Chrysler Museum Unveils New Logo
By Jeff Maisey The Chrysler Museum of Art has unveiled a smart, contemporary logo that by all appearances touches on a very 1970s-era retro vibe while also looking into the future. In a statement, the museum conveyed, “After a decade with the signature tower, the...
Troy Ketchmore Keeps Fighting to Clear his Name and Tame the Streets
By Joel Rubin It was 1995, and Troy Ketchmore was taking a birthday gift to his infant son who was living with the child’s mother and her new boyfriend at the time. With Troy were two “friends,” all of them armed but with no apparent intention of using the guns....
ESSAY: Leaving The Treehouse
By Tom Robotham For the last few weeks, I’ve been looking for a new apartment. It’s not that I’m unhappy with my current place. Not by a long shot. For 17 years, it has served me well. In the afternoons, on clear days, the living room is bathed in sunlight filtered by...
TRAVEL: The Best Ever
(An early evening glass of wine outside Au Vieux Paris. Photo by Lynn Hughes-Hailey.) By Jeff Maisey “How do you know about this place?” A distinguished looking gentleman in his 70s from California introduced to Lynn and I as the Doctor kept looking over his right...
Naro-Minded
(Kris King stands in the center of the Naro video collection at ODU’s Perry Library.) Words & Photo by Jim Roberts Naro Expanded Video’s collection of 43,000 DVDs has been lovingly preserved at Old Dominion University’s Perry Library, but touring the new academic...
A Proposed Army Corps Change could Affect Hundreds of Billions in Federal Funding
By Jim Morrison As Norfolk’s $2.66 billion storm risk plan moved toward approval by the City Council last spring, residents of the city’s poorer, Black neighborhoods on the Southside grew heated when they learned wealthier neighborhoods would get protective...
ESSAY: The Slow Creep of Dementia
By Tom Robotham Recent speculations that President Biden is afflicted with dementia have caused me to reflect on the disturbing experience of watching my mother descend into her own delusional state of mind. I’m not sure exactly when she began to show signs of it. I...
Top 20 Ways To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
As we approach St. Paddy’s Day, local businesses, concert promoters and the arts have offered a pot of golden opportunities at the end of the rainbow with many ways to enjoy the Irish-themed holiday and culture of the Emerald Isle. 1 Shamrockin’ In Ghent What began...
ESSAY: Fast Times at Wagner High
By Tom Robotham It’s hard to believe, but it’s fact: This year, my high-school graduating class will celebrate its 50-year reunion. In recognition of this occasion, I find myself reflecting on my high-school experience. From the beginning, it was pretty grim. My...
RESULTS: 2024 Veer Music Awards
(Anthony Rosano & The Conqueroos scored three 2024 Veer Music Awards following a phenomenal year of touring, Billboard Blues album charting, and rave reviews nationwide for the album "Cheat The Devil.") By Jeff Maisey Blues rockers Anthony Rosano & The...
Black Music & Cuisine at the Heart of Fat Ham
Director Jerrell L. Henderson By Jerome Langston “James Ijames is one of the best actors that you will ever see in your life,” surprisingly says Chicago-based play director, Jerrell L. Henderson, who is in town to direct Ijames’s best-known play, Fat Ham, for...
Grateful Dead Air
By Jim Morrison The fourth installment of Dead Air, a cavalcade of Grateful Dead covers that brings together artists from across the Commonwealth, had its roots in Cincinnati. Mark Keefe, radio station WNRN's program director, was a college student at Xavier...
TINA Preview
(Jayna Elise as Tina Turner in TINA - The Tina Turner Musical - Photo By Julieta Cervantes) By Jerome Langston "She’s an absolute legend,” says singer/actress Jayna Elise, about the iconic Rock & Roll Queen, Tina Turner. “She had such tenacity and just...
ART NEWS: Synergy in Suffolk
(Jennifer Lucy and Hillarey Breedlove) By Betsy DiJulio If you recall the Greek myth in which humans were originally created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces, you know that Zeus, fearing their power, split them into two separate parts condemning...
Local Music Releases
By Jeff Maisey This year we’ve been touting new songs released by 757 region recording artists on Veer’s Top 10 This Week playlist on Spotify. It’s a great way for people to check out what’s happening across the diverse spectrum of local music and an easy peek into...
