Whether you know him as Schroeder’s idol in the “Peanuts” strips, a time-traveling buddy of Bill and Ted’s, or as a lovable St. Bernard causing canine chaos, you’ve probably heard of Beethoven by now. And with good reason; his arrangements are ubiquitous. This week, The Oratorio Society of Virginia presents a concert celebrating the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. You’ve heard selections from this symphony across pop culture, from A Clockwork Orange to Die Hard to Sister Act 2. Now, hear soaring soloists, along with an incredible chorus and accomplished orchestra, perform this classic live and in concert.
Friday 5/10 and Sunday 5/12. $10–40, 7:30pm Friday. Grisham Hall at St. Anne’s-Belfield, 2132 Ivy Rd. $10–40, 3:30pm Sunday. Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds. oratoriosociety.org
Dirty Honey gained attention in 2019 as an unsigned band for the chart-topper “When I’m Gone,” followed by a nomination for Best New Rock/Alternative Artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2020.
Supplied photo.
By Thomas Crone
Dirty Honey doesn’t rehash tired old rock.
Rather, live shows and last year’s second album, Can’t Find The Breaks, finds the Southern California rock ‘n’ roll band injecting propulsion, youthful energy, and a new spin on sound that is rooted in the ’60s.
“To have people say that they feel like what we’re doing is fresh, I think that’s a high honor, to be fresh in a world where we’ve already had psychedelic blues,” says guitarist John Notto. “We’ve had ’70s commercial rock. We had ’80s glam metal. We’ve had ’90s stoner rock. We’ve had rap rock in the late ’90s. We’ve had basically commercialized rock since 2000. It’s almost like what else is there? What has freed us up is we feel like we can be sort of the melting pot of all our influences. And that’s kind of our thing.”
Dirty Honey started its thing in 2017. That’s when Notta, who grew up in Maine, moved to Los Angeles. There he met Marc LaBelle and joined the singer’s band Ground Zero. Adding a couple of new members, the band changed its name to Dirty Honey and largely dropped the covers from their set.
The determinedly independent quartet broke through nationally in 2019, when, with its debut single “When I’m Gone,” it became the first unsigned band to top Billboard magazine’s Mainstream Rock Songs in the four decades of the chart’s existence.
That song, and the group’s 2021 self-titled debut album, propelled Dirty Honey into co-headlining clubs with Mammoth WVH, touring Europe, and opening for The Who, Guns N’ Roses, Kiss, and Rival Sons, as the band brought its Aerosmith-meets-AC/DC classic rock assault and high energy stage show to multi-generational audiences.
That wide appeal comes in part from the band’s knowledge and absorption of rock history. Notto credits his mother’s record collection and the discoveries he made at 8 or 9 years old, long before he picked up a guitar.
“There were all the Jimi Hendrix originals and only one Led Zeppelin record,” says Notto. “It was Led Zeppelin II, an amazing record to stumble upon. Those guys, the Jimmies were massive. The Allman Brothers were there. But the biggest of the big three is probably Jimmy Page. … I really am a melting pot of influences. I have so much information because, you know, of the generation I’m part of.
“I love everyone,” says Notto. “Jimmy Page. Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, Slash. Brian May, and the oddball is Trey Anastasio from Phish.” These influences come up in the riffs that drive Dirty Honey’s songs, a process that Notto calls tricky. “It’s sort of like trying to catch a bird, I think. You do it once. You do it twice. You think you know how to do it and as soon as you get cocky, you miss it.
“You get part of it showing up, putting the work in, and part of it is for me, trying out fresh approaches,” Notto says. “I think variety is the spice of life for me, and maybe it’s the ADHD, I don’t know.”
Getting those fresh approaches was a process for Lotto.
“Five years ago, I was really analytical about what makes a riff great, what makes a riff engaging, from a musical standpoint,” he says. “I really dissected it down to every beat.
“Then after a while, you know, the technical approach got stale, and so then ‘Won’t Take Me Alive’ came out,” he says. “It was ‘What if I really just want to go into the studio and make music that makes me happy tonight?”
“Won’t Take Me Alive” climbed to No. 7 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart when it was released last fall, and its follow-up single, “Can’t Find The Breaks,” helped to cement Dirty Honey‘s broad audience. Outside of some festival dates, the band is headlining in clubs and theaters rather than taking on opening slots.
“I like playing packed headlining shows,” Notto says. “We can play music longer and we play for fans who came for us. We’re sort of accepted as soon as we get up there. The result is I feel a little freer and put on a great show. … I mean, we can already hear them screaming for us before we get on stage and it is spilling over,” he says. “You can’t beat that.”
