The-Burg.com - Central Virgina's Arts, Culture and Entertainment Weekly

Hip hop music gets a bad rap in certain circles, with opponents criticizing it for being violent, misogynist and obscene. But for many, hip hop is the voice of a generation, an outlet for hope, anger and self-expression.

For more show information, use the contact info listed with the venue, or visit http://www.tickets.com, http://www.ticket
master.com or http://www.encore
tickets.com. 

To Greg Ginn, transitioning from hardcore punk rocker to rootsy, jam band leader was simply a natural evolution.

In 1976, the triple threat - guitarist, songwriter and singer - founded Black Flag, a pioneer in the hardcore punk rock scene. 

He is currently performing with two bands: the Taylor Texas Corrugators, which blends country, jazz and blues instrumental tracks, and Jambang, which has a more electronica and rock-infused sound.

It’s an old story: artists flock to rundown neighborhoods, lured by cheap rent and quaint architecture. Before long, a new bohemia is born, a center for all things hip.

Whatever you call it - revitalization, renaissance, gentrification - it’s happening in Lynchburg.

Lower Rivermont Avenue is emerging as the Soho of the Burg, a frontier where old school tradition meets the avant-garde. For First Friday, six galleries will be open in a two-block radius that runs between Belmont and Bedford Avenues, a gritty area with a reputation for crime.

The pioneers of Rivermont are undeterred. 

What images swim into your mind’s eye when you hear the words “art gallery”?

Chic? Spotless? Quiet? A place where the owner or employee on duty tends to dismiss you with a frozen glance if it’s obvious you didn’t come in to buy anything?

If that’s your image, then the Firehouse on Rivermont Avenue is the anti-gallery. There, there are no fixed hours or schedule, and the watchwords are “anarchic,” “unfinished” and “relaxed.”

And, if you happen to be an artist, “free.”

Bat Boy: The Musical” is a tale of what would happen if a tabloid story came true.

Based on the 1992 “Weekly World News” Story about a half-boy, half-bat found in a cave, the rock musical imagines what would happen if a kindly veterinarian’s wife took Bat Boy in and raised him as a human. 

Neil Simon’s ‘Rumors’ opens new season