines, her debut as Amber Arcades, to be full of ponderous downers, but it’s a solid album of dreamy jams, abetted by members of Quilt and Real Estate.

“Come With Me” leads off with swirling, chiming guitars and propulsive, krauty drums, with keyboards adding a faint sonic mist. The results evoke a more ornate Eternal Summers, and while it’s hard to decipher de Graaf’s lyrics (are those the fading lines?), she’s an appealing singer akin to the Summers’ Nicole Yun. The rest of the album varies the tempo but not the yearning vocals or the guitar-based textures—though vintage organ takes the stage on the Broadcast-like “Perpetuum Mobile.” “Turning Light,” the one lengthy track, sounds headed for unbridled soloing—it opts for static grooving instead, but we’ll see what happens when Amber Arcades plays the Southern with Nada Surf on October 6.

EZTV
High in Place (Captured Tracks)

I hate to gripe with High in Place, the second full-length by Brooklyn trio EZTV. Classic indie-pop structures are in full effect, and the players hit their spots. But returns diminish as singer Ezra Tenenbaum floats atop the proceedings like a diffident version of Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, narrating leisurely scenes of a charmed life. On one track he’s rolling down a hill, on another he’s in a hammock, “swinging slowly side to side…lying on my back staring at the sun.”

Returning to a standing position, Tenenbaum insinuates gentle turbulence in personal dealings. Characters seek “a little clarity” and blandly intone “there’s got to be some other way / there’s a better side you can see / I wonder how long it’s gonna be.” It’s easy to imagine High in Place wafting through the air during such scenes—which is also to say that for all the considerable craftsmanship, it doesn’t feel there’s a lot at stake in the tunes, either. Here’s hoping the concert setting breathes some life into the proceedings when EZTV joins Real Estate at the Jefferson Theater on September 29.

Ultimate Painting
Dusk (Trouble In Mind)

An English duo comprising James Hoare and Jack Cooper, Ultimate Painting could be labeled a side project or a supergroup—Cooper fronts Mazes, while Hoare helps lead Veronica Falls and the lesser-known, very excellent Proper Ornaments. But whereas “side project” implies self-indulgent wankery and “supergroup” suggests a bonfire of vanities, Ultimate Painting sounds like an inevitable collaboration of two hard-wired, sympathetic musical minds.

It also sounds like the self-titled Velvets record was on the stereo throughout the sessions, with some early Kingsbury Manx nearby. Songs adhere to a less-is-more aesthetic, and production is stripped down and clean—two guitars with some reverb but no distortion, plus minimal bass lines, muted drums and the occasional keyboard. Moods tack between the slightly ominous (“Song for Brian Jones,” “Who is Your Next Target?”) and the tender (“A Portrait of Jason,” “Monday Morning, Somewhere Central”), while Hoare and Cooper’s hushed vocals blend perfectly and their guitars interweave simple lines that seem to multiply rather than add up. Dusk achieves a beguiling alchemy—modest but assured, low-key but involving. Good stuff.

Categories
Living

Kardinal Hall brings the biergarten to a new level

Jerome Thalwitz, chef/owner at The Bavarian Chef, and Jason Oliver, brewmaster at Devils Backbone Brewing Company, were the perfect companions for an Oktoberfest meal at Kardinal Hall. Rammelkamp Foto

Oktoberfest may be the ultimate celebration of food and beer. Here in Charlottesville, though, the festival’s signature Bavarian fare can be hard to find. Enter Kardinal Hall. Opened last year by the team behind Beer Run, the beer hall and garden filled a gap in Charlottesville dining with food and drink it calls “Alpine.” Truth be told, Kardinal Hall does not tout strict traditionalism in its eats and suds, but instead blends in a healthy dose of innovation, with great results.

Two area experts on these topics are Jerome Thalwitz and Jason Oliver. Classically trained at restaurants in Bavaria, chef Thalwitz has spent the last three decades running the Bavarian Chef, the destination-worthy Madison restaurant founded by his parents, where German classics join inventive specials. Oliver, meanwhile, is brewmaster of Devils Backbone Brewing Company, among our country’s most acclaimed brewers of German-style beers. What better companions for a Kardinal Hall dinner during Oktoberfest?