Stonemason and sculptor Toru Oba’s public artwork can be seen at Ix Art Park and McGuffey Art Center.
Photo by Stephen Barling.
By Stephen Barling
Crouched in the back of his battered Ford pickup truck at Ix Art Park, Toru Oba is wrestling a worn yellow strap around a 5-foot-long, 400-pound hunk of raw sandstone. “I used to move these by myself,” he says, “but now I need help.”
The 79-year-old Japanese stonemason and sculptor can be forgiven if he no longer scales scaffolding with one hand while lugging his tools in the other. He’s remarkably fit for his age—or someone half his age. You have to be, to dominate the brute inertia of soapstone, sandstone, and granite.
Oba’s sculptures, which can be found around Charlottesville—notably in front of the McGuffey Art Center and at Ix Art Park—often range from one to several tons each. The gray and black stone blobs laze in the sun, their polished surfaces inviting visitors to run a hand along a smooth groove or poke a head through a carved hole.
The inscrutable works invoke a sense of creative, playful space. At McGuffey, picnickers sit down to a meal on a large smooth block while children play around them on the grass. At Ix, Oba is immersed in creating several new works. The park has agreed to host the pieces, offering staff and equipment to assist in moving the enormous chunks of stone while he coaxes them into their final shapes. All other labor and expenses—trucking in stones, equipment, and resources—are his.
It is no small feat. An Ix worker brings a forklift to raise the spike by its strap and slowly dangle it into a hole bored in the side of a stack of vaguely bone-shaped sandstone. Oba guides the chunk by hand, arranging wood planks into a platform for refining the stone while he finesses it into its final position using levers, straps, and chains. This one element will take days to add to the sculpture.
Sculpting is a largely improvisational process for Oba, who says he starts with an idea of what the final work will look like, but the stones themselves dictate what becomes of them. “Some artists carve a block down to a shape, but I use the shape of the stone to give me ideas.” The result might be a stout black pyramid or a tall multi-textured gurgling fossil. One sculpture at Ix suggests an oversized pixelated stone rabbit.
He hasn’t always felt so free to create what inspires him. After settling in Nelson County in 1986 with his wife, Oba began contracting work as a mason, building patios, stairs, and chimneys. Things changed in 1999 when he was hired to build the entry to Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore’s Japanese-architecture-inspired mountaintop dream house.
As the entry’s stone stairs progressed, Oba says Moore asked, “Is that it? Can you do something a little ‘more?’” Thus began a multi-year project designing and installing stone gardens, paths, and patios around the property. With Moore’s encouragement, Oba incorporated sculptural elements into masonry all over the hillside.
“It was the best job I ever had,” Oba insists. The only limitations placed on him were set by Moore’s groundskeeper who demanded he use no heavy machinery so as not to disrupt the landscaping. “That’s how I learned to move these large stones by hand.”
After finishing the work at Moore’s property, Oba continued creating abstract art. He says he is rarely commissioned for installations but he does occasionally sell a large public piece. For obvious reasons, smaller fountains are more popular. Regardless, abstract sculpture is now a compulsion and he has since created dozens of immense stone works.
Covered in stone dust as he refines his giant spike with a grinder, he’s content for now assembling these few oversized pieces for Ix. It’s a herculean task, but he’s compelled to continue. “I just keep doing it.”
Magically merging the elements of orchestral arrangement, incredible costuming and stagecraft, and an ensemble of unforgettable characters, Charlottesville Ballet presents Snow White. This Family Series ballet, based on the beloved Grimms’ fairy tale, brings youth and adult dancers together to tell the classic story of jealousy, love, and friendship. Witness a beautiful princess strike up unlikely alliances with woodland creatures and seven diminutive miners, while an evil queen uses a magical mirror to follow her every move, waiting for the moment to strike. Also, a prince shows up at some point.
Saturday 5/4. $20–75, 11am and 3:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
Promoting her new album Polaroid Lovers, four-time Grammy Award-winner Sarah Jarosz performs an evening of new music tied to old memories. Simultaneously nostalgic and current, Jarosz ruminates on the mundane yet magical moments that shape a life. Her contemporary Americana stylings are injected with infectious pop-rock motifs and Southern inflections. Following the lineage of artists like Sheryl Crow and Jewel, Jarosz’s earnest delivery and relatable lyrics prompt a trip down memory lane, with all the twists and turns of growing up creating the view along the way.
Monday 5/6. $25–75, 7:30pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com
Swinging into town for an exceptional sonic experience, The Howard Levy 4 brings pep to your step with bouncy compositions saturated with blues riffs, jazz runs, and world music sensibilities punctuated by blistering diatonic harmonica. Scorching solos showcase each member’s considerable skills, from the bumping bass and drums, to the trilling guitar and harmonica. The depth, richness, and variety of tones achieved by Levy mark him as a true virtuoso, and his backing band of powerhouse musicians matches his fervor with raucous results.
