Born Crooked - Alternative/Garage rock
An audible element of musical earnestness bleeds through every Born Crooked track. Whether it’s frontman Hunter Wolfe’s passionate vocals and searing slide-guitar or the visceral rhythms pounded out by drummer ARE Wolfe, this brother-sister Delta blues/rock duo is sure to win over audiences. Music has always been a central pillar in the lives of the band members. Much of their drive and grit stems from their late brother, who found relief in the music of Led Zeppelin in the midst of painful health issues. As true music-lovers, both listen to all genres of music, but their affinity for artists like David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Robert Johnson and Blind Willie Johnson is evident in their music. Born Crooked regularly hosts lively and invigorating sets in the Charlottesville area.
— Marshall Perfetti
Kendall Street Company - Indie rock/Alternative/Ska
Kendall Street Company is a Charlottesville-based band founded in early 2013 by guitarist and lead singer Louis Smith and saxophonist Andrew Drehoff while they were attending the University. Five other members have since been added to Kendall Street Company’s lineup, including percussionists, keyboardists and more. The group describes itself as a band of several genres, such as psychedelic, jam rock and alternative, deriving influences from a variety of sources including Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kendrick Lamar and Mumford & Sons. Kendall Street Company performs all over Virginia and the East Coast, but maintains a regular presence in their hometown. Check out their first album, “Earth Turns,” which is set to be released on July 17.
— Joe Li
Second Date - Post-punk
Formed in October by a handful of rising University second and third years, Second Date is one of Charlottesville’s newer acts. Lead guitarist and rising second-year College student Bryan Cameron, calls their act a “fun to chill out to” synthesis of “dream rock …, psychedelic, shoegaze and emo.” While its set lists consist primarily of pop covers, the group released an original track last year titled “Ghost.” The song boasts drowsy guitar ambience and mellow lead vocals, which perfectly suits Second Date's preferred venue in Charlottesville, The Tea Bazaar on the Downtown Mall. Looking towards the coming year, Cameron says the band hopes to launch its first tour across Virginia and develop relationships with venues near other Virginia colleges and universities.
— Andrew Norman
New Boss - Indie/Alternative rock
Charlottesville upholds the tradition and the history of rock within Central Virginia, but it also expands it into something greater. Local band New Boss strikes this balance perfectly. The group is preluded by the band Order (Of the Dying Orchard), which delivered post-hardcore/alt-rock tunes for a new generation of Charlottesville music lovers. After the band broke up, member Thomas Dean decided to branch off and assemble New Boss, which has hints of Order’s sound and also has something new and different. The band has labeled its style “tweeboogie,” which is a combination of hardcore power-pop and jamming rock. Influenced by the likes of the Velvet Underground and Belle and Sebastian, New Boss contributes to the development of exciting rock music in a city chock-full of similar budding artists, and even includes Nick Rubin, a Media Studies lecturer.
— David Wells
Read More
Early Visions at The Fralin facilitates creativity through artistic mentorship
By Delaney Coppola | 8 hours agoThe 10 week-long after-school program brings together children from the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia with University student-artistic mentors.
Around the world in three stories — recommendations from Language House residents
By Gretel Brown | YesterdayThese works of international fiction — all originally written in languages other than English and set in countries other than the United States — are the perfect getaway for students looking to put the semester behind them.
The Filmmakers Society is the heart of student filmmaking on Grounds
By Zachary Geller | 2 days agoThe Filmmakers Society, or FMS, is the University’s only filmmaking-based Contracted Independent Organization.