Oliver calls German food “perfect for beer,” especially crisp pilsners, which he says counter the sourness of Bavarian pickles, and the fat, salt and spice of sausages and charcuterie. Take the charcuterie board that began our meal. On a large rectangular wooden board, piles of savory country pork pate, pastrami of Free Union Grass duck and smoked Autumn Olive Farms ham lay beautifully beside small white bowls of assorted house pickled local vegetables, which I consider among the best in town. “I respect that they use a lot of local ingredients,” said Oliver.

If German food is perfect for beer, so too is German beer perfect for food, and Kardinal Hall has the best selection of German beer in town, along with an assortment of American craft beer. “German beer is so approachable,” said Oliver. “It’s beer for the people!” The Rothaus Pils was such an ideal beer pairing for our charcuterie platter that Oliver said it was like another ingredient in the food. From food back to beer back to food, “there’s a seamless enjoyment of eating and drinking,” he said.

Next came a nod to tradition: a plate of Oktoberfest sausages with spaetzle and local oyster mushrooms. The sausages were from Binkert’s, the same Baltimore producer used by the Bavarian Chef. For one of them—weisswurst—Thalwitz requested a side of currywurst sauce, thus creating one of his favorite classic German street foods. Also a standout was the spaetzle, which reminded Thalwitz of dishes he made in Bavaria. “Paired with Weihenstephaner Festbier,” said Thalwitz, “it was a superb combination.” Other sausages on the menu are also well-sourced, from The Rock Barn and Sausagecraft.

Kardinal Hall’s chef Thomas Leroy is not from Germany but from France, where he trained before coming to Charlottesville to run adventurous kitchens like Bizou and Zinc Bistro (now closed). He has been with Kardinal Hall since even before it opened. “Leroy’s skill set, experience running a variety of kitchens and familiarity with classic European techniques made him a natural fit,” says Kardinal Hall co-owner Josh Hunt.

And so, while Leroy has the skills to nail the classics, he often breaks from tradition with playful riffs. This is the aspect of Kardinal Hall that Oliver likes best. It’s the same approach he uses for Devils Backbone beer: “inspired by tradition but not handcuffed to it.” 

The signature pretzels, for example, are made fresh daily, and with a glistening golden crust, look just like ones you’d see in Bavaria. They even come with obatzda, a classic Bavarian condiment of brie, ricotta, mustard, onions and paprika. Take a bite though, and you’ll discover a twist. For the dough, Leroy uses a house sourdough starter. While atypical, Thalwitz thought it added a nice, subtle flavor to the pretzel.

A further break from tradition is Leroy’s favorite thing on the menu, and perhaps the dish of the night. For the spice-rubbed brisket sandwich, Leroy coats brisket in mustard powder, paprika, onion and garlic, smokes it for three hours, and then braises it in beer and broth for seven more. The brisket rests on Amoroso rolls from Philadelphia and is topped with mustard remoulade and a German slaw of red cabbage. Thalwitz said the delicious slaw was just like the one at Bavarian Chef, all the way down to the caraway seeds that studded it. “We serve it with practically everything,” he said.  And, he loved the sandwich’s ingenuity, combining traditional themes like Bavarian slaw and Philly cheese steak rolls to create an “excellent, modern dish.”

In fact, that captures the whole experience. As Thalwitz said after our meal: “Kardinal Hall has the feel of going to a traditional German biergarten while tweaking old-world foods with local, trending ingredients.” Or, as Oliver put it, “Kardinal Hall is an American beer hall that takes its inspiration where it wants to, not where it has to.” Prost to that.

 

Categories
Arts

Ron Campbell on being a crew member of the Yellow Submarine

Ron Campbell, the artist who produced “The Beatles” cartoon series and contributed to Yellow Submarine, is visiting Charlottesville for an exhibition of his work at Graves  International Art starting on September 30. Courtesy of the artist

Ron Campbell is best-known by legions of Beatles fans for his work directing the cartoon series “The Beatles” and animating parts of Yellow Submarine, but his résumé is deeper than that. After working on various Beatles projects, he went on to animate, produce and storyboard “Scooby-Doo,” “The Flintstones” and “Rugrats.” Campbell’s creative fingerprints are all over decades of cartoon history. He also spent 10 years working on “The Smurfs.”