Tuba Tunes and Treats to Boot
By Montague Gammon III Extra added attractions with kids-of-all-ages appeal promise to make the very family friendly, Saturday-before-Christmas, Coastal Virginia Chamber Music presented Christmas Tubas concert a Holiday party to remember. The audience at the Great...
Upbeat Christmas with Dave Koz & Friends
By Jeff Maisey Smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz has made a successful seasonal career hitting the road for the past 27 years in the month leading up to Christmas Eve with his critically acclaimed Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour. When the tour makes a stop at the...
Channeling Aretha
By Jeff Maisey R&B/gospel singer CeCe Teneal released a new single, “Try,” during the spring, but a major focus of her performing career is a tribute to her greatest inspiration in music. The show — coming to The American Theatre in Hampton on Saturday, December 7...
Days Gone Bayou
(Fighting Gravity was a crowd pleaser at The Bayou. They'll perform December 7 at The NorVa.) By Rick Mersel Unfortunately, what initially appeared like promising waves, with perfectly smooth double sets rolling off the sun-spangled ocean, had flattened almost...
Transformative Gospel Music
By Jerome Langston Speaking with award-winning choir conductor and workshop leader, Karen Gibson, MBE, the founder of the Kingdom Choir, the highly successful London based gospel choir, via Zoom a few days ago, felt akin to chatting with a genuine friend. Karen exudes...
RESTAURANTS: Local Brands Expand
(Owner Bob Roberts has Redwood Smoke Shack expanding with a new Virginia Beach location. Photo courtesy of Redwood Smoke Shack.) By Marisa Marsey Some of our favorite homegrown eateries are expanding – opening a new location, introducing a new concept – making us...
A Coterie of Charcuterie
(Katie Huger, owner of Long Board Charcuterie, curates exquisite, customized boards to celebrate special events as well as every day.) By Marisa Marsey There’s a joke circulating at fromageries: “How do you irritate a cheesemonger? Ask for a charcuterie board with no...
NATO Festival Beer Brings People Together
(Brew Day at The Bold Mariner Brewing Company in Norfolk) By Jeff Maisey In what has now become a Norfolk NATO Festival tradition — born five years ago — a collaboration beer pairing The Bold Mariner Brewing Company and NATO Headquarters will be featured at the...
Fox Tail Wine Bar Adds Flavor to New Phoebus
(Interior view of Fox Tail Wine Bar. Photo by Michael Fernando.) By Jeff Maisey “I felt like the type of experience we’re offering did not exist in this neighborhood and there was an opportunity to bring something new, fresh and exciting to a community that was...
COASTAL FERMENTORY: New Brews in the ‘News
(L-R) Coastal Fermentory’s Mike Reppert and Brandon Samuels. Photo by Diane Catanzaro. By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones “I’m goin’ to Newport News, mama, gonna catch a battleship across the doggone sea.” The Memphis Jug Band immortalized the ‘News in their...
Foodie Destinations: Fuller’s, El Diablo, Deadrise, and Kismet are making a statement
(Joe Illes, Gary McIntyre and John Ledbetter) By Jeff Maisey Phoebus is going to be the next Ghent. That’s what local businessman/real estate tycoon Richard Levin has been saying for a few years now. He put his money where his mouth is by purchasing numerous buildings...
Celebrating Irish Beer
By Jeff Maisey Once upon a time in America — think 2010 and before — there were basically two choices of beer to consume in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day at local restaurants and bars: Guinness Extra Stout (draft or bottle) and mass produced lagers infused...
The Baker’s Wife Bistro + Bar: A Cinderella Story
(Phillip and Dana Epstein opened The Baker's Wife, a casually-upscale, French-inspired bistro and bar in Phoebus, in January. Photo courtesy of The Baker's Wife) By Marisa Marsey Once upon a time there were two chefs... Ugh! Sorry for that saccharine start. But in my...
DINING REVIEW: NOLA in Ghent
(Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo) By Jeff Maisey In 1960, Norfolk-born singer Gary US Bonds had a hit single titled “New Orleans,” on which he sang the lyrics: “Well come on ev’rybody/Take a trip with me/Well, down the Mississippi/Down to New Orleans.” It’s fair...
New Ghanaian & Turkish Dining in Norfolk
(One of the most requested Ghanaian meals at Yendidi Restaurant is Beans Stew and fried sweet plantains AKA “Red Red or Gob3.” Photo courtesy of Yendidi.) By Marisa Marