News in Brief: ‘The Music Beat’ Lands Friday

Arts & Culture

News in Brief: ‘The Music Beat’ Lands Friday

January 29, 2024 • By Alice Berry, aberry@virginia.edu Alice Berry, aberry@virginia.edu

Some of music’s biggest names came to UVA thanks to a group called PK German. Learn more about how they helped make music history on Friday. (Photo illustration by John DiJulio, University Communications)

Charlottesville is a stop on many tour schedules today, but it used to be a group of University of Virginia students who brought in the hottest acts to town.

If you attended the University after the 1990s, you might not have heard about a University Union subcommittee called PK German.

The concert-booking group, which formed after two rival clubs merged sometime in the 20th century, brought everyone from the Ramones to Kool & The Gang to the Talking Heads to Grounds. Even before John Paul Jones Arena opened, they helped establish Charlottesville as a viable tour stop of some of music’s top acts.

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You can learn more about the time Johnny Ramone tried to play basketball in University Hall when a special edition of UVA Today, The Music Beat, lands in your inbox this Friday. Plus, you’ll have the chance to learn about the artist who hand-drew promotional concert posters and a current student who records original music in her bedroom to share with the world.

Love music? Don’t worry. Friday isn’t the last time you’ll have the chance to learn about musical happenings on Grounds – past, present and future. Friday’s special edition of the Daily Report kicks off our UVA Today music series.

And we want you to be a part of the Music Beat. Send us the rundown of your college mixtapes from your time on Grounds and you might be featured in a future edition.