“You don’t know me, but I know you,” I said to the hitchhiker when he opened the door and hopped in my car. It was the middle of the day in the middle of the week bookended by Christmas and New Year’s Day. Not my favorite time of the year, but I’d made it past the dreaded 25th without falling into my usual dark hole, and the prospect of soon flipping the calendar to 2011 had me in a nearly cheerful mood. This borderline buoyancy was elevated by earlier occurrences that day, and would rise higher still later on. Because, like Dickens’ Scrooge, I unwittingly found myself being reminded of some important lessons about life in general, and Austin in particular, just when I needed them most. more ›

Constellation Records has confirmed tragic news that beloved musician Vic Chesnutt has passed away, issuing this statement: "Surrounded by family and friends, Vic Chesnutt died in Athens Georgia this afternoon, Friday 25 December at 14:59. In the few short years that we knew him personally, Vic transformed our sense of what true character, grace and determination are all about. Our grief is inexpressible and Vic’s absence unfathomable. We will make more information available according to the wishes of Vic’s family and friends." Conflicting stories of Chesnutt's medical condition first broke on the internet late Wednesday, and on Thursday, several sites which earlier stated Chesnutt had died were corrected to read that he was lying in a coma. An official statement on his death was released around 6pm today. We are still waiting for confirmation of the circumstances surrounding Chesnutt's untimely death. Kristin Hersh, a friend and collaborator of Chesnutt's, has updated her twitter account to include details of a suicide note. The coma was rumored to be the result of an overdose of muscle relaxants. more ›

Vic Chesnutt is an esteemed songwriter who has worked with many artists, though in the past these have most notably been with South-centric folks like Widespread Panic and Elf Power, with whom he has recorded albums, and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, who has produced his work in the past. For his last two records, though, Chesnutt reached north. He signed to Constellation records, a fairground for morbid Canadian instrumental bands, and collaborated with members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and perhaps strangely, Guy Picciotto of bands like Fugazi and Rites of Spring. more ›

Photos courtesy Aasim Syed. more ›

Rising from the rich depths of Vic Chesnutt’s singular voice on his apocalyptic lullaby “Warm” is the line forget the sun/ worship the moon. In this moment of this song lies the distilled message that defines and illuminates his body of work: so the apocalypse is nigh, global warming has got us, everything is destroyed- what now? At this moment, Chesnutt proposes a gesture of both capitulation and defiance- just turn away, turn to something else, like that shimmering antihero the moon. It’s often the seemingly lesser power which turns out to hold a greater promise. Over and over again, Chesnutt’s music rises to laud the antiheroes, the underdogs. Opening with a track titled "Coward," the flickering shadows of Caliban and Gregor Samsa loom large over his latest album, At the Cut. Currently touring this newest--and obviously favorite--achievement, Vic took some time out to speak with us about how this compromised pose of the antihero, the outsider, came to define his sound. It was forced upon him very early in his musical career, which was altered forever when a car accident at age eighteen constrained him to a wheelchair and threw him on path to alter in turn the folk genre into which he’d been born. more ›

As we announced earlier, we're presenting Vic Chestnutt's show at the Central Presbyterian Church (200 East 8th Street) this Saturday. Until then, tune in to Fresh Air to hear Terry Gross interview Chestnutt and discuss the car accident that changed his life, his music and much more. more ›

Vic Chesnutt is currently touring in support of his latest record, At The Cut, and from this album and its tour are trailing an entourage of indie notables. Featuring Guy Picciotto of Fugazi and David Payant of Silver Mt. Zion, the Vic Chesnutt band wraps up its tour with a show that promises to be a singularly appropriate pairing between band and venue at Central Presbyterian Church. We’re excited about this one, because church rafters seem to be the natural habitat of Vic Chesnutt’s voice—a voice so compelling it isn’t outdone even by the instruments of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. more ›

Dark Developments is what you get when you combine the experience and oddness of the singer-songwriter Athens mainstay Vic Chesnutt with the power-pop punch of the underrated Elephant Six rockers Elf Power. Lead singer Andrew Reiger told us about the album during an interview we did with the band during SXSW, and with the album out on the Orange Twin label in mid-October, the two acts have embarked on a U.S. tour that extends to the end of this month. more ›