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Charlottesville Events

Your weekly guide to what is happening in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Greene, and Nelson, with weekday checks for new events and service opportunities.

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Fridays After Five: The Judy Chops
Friday, September 11, 5:30 PM · Ting Pavilion, Charlottesville
FamiliesDate nightLive Music

The season is winding down, so don't take these for granted. Judy Chops are a Cville favorite — genre-hopping, horn-forward, built for...

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The season is winding down, so don't take these for granted. Judy Chops are a Cville favorite — genre-hopping, horn-forward, built for exactly this kind of after-work outdoor crowd. Bring cash for the food trucks along Water Street, grab a beer, run into six people you know. This is the most Charlottesville thing you can do on a Friday.

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David Wax Museum & The Lowland Hum Present: The Golden Hours
Friday, September 11, 7:30 PM · The Southern Café & Music Hall, Charlottesville
Date nightFriendsLive Music

Two beloved indie-folk acts — one Mexi-Americana, one hushed and gorgeous — sharing a stage for a brand-new collaborative project. The...

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Two beloved indie-folk acts — one Mexi-Americana, one hushed and gorgeous — sharing a stage for a brand-new collaborative project. The Southern is a listening room in the best sense: small, warm, everyone actually pays attention. This is the date-night pick of the week if you want something more intimate than a mall show.

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Live Music at Fallen Tree Vineyard
Friday, September 11, 4:00 PM · Fallen Tree Vineyard and Farm, Scottsville
Date nightFriendsLive Music

Scottsville is the underrated wine-country drive — less traffic than the 151 corridor, and Fallen Tree is one of the newer, more relaxed...

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Scottsville is the underrated wine-country drive — less traffic than the 151 corridor, and Fallen Tree is one of the newer, more relaxed spots. Free live music with a glass in your hand as the sun drops. Bring a sweater; the fields cool off fast once the sun tips.

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The Robert Cray Band
Saturday, September 12, 8:00 PM · Paramount Theater, Charlottesville
Date nightFriendsLive Music

Five-time Grammy winner, one of the last living links to the golden age of American blues, playing a seated room with genuinely good...

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Five-time Grammy winner, one of the last living links to the golden age of American blues, playing a seated room with genuinely good sightlines. This is the concert for people who want to sit down, hear every note, and not fight for a spot at the bar. The Paramount's balcony seats are the sleeper pick — better sound than the front orchestra.

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Charlottesville City Market
Saturday, September 12, 9:00 AM · Charlottesville City Market, Charlottesville
FamiliesDate nightMarket

Peak season. Peaches are done but apples are in, tomatoes are still hanging on, and the flower vendors are having their best month. Get...

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Peak season. Peaches are done but apples are in, tomatoes are still hanging on, and the flower vendors are having their best month. Get there by 9:30 if you want the good pastries from Albemarle Baking Co — they're gone by 10:30. Bring your dog, bring cash for the vendors who still prefer it, and plan to spend an hour longer than you meant to.

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Live Music in the Orchard: Her Checkered Past
Saturday, September 12, 2:30 PM · Albemarle CiderWorks, North Garden
FamiliesDate nightLive Music

The lazy-Saturday antidote to a busy Charlottesville weekend. Twenty minutes down 29, orchard views, a flight of dry ciders, and a band...

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The lazy-Saturday antidote to a busy Charlottesville weekend. Twenty minutes down 29, orchard views, a flight of dry ciders, and a band playing in the grass. Get the Royal Pippin if you like your cider bone-dry; the Jupiter's Legacy if you want something rounder. Bring a picnic blanket.

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Two Runner
Saturday, September 12, 8:00 PM · The Southern Café & Music Hall, Charlottesville
Date nightFriendsLive Music

California string duo — fiddle and clawhammer banjo, sharp harmonies, the kind of act that reminds you why the Southern exists. Small room...

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California string duo — fiddle and clawhammer banjo, sharp harmonies, the kind of act that reminds you why the Southern exists. Small room, quiet crowd, cheap tickets. If Robert Cray at the Paramount is the grown-up option Saturday night, this is the cooler one.

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Starr Hill Farmers Market
Sunday, September 13, 9:30 AM · Jefferson School City Center, Charlottesville
FamiliesFriendsMarket

The Sunday alternative to the big City Market — smaller, calmer, more neighborhood-y. Good if Saturdays don't work or if you just prefer a...

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The Sunday alternative to the big City Market — smaller, calmer, more neighborhood-y. Good if Saturdays don't work or if you just prefer a market where you can actually talk to the farmers. The Jefferson School location makes it easy to grab coffee at the café afterward.

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Parlor Greens
Sunday, September 13 · The Southern Café & Music Hall, Charlottesville
Date nightFriendsLive Music

A touring organ trio — Hammond B3, guitar, drums, all funk and groove. This is a specific taste and if it's yours, don't miss it: the...

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A touring organ trio — Hammond B3, guitar, drums, all funk and groove. This is a specific taste and if it's yours, don't miss it: the Southern is exactly the right size for this kind of low-lit, deep-pocket set.

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Light House Studio's 25th Annual Youth Film Festival
Sunday, September 13 · The Paramount Theater, Charlottesville
FamiliesTeen/collegeArts

Twenty-five years of Charlottesville teens making real films and showing them at the Paramount — this is the one on this list that will...