“Actually, I love ‘The Smurfs,’” Campbell says. “For a long while it was rather like the European comics. …Gradually [the network] would bring in new elements. Networks are always doing this kind of thing when ratings drop a bit and it always seems to ruin them. Like Scooby-Doo had Scrappy-Doo. And it didn’t work with ‘The Smurfs.’ …They brought in Baby Smurf. Lovely. But they also had a ruling from the network that everyone could carry Baby Smurf except for Smurfette. Because of women’s lib sort of stuff. In point of fact, all of the girls watching the show identified with Smurfette and would have loved to hold Baby Smurf. We were shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Beginning on Friday, September 30, Graves International Art will exhibit Campbell’s original watercolor paintings of characters from the many shows he has worked on. Campbell will be at the gallery on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, doing live painting, signing (and sometimes even doodling on) memorabilia for fans.

“He’s very personable, vital, energetic,” says John Graves Sr., owner of Graves International Art. “He loves working with the public. When you buy a signed print, he’ll usually do a little sketch for you at the same time.”

Psychedelic pop artist and former Charlottesville resident Peter Max has often claimed to have been responsible for the art and animation of Yellow Submarine, but Campbell says that isn’t true.

“Al Brodax [the producer] confronted him once and said, ‘Why do you always let people think you worked on Yellow Submarine?’” Campbell says. “And Brodax says he said that ‘It’s so complicated to tell people that I didn’t.’ Peter Max had nothing to do with it. I’ve even heard Peter Max made up a whole story about how The Beatles called him up and asked him to do it. But The Beatles were happy to give us the songs and go away. Peter felt like he owned the psychedelic look and, in a way, he did.”

“For me especially, given my generation, given the connection to The Beatles, my favorite [art by Ron Campbell] would be the Yellow Submarine work,” says Graves. “I love the head Blue Meanie. He’s a fantastic, surreal character.”

Shows such as “The Beatles” and “The Flintstones” were originally aimed at an adult audience as much as they were toward children. Over the course of Campbell’s career, cartoons became more typically designed for children, with tie-ins to toys and breakfast cereals. But when working on “Rugrats,” he and the other writers found ways of winking at any parents who were also watching. Were the frequent mentions of Dr. Lipschitz, fictional child psychologist, an attempt at getting away with something? “Damn straight!” says Campbell.

Graves believes his gallery is a natural location for this particular show. An original Andy Warhol print of a can of Campbell’s soup greets visitors as they step through the front door. And prints by pop artists Roy Lichtenstein and Jim Dine are displayed too.

Campbell’s work also has a slight connection to Art Spiegelman, the great cartoonist and author of the Pulitzer-winning graphic novel, Maus. Early in his career, Spiegelman made ends meet by creating the classic Garbage Pail Kids cards for Topps. Campbell was hired to help turn the cards into a TV show. It didn’t go well.

“I’m proud of everything except for the ‘Garbage Pail Kids,’” Campbell says. “I worked on a few episodes for CBS and I’m not sure that the show ever aired. Whatever the merits of the cards were, the show was just vulgar.”

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Eric Brace and Peter Cooper

While honoring masters of tradition, Eric Brace and Peter Cooper make their own mark on bluegrass and folk. Publicity photo

Washington, D.C., is not the first place that comes to mind as the center of folk and bluegrass music, but there’s a long history of accomplished players from the capital city, including Eric Brace and Peter Cooper, who honor their peers on the recent album, C&O Canal. The Grammy-nominated collaborators’ engaging songwriting, quick wit and masterful harmonies highlight this ode to “the Birchmere back then” and its extensive music community.

Friday, September 30. $15-18, 7pm. Prism Coffeehouse at C’ville Coffee, 1301 Harris St. cvillecoffee.com.

Categories
Arts

Joan Z. Rough pens emotional memoir about elder care

Joan Z. Rough will read from her memoir, Scattering Ashes, at New Dominion Bookshop on Friday. Publicity photo

In the epilogue of her book, Scattering Ashes: A Memoir of Letting Go, Charlottesville-based author Joan Z. Rough describes the process of writing about her aging alcoholic and emotionally abusive mother as “the day-by-day knitting together of a broken bone.” In this way, she says, “The writing of the book was probably the most healing thing I’ve ever done for myself.”

