Charlottesville boasts diverse music scene
It is said music is meant to soothe the savage beast, but, for a newcomer, unraveling Charlottesville’s music scene can prove a beastly task. Beyond the larger venues, which host mainstream headliners, there is a bustling community of local musicians and fans who work to bring a diverse collection of concerts to town. On any given night, one hardly needs to venture more than a block to stumble across a live performance.
The epicenter of this thriving scene is the Historic Downtown Mall, several blocks of brick pedestrian walkways surrounded by shops and restaurants. Home to the vast majority of Charlottesville’s music venues, the mall is also a gathering place for buskers — street musicians playing for change — and a stroll from end to end will expose the ears to bluegrass, folk, jazz, country, rock and even hip hop.
The buskers are more active during the early evening hours which, for the concert-goer, is perfect: most shows open the doors between 7 and 9 p.m., and this provides ample time to see the local talent before moving on to the main event.
“It’s fantastic,” said Jill Ford, a Seattle native-cum-Charlottesville street musician, “I can play guitar for a few hours on the downtown mall, then pack up and catch a couple indie gigs. This is a great town for music!”
When it comes to actually seeing a show, one’s taste in music hardly matters. At opposite ends of town, the John Paul Jones arena and the nTelos Wireless Pavilion attract famous artists, such as Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan and My Morning Jacket, as well as the expected large crowds. For those preferring a more intimate or independent affair, the Jefferson Theater, the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, the Southern Café and Music Hall, and the Paramount Theater are among the most active venues bringing smaller, more eclectic or local, acts to audiences.
There are also a variety of other locales which offer up their space to performers. Many restaurants, bars and coffee shops will occasionally host a select artist or feature an open-mic night, oftentimes free or with a very low cover, inviting the public to mingle and listen. The atmosphere is radically unpredictable in these settings, but for many, that is part of the fun.
“I think I like bar or restaurant shows more than ‘actual’ shows,” said Nick Dupont, a University of Virginia graduate and Charlottesville resident. “You get surprised more, plus the drinks are usually cheaper.”
The pinnacle of live music and socialization, however, would have to be the Fridays after Five concert series. A mainstay of Charlottesville’s music scene for several decades, Fridays after Five kicks off every Friday at 5 p.m. and offers audiences free admission to watch bands play at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion.
“I think it’s pretty amazing for a small town to have that kind of a free resource for entertainment,” said Bill Davies, a California native who moved to Charlottesville and operates a small shop near the downtown mall. “I’ve been in larger cities that don’t do anything like it, it’s really great.”
Although there are a number of free options to enjoy music in Charlottesville, the larger shows will, of course, be a bit pricey. Tickets can range from $30 to $100 for a major act at a big venue, or between $5 and $20 for the smaller events.
To keep track of all the upcoming concerts in town, there are a number of resources available. Perhaps the most complete is NailgunMedia.com, a local music blog, although they focus primarily on more independent artists. The C-Ville Weekly and the Hook, two weekly, local news magazines, will also have a calendar of upcoming events, as will the website for each individual venue.
Trying to fit every music event in town onto one’s schedule would prove impossible; Charlottesville may be surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains rather than the Swiss Alps, but its hills are no less alive with the sound of music.
[This article originally appeared in the summer issue of the Forum on May 29.]