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Twenty-five years of Charlottesville teens making real films and showing them at the Paramount — this is the one on this list that will genuinely move you. If you have a middle-schooler wondering whether creative work matters, take them to this. It's also the best free-to-cheap community night at the Paramount all year.

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Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
Friday, September 18, 8:00 PM · Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville
Date nightFriendsLive Music

Ben Harper with the original Innocent Criminals lineup in a room that holds under a thousand people — that almost never happens anymore...

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Ben Harper with the original Innocent Criminals lineup in a room that holds under a thousand people — that almost never happens anymore. This will sell, if it hasn't already. Get there by 7:30 if you want a spot on the floor with any breathing room; the balcony rail is the move for anyone who'd rather see faces than backs of heads.

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Oktoberfest Market & Fall Family Day
Saturday, September 19, 12:00 PM · Eastwood Farm and Winery, Charlottesville
FamiliesDate nightFestival

Eastwood does this kind of thing well — a real family-day feel with market vendors and live music, but on a working winery with actual...

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Eastwood does this kind of thing well — a real family-day feel with market vendors and live music, but on a working winery with actual views. Free to enter, you just pay for what you drink and buy. Kids run around while parents post up with a glass; that's the whole formula and it works.

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Harvest Fest
Saturday, September 19, 11:00 AM · Southwest Mountains Vineyards, Keswick
FamiliesDate nightFestival

Keswick is the prettiest drive in the county in September, and Southwest Mountains sits on some of the best rolling farmland east of...

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Keswick is the prettiest drive in the county in September, and Southwest Mountains sits on some of the best rolling farmland east of Charlottesville. Harvest weekend means live music, food, and a working-vineyard vibe you don't get at the polished tasting-room places. Go early, stay for the golden-hour part — the light on those mountains is the whole point.

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Willie Nelson & Family
Saturday, September 20, 7:00 PM · Ting Pavilion, Charlottesville
FamiliesDate nightLive Music

The one everyone will be talking about. Willie is 93, still touring, still Willie — and an outdoor amphitheater on the Downtown Mall in...

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The one everyone will be talking about. Willie is 93, still touring, still Willie — and an outdoor amphitheater on the Downtown Mall in late September is about as good a room as you can ask for. Book a table at Citizen Burger or Brasserie Saison before the show so you can walk over; the Water Street garage fills fast on Ting nights and the on-street spots evaporate by 6. Bring a light jacket — the pavilion catches the evening breeze off the mall.

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Ann Wilson — The Voice of Heart & Tripsitter
Monday, September 28 · The lead singer of Heart doing a theater show at the Paramount. This will sell out. Book now.
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Maria Bamford
Wednesday, November 11 · One of the most singular voices in American comedy, in a seated Paramount setting. Fans will know; casuals should trust me.
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Pentatonix — Holiday Tour
Saturday, November 28 · Holiday arena show at JPJ — the kind of thing that ships tickets to grandparents. Book while decent seats exist.
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Béla Fleck — My Bluegrass Heart
Tuesday, December 1 · A genuine bluegrass legend at the Paramount. If you care about roots music at all, this is your December must.
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NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet
Tuesday, December 8 · The touring Nutcracker returns; families book this one three months out for a reason.
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What Was Built, What Was Born: Labor, Land, & the Body in 20th-Century American Art
Open daily 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM · The Fralin Museum of Art, Charlottesville
Senior-friendlyTeen/collegeArts

The Fralin is having a serious moment — this show, plus the Sky Hopinka films and the Adéagbo installation, together add up to one of the...

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The Fralin is having a serious moment — this show, plus the Sky Hopinka films and the Adéagbo installation, together add up to one of the most substantive museum lineups UVA has mounted in a while. Free, quiet, air-conditioned, and takes about 90 minutes if you actually read the wall text. Parking on Rugby Road is your best bet on weekends.

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Big Shows

Willie Nelson & Family — Saturday, September 20 · Ting Pavilion, Charlottesville · The biggest ticket of the month, and there won't be many more Willie tours.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals — Friday, September 18 · Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville · Original lineup, small room — a rare booking.

The Robert Cray Band — Saturday, September 12 · Paramount Theater, Charlottesville · Grammy-winning blues at the city's best seated room.

Ann Wilson — The Voice of Heart & Tripsitter — Monday, September 28 · Paramount Theater, Charlottesville · Book this week if you care.

Whiskey Myers — Sunday, October 4 · Ting Pavilion, Charlottesville · Southern rock's current biggest draw.

Pentatonix — Holiday Tour — Saturday, November 28 · John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville · Holiday arena show that always sells.

Before You Go

  • Weather — Mid-September in central Virginia means warm afternoons in the mid-70s and evenings that finally dip into the 50s. Bring a jacket for any outdoor concert after 7 pm; you'll want it by set two.
  • Downtown parking — Ting Pavilion + Paramount + Jefferson Theater all in one weekend means the Water Street and Market Street garages fill fast. Park at the Omni or on Second Street NE and walk five minutes instead of circling for twenty.
  • Ticket tip — Willie Nelson, Ben Harper, and Robert Cray are all going to move. Buy this week, not the day of.
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