Dean Dass at Les Yeux du Mond. Photo courtesy of the gallery.
The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. “Flowers Interpret Art,” a collaboration between Fluvanna Art Association, BozART, and the Charlottesville Garden Club. Live floral arrangements inspired by and displayed with paintings in various mediums. May 15–18.
Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. In the Micro Gallery, “Color as Air,” Lucy Farley Coates’ watercolor paintings capture the fleeting beauty and scent of flowers. Through May. In Vault Virginia’s Great Hall Galleries, David Copson’s “Events from the Ultima Thule,” and Ann Cheeks’ “Moving Through Infinity” continue. First Fridays reception at 5pm.
City Clay 700 Harris St. #104. The annual City Clay Garden Sale and Show, featuring ceramic pottery by various artists. May 10–11. Opening reception Friday May 10 at 5pm.
The Connaughton Gallery McIntire School of Commerce, UVA Grounds. “Virginia is for Artists,” paintings and prints by Uzo Njoku. Through June 14.
Jane Goodman at Crozet Artisan Depot.
Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “Wild Thing—They Make My Heart Sing,” hand-crafted ceramic jewelry by Jennifer Paxton. “Made in the Garden,” landscape and still-life painting by Jane Goodman. Through May 31. Meet the artist event on May 11 at 11am.
C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Mandala Magic,” geometric compositions by Rucha Shevade. Through May 31. First Fridays reception at 5pm.
Dovetail Design and Cabinetry 1740 Broadway St, Ste. 3. “TWEETS,” acrylic and watercolor works by Matalie Deane and Juliette Swenson. May 8–June 30. Reception May 23 at 5pm.
The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Structures,” a selection of 20th- and 21st-century artworks from the museum’s permanent collection, and the Charlottesville Indigenous Art Takeover.
Infinite Repeats Studio 1740 Broadway St. “Show Screenprints,” by Ron Liberti features posters documenting the artist’s involvement in the independent music scene. Through May 31. First Fridays reception and live printing demonstration at 6pm.
Lisa Waup at Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. The Charlottesville Indigenous Art Takeover. “Shifting Ground: Prints by Indigenous Australian Artists from the Basil Hall Editions Workshop Proofs Collection,” curated by Jessyca Hutchens, featuring work by 22 Indigenous Australian artists. Through October 6. “Close to the Wind,” prints, installation, and mixed media works by Lisa Waup. Through June 30.
Dean Dass at Les Yeux du Mond.
Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Passenger Manifest,” oil paintings, collage, and works on paper by Dean Dass. Through June 30. Opening reception May 4 at 4pm.
Sofia Smith at McGuffey Art Center.
McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, “Treelines,” drawings and photographs by Bob Anderson and Scott Smith. In the First Floor Gallery North and Second Floor Galleries, artworks from area high school students. In the Second Floor Gallery South, Joe Sheridan, an artist exploring everyday objects as symbols. In the Associate Gallery, “Myths”. Through June 2. First Fridays reception at 5:30pm.
New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. In the Welcome Gallery, “Nhớ,” an all-consuming, immersive installation made of sewn and embroidered structures by Phượng-Duyên Hải Nguyễn. Through May 30. First Fridays reception at 5pm, artist talk at 6pm.
Phaeton Gallery 114 Old Preston Ave. Downtown Mall. “Albemarle in Bloom: A Springtime Trilogy,” with oil paintings by Karen Blair, Laura Wooten, and Priscilla Whitlock. Through May 8. First Fridays reception and oil painting demonstration.
The PVCC Gallery V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. The 2024 Student Art Exhibition, celebrating the accomplishments of student artists from the latest academic year. Through September 7.
Kiki Slaughter at Quirk Gallery.
Quirk Gallery 499 W. Main St. Kiki Slaughter’s “Twenty Years” presents a look into the process the artist has honed over two decades of active painting. Through June 2.
Random Row Brewing Co. 608 Preston Ave. “Landscapes: Here and There,” oil paintings and pastel works by Julia Kindred. Through June 28.
The Rotunda UVA Grounds In the Upper West Oval Room, the Charlottesville Indigenous Art Takeover. “Waŋupini: Clouds Of Remembrance And Return,” works featuring depictions of clouds by various artists. Through July 7.
Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Jac Lahav: Foster Paintings.” In the Dové Gallery, “Leisure Suit” by Lou Haney. Through May 24. First Fridays events at 5:30pm.
Studio Ix 969 Second St. SE. “MODERN GRAFFITI,” interpretations of graffiti in fabric and thread, by the Fiber and Stitch Art Collective. Through May 26. First Fridays reception at 5pm.
Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Ngasundiera Naxin: A Fragment of the Cosmos,” works by indigenous Mexican artist Filogonio Naxín. Through May 31.
Mythical monsters roamed the University of Virginia on the evening of Friday, April 26, when the SW2 Festival of the Moving Creature brought a parade of puppets to Grounds. The magical menagerie was comprised of art pieces designed, constructed, and operated by the university’s Art of the Moving Creature class, and honored festival namesakes Stan Winston, a Hollywood special effects artist and UVA alum, and the late Steven Warner, a longtime professor of the class.
Willi Carlisle writes from the heart about love, growth, and human plight, and asks the audience to sing along.
Supplied photo.
By Thomas Crone
Willi Carlisle has a healthy respect for the past, modeling his career, in part, on the folksingers of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s—people who traveled a self-made circuit of coffeehouses, clubs, and theaters that catered to a hip set.
Pete Seeger, in particular, is someone who Carlisle feels kinship toward, though he also looks to contemporary performers for guidance as well, like Tyler Childers, and mid-career, touring lifers like Hayes Carll. But the musician’s interests go back even farther, as evidenced by his collection of banjos that date back to the 1850s. So, yeah, he digs what’s come before. But he’s also a curiously “now” kinda guy.
One of Carlisle’s modern moves is in the making of the title video for his new album Critterland. He posted a note to Facebook, suggesting that he was looking for someone to create a stop-motion animation video that would capture the mood of the album’s cover, while reflecting the song’s lyrics. The feedback was immediate, useful, and employed.
“I just asked the world of the internet, ‘Do you know any animators?’” says Carlisle. “And out of the hundreds of bots that also responded, there were two people who reached out, who do exactly that kind of animation, one of whom said she’d love to do it. So, as the weeks tore on, I hired a friend (who’s a really good fiddle player), Julie Bates, to make the video. Julie, to her credit, works on a mid-2010s MacBook with a camera that’s 20 years old and she does it all by hand.”
Bates’ independent style is such that there “was no asking ‘Can you bring up the lighting there a little bit?’ What’s done was done,” he says. “And that’s more pure and interesting to me. Higher stakes, more fun.”
Again, it was a blending of times, influences, styles of working, ways to reach a collaborator.
And speed’s a part of it too. Carlisle says Critterland was recorded in three days, “with no take-backs.” It’s the kind of record that reflects his musical roots, based in the folk and country idioms of states like Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois, places where he’s hung his hat over the years. It is also the kind of thoughtful, unique record that has potential to break the artist to a wider audience. Yet, with his career in ascendance, Carlisle is not thinking in the context of an annual calendar, or an album cycle, or a tour itinerary. The musician says he prefers to break things down to the smallest fraction possible.
“I wake up every day, work the hardest I possibly can,” he says. “If it doesn’t all work out, I can try again tomorrow. Some day, some type of clarity of organization may come to me.
“Meaningful encounters with people really drive my writing,” says Carlisle. “I love to practice and I love to play. The only things that kill me are publicity and logistics. Like, I have to go to the post office today. Pretty much everything else, I like. I haven’t had to plan too much as I’ve worked with people who I simply tell, ‘Hey, guys, I’m ready.’ And it always works.”
It’s worked to the point that Carlisle’s heading into his biggest year of touring yet. Maybe there was a year with more dates on the books; he’s known to be on the road for 80 to 90 percent of his days, making home a relative term. This year, though, the dates range from his usual club and festival appearances to some support slots for Childers, where five-figure audiences will be the rule.
For someone who came up playing house shows, folk halls, and corner taverns, the jump’s been wild and kind of awesome. Carlisle arrives at this moment through hard work—putting out a quarterly zine, producing videos for pennies on the dollar, and playing for all the cool online channels that’ll have him.
Now when he looks out at an audience, he realizes there are a lot more people looking back than in the recent past. “This year we’ll be doing some opening dates in stadiums for 20,000 people and more,” he says. “That exponential growth has been an honor and a pleasure. But the shows haven’t changed much between doing them for 50 people or just 10 people or 20,000. It shouldn’t. It’s my job to give my all and that hasn’t changed very much.”
Carlisle pauses. “Maybe I tell a dirtier joke in a smaller room,” he says. “But that’s about it.”
Start your engines and chow down: The Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party returned to Charlottesville on Sunday, April 21, bringing the car-devouring, fire-breathing transformer Transaurus to the John Paul Jones Arena.
