Here are some of the top events around Southwest and Southside for the coming week. Check out our new events calendar. Got an event? You can add it there for free. Want to keep up with what’s happening? Sign up here for our free weekly events newsletter.
Sept. 21: ‘A Life of Sorrow: The Life and Times of Carter Stanley’
Botetourt County’s Blue Ridge Library in Roanoke is presenting a free performance of the one-man show “A Life of Sorrow: The Life and Times of Carter Stanley” at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The program uses a mix of storytelling and music to bring to Stanley’s saga to life. “A Life of Sorrow” is the creation of Roanoke actor Gary Reid, a bluegrass enthusiast and historian for
more than 45 years who is regarded as an authority on the music of the Stanley Brothers.
The library is at 28 Avery Row, Roanoke. More information is online.
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Sept. 21 and beyond: ‘Something Rotten!’ at Showtimers in Roanoke
Showtimers Community Theatre presents its production of the musical “Something Rotten!” beginning Thursday and running through Oct. 8.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $18 for adults and $8 for students under 18.
The musical comedy takes place in 1595 London, where the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, are trying to find success by writing plays. No matter how hard they try, they’re always upstaged by the rockstar playwright of the Renaissance, William Shakespeare. Desperate and broke, Nick gets help from famed soothsayer Nostradamus. And before you know it, Nick and Nigel are ready to bring the biggest thing to hit London since the plague.
The theater is at 2067 McVitty Road S.W. in Roanoke.
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Sept. 22: Dailey & Vincent at New River Community College
Bluegrass musicians Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at New River Community College in Dublin.
The event is part of the NRCC 2023-2024 Concert Series. Reserved seating tickets are $35 and available for purchase online. General seating tickets are $25 in advance and available online or in person at the NRCC Business Office, 23 Godbey Hall (cash and checks only for in-person sales). General seating tickets will be $30, and reserved seating tickets will be $40 when purchased at the door.
Dailey & Vincent are five-time Grammy award winners individually, three-time Grammy award nominees collectively, four-time DOVE Award Winners and winners of 35 IBMA Awards altogether. In 2017, the duo was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.
Doors open for the show at 6:30 p.m.
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Sept. 23: Dave Eggar in Clintwood
Seven-time Grammy nominee Dave Eggar presents “Cello Song,” a romantic evening celebrating the cello across the ages, at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Jettie Baker Center in Clintwood.
Tickets are $15 at the door, and children and students will be admitted free. For more information and to make reservations, visit proartva.org.
Tickets to the 47th Pro-Art season are also on sale for $40. Season tickets are valid for all performances of the 47th season and can be purchased online, in person at any show or by calling 276-376-4520.
Dickenson County residents are eligible for free season tickets through a sponsorship by the Columbus Phipps Foundation. To request tickets email pro-art@uvawise.edu or call 276-376-4520.
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Sept. 23: Celebration of trails and greenways in Roanoke
Roanoke Parks and Recreation is hosting a celebration of its 100-plus miles of trails and greenways on Saturday, which is National Public Lands Day.
National Public Lands Day was established in 1994 as a single-day volunteer effort. This year, volunteers will work on Corridor 12 of the Mill Mountain Trails Plan.
Work will begin at 8 a.m. Volunteers will meet staff at the Mill Mountain Star Trail parking area off Riverland Road. Participants should come ready to work with clothing that can get dirty, closed toe shoes and a hat and sunscreen. All tools, gloves and instruction will be provided. Preregistration is appreciated, but not required.
Following the trail work, an after-party will be held at Starr Hill Pilot Brewery. The gathering is open to the public and will begin at noon. Drinks will be available for purchase at the brewery. Volunteers will receive a free t-shirt as well as lunch and one drink ticket.
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Sept. 23 and 24: The Price Sisters and The Stillhouse Junkies at Floyd Country Store
The Floyd Country Store welcomes two shows this weekend.
7 p.m. Saturday: The Price Sisters. Twin sisters Leanna Price and Lauren Price Napier showcase a traditional yet fresh and innovative sound. The band includes Lauren on mandolin and vocals, Leanna on fiddle and vocals, Trevor Holder on banjo, Bobby Osborne Jr. on bass and Conner Vlietstra on guitar and vocals. Tickets are $20 general admission, $25 reserved seating.
7:30 p.m. Sunday: The Stillhouse Junkies & The Henhouse Ramblers. The chops and stylistic leanings of Stillhouse Junkies — Fred Kosak, Alissa Wolf and Cody Tinnin — range from classical to West African, blues, bluegrass and swing. The Henhouse Ramblers open with their repertoire of unique traditional American music. Tickets are $20 general admission, $25 reserved seating.
A full music schedule is online.
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Sept. 25: Lecture on ‘The Persuasiveness of Perfunctory Religion’ in Lynchburg
The Clifton L. Snidow Lecture on Christian Life and Work will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 in the University of Lynchburg’s Snidow Chapel.
The Rev. Pamela Lightsey will speak on “The Persuasiveness of Perfunctory Religion.” Lightsey is vice president for academic affairs and an associate professor of constructive theology at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago.
Lightsey, a U.S. Army veteran, is an original member of the executive committee for the Soul Repair Project, which “studies the role of moral injury in military veterans.” A United Methodist Church clergywoman, she has been described as a “leading social justice activist, working with local, national, and international organizations, focusing primarily on the causes of peacemaking, racial justice, and LGBTQ rights.”
Among other published works, Lightsey is the author of “Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology.”
A luncheon will be held in conjunction with the lecture at 11:30 a.m. in the East Room of Burton Dining Hall. Admission to the luncheon and lecture are free and the public is invited to attend.
For more information, contact the Spiritual Life Center at spirituallife@lynchburg.edu.
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Sept. 27: ‘Voices of Recovery’ panel discussion in Lynchburg
The University of Lynchburg will host “Voices of Recovery,” a panel discussion on living and thriving in recovery from substance use disorder, at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 in Schewel Hall’s Sydnor Performance Hall.
The free public event is held in conjunction with National Recovery Month.
According to Sara Bailey, an assistant professor in the College of Education, Leadership Studies and Counseling and director of the Hornets in Recovery program, panelists will share their stories of recovery and offer insights into how to “boldly face the stigma of substance use disorders and recovery.”
They’ll also “demonstrate that there’s hope for healing in communities that celebrate the wholeness of and health of all their members.”
For more information, email hornetrecovery@lynchburg.edu or bailey_sw@lynchburg.edu.