Sights & Sounds

Joshua Purnell & Tom Norris

For dancer Joshua Purnell and his apprentice Tom Norris, blues dancing is a means to build and maintain community in their hometown of Norfolk.

A group of 4 men sit side by side on a low wall. They are all wearing blue shirts with a matching patchSights & Sounds

Raceway Ministries Continues Serving Race Fans

Founded in 1992, Bristol Raceway Ministries is a church-led effort to organize services for spectators at the Bristol Motor Speedway. “We get to experience every aspect of life here at the track,” says volunteer Bobby Branch.

Sights & Sounds

Where Our Roots Meet: Concert Release

Earlier this year, following International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a crowd gathered in Fairfax for an evening of Sephardic music from the Balkans, led by Trio Sefardi and the Elias Ladino Ensemble.

Photo of a young man holding a banjo and looking away with a smileSights & Sounds

Forging Connections with Bristol’s Tyler Hughes

Old-time musician Tyler Hughes is now co-managing a new funding opportunity for traditional arts in and around Bristol. “People in the Appalachian region deserve to have the fullest life that they can achieve,” he says.

Sights & Sounds

Sephardic Music Traditions In Virginia — Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 13

Pat Jarrett explores the legacies and changes in Sephardic music traditions by sharing recordings of Flory Jagoda, Susan Gaeta and Gina Sobel on their new work with Minnush, and an interview with Zack Youcha, organizer of the “Where Our Roots Meet” concert.

two women standing in an open green field with mountains on the horizonSights & Sounds

Elizabeth LaPrelle & Elsa Howell

Elsa Howell first met Elizabeth LaPrelle, an accomplished ballad singer, banjo player, and crankie maker, as an eight-year-old.

Two men sit together in a workshop, holding handmade violins, surrounded by instrument-making equipmentSights & Sounds

Daniel Smith & Richard Maxham

Daniel Smith of Lynchburg is apprenticing Richard Maxham of Alexandria, a fifth-generation violinist, in violin making and repair.

Sights & Sounds

A Legacy of Violin Making — Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 12

Richard Maxham is apprenticing under Lynchburg violin maker Daniel Smith, though the Maxham name has been intimately involved with violin making and performance for five generations.

Sights & Sounds

DIY Punk Houses and Virginia’s Punk and Metal Communities – Folklife Fieldnotes 11

Pat Jarrett and Chris Boros discuss Virginia’s robust DIY Punk communities on this installment of Folklife Fieldnotes.

Sights & Sounds

Ask A Punk for the Address

by Pat Jarrett When the pandemic shut down the opportunity to experience live music, I was hit hard. I started going to shows when I was fifteen. (Once, my mom …

Sights & Sounds

Margarita “Tata” Sanchez Cepeda & Isha M Renta Lopez

Bomba Dance Bomba is, as Margarita “Tata” Sanchez Cepeda puts it, “all about love. I was taught under love, bomba is a form of love, and we continue to carry …

Sights & Sounds

D. Brad Hatch, David Onks IV and Reagan Andersen

Four years ago, Dr. D. Brad Hatch was one of just two members of the Patawomeck Indian tribe who knew how to weave an eel pot. Now Brad is teaching fellow tribal members David Onks IV and Reagan Andersen how to make eel pots as part of the Virginia Folklife Program’s 2022-23 Apprenticeship Program cohort.

Sights & Sounds

Virginia Folklife Futures

For thirty-three years, the Virginia Folklife Program at Virginia Humanities has worked to document, sustain, present, and support cultural traditions across the Commonwealth. I began work as the third Virginia …

Sights & Sounds

Sushmita Mazumdar of Studio PAUSE

Making space for community-focused art practice When Sushmita opened the door, inviting me into Studio PAUSE for the first time, the overwhelming first impression was: Color! Sunshine streamed in through …