by Jeff Maisey | Jun 6, 2023 | Concert Previews, Music, Music News
(Steep Canyon Rangers) By Jim Roberts Mike Ashworth grew up in North Carolina with members of the Steep Canyon Rangers, but he didn’t officially join the band until 2013, the same year they won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. In the 10 years since, the band...
by Jeff Maisey | Jun 2, 2023 | Concert Previews, Music, Music News
By Jim Morrison Valerie June recorded her latest set of originals, “The Moon and the Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers,” before the pandemic. When the lockdown descended, her label delayed its debut. As a performer who quipped that she only...
by Jeff Maisey | Apr 29, 2023 | Classical, Concert Previews, Music, Music News
By Jeff Maisey This year, the Virginia Arts Festival will pay homage to Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday as part of its Chamber Music Series of concerts. Front and center for most of these performances is the phenomenal, often animated pianist...
by Jeff Maisey | Apr 29, 2023 | Concert Previews, Music, Music News
By Jim Morrison For Josh Ritter, the journey to his new album began with a family road trip from Brooklyn to his boyhood hometown in Idaho, where his mother was in the final steep decline of ovarian cancer. It was death in the time of COVID. There was no vaccine. His...
by Jeff Maisey | Apr 29, 2023 | Concert Previews, Music, Music News
(Bianca Marroquin and Lewis Cleale) By Jeff Maisey Fresh on the heels of last year’s “The Sound of Music” in concert, the Virginia Arts Festival presents “Chicago The Musical” in concert May 6 at Chrysler Hall. For audiences, experiencing Broadway musicals in a...
by Jeff Maisey | Apr 29, 2023 | Concert Previews, Music, Music News
By Jeff Maisey Banjo legend Béla Fleck has been keen to expand the boundaries of his instrument, composing, performing, and exploring the realms of acoustic music in jazz, Western classical, bluegrass, and within the complex world of classical Indian. Together with...