Under the Table and Screaming is a multi-volume series exploring the history and legacy of the local music scene in Charlottesville, VA. From literally underground shows in DIY basements, to the racially suppressed hip-hop scene, to thriving roots music on woodsy back porches, to elegant recitals in restored theaters, UTTaS presents a full and diverse picture of this incredibly musical city, still largely known nationally as the home of Dave Matthews.
In volume four, local journalist and radio DJ Erin O'Hare centers The Front Porch, C'ville Coffee, and Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. These three venues have been vital to Charlottesville's homegrown folk, world, soul, R&B, and other roots music scenes, and are especially important in making space for the excellent Black music and musicians in town. They also continue the legacies of longtime cultural institutions, like the Prism Coffeehouse, who were integral to music, art, and culture in Charlottesville for decades.
Recommended for those who like music schools for master instrumentalists and five-year-olds alike, a legendary decades-long concert series in cozy coffeeshops, or a multi-generational tribute show for the local jazz theorist who taught John Coltrane.