The memoir chronicles the six years Rough and her husband spent caring for her mother, Josephine, who was eventually diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at age 82. And while Josephine abstains from alcohol for the duration of their time together, her prescription Vicodin has a similar effect of unleashing her rage, leaving Rough, most often, as the target. The renewed emotional abuse after so many years apart stirs Rough’s repressed childhood memories and she comes to recognize how much she blames her mother for not stopping the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her father, a World War II veteran battling with PTSD. Rough was able to make peace with her father before he died and hoped to do the same with her mother.

Joan Z. Rough
New Dominion Bookshop
September 30

“I had invited her to live with us hoping that I could repair our relationship that had not been great all along,” Rough says. “So when she started getting more abusive, a lot of things I had completely and totally forgotten about came up for me and I began to resent her and dislike her a lot.”

Rough says that Josephine would yell at her in doctors’ offices and tell the doctor she was a horrible person and caregiver. “When I tried to help her she would tell me to get lost, that I didn’t know what I was doing,” says Rough. “She would criticize just about everything that I did.”

In Scattering Ashes, Rough acknowledges the abuse and dysfunction that her mother also lived through. Josephine’s parents married very young and had four children. Her mother was mentally unstable and her father eventually left. When her mother was declared unfit to raise the children, they were separated and placed in foster homes. Josephine lived with her mother again in her teens until she was kicked out at age 16. Instead of going to school she had to work as a maid.

Recognition of her mother’s own pain and the culture in which she was raised allowed Rough to tap into a well of compassion for her. “She really did the best she could,” she says. “She did not have the tools that I had when I became an adult. In my mother’s generation, going to a therapist would be the worst thing you could do because people would talk. Her drinking was self-medication. In those days nobody really examined their lives. My mother in particular just accepted what she had.”

Throughout the narrative, Rough acknowledges that alcohol and painkillers provided a release to Josephine, a channel through which she felt free to express her rage and then forget about it the next day. “It made her feel better and less fearful,” she writes. “The booze allowed her to speak her anger and hatred.”

Rough also recognizes the moment when her formerly fiercely independent mother is terrified at the loss of mobility and freedom that comes with aging, when she can no longer drive and needs help sorting her pills. Even when Josephine has nowhere to direct her rage when it’s time to bring in hospice, Rough writes, “I am the safest target for this woman who is suffering so terribly and is extremely frightened.”

“Particularly after the fact in the writing process,” Rough says, “I recognized more fully that she was so scared of dying and what was happening to her.”

In the midst of caring for her mother, Rough seeks help for her own medical concerns and three different medical professionals suggest she might have PTSD, caused by the prolonged stress of her childhood. As a result, Rough’s introspection leads her to discover the importance of self-care, especially for caregivers. “You need to have as much compassion for yourself as the person you’re taking care of,” she says, advocating for accepting help from others, talking about your experience and not allowing yourself to become weighed down with guilt.

Not only does Scattering Ashes lay bare Josephine’s flaws and shortcomings, but Rough’s as well, including her temper, which she terms “the dragon.” Even as she strives to be the perfect daughter, she acknowledges her missteps. “Occasionally it feels like, ‘Whoa, should I have let all that out?’” says Rough. “But, yes, I think for the book to have the impact I want it to, I should have.”

Her book ultimately offers a message of forgiveness and understanding, for ourselves and for those who raised us. “I am no longer a victim,” she says. “I take full responsibility for who I am and I think that’s what we all have to do. I don’t blame my parents for who I am. I don’t blame anybody.”

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: The Sally Rose Band and Erin and the Wildfire

Everyone knows that girls rule and boys…well, boys, too, will be wildly entertained by The Sally Rose Band and Erin and the Wildfire, two of Charlottesville’s most prominent female-led outfits. Sally Rose’s saucy Southern rock tunes about witches and ghosts, heartaches and moons, are packed with mother-daughter blood harmonies, good old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll riffs and plenty of attitude. Erin and the Wildfire strikes an energetic blend of rock, blues, folk and soul against passionate, powerful female vocals to spark an uncontrollable flame within the heartful listener (don’t even try to snuff it out; you won’t be able to).

Saturday, October 1. Free, 5pm. IX Art Park, 963 Second St. SE. ixartpark.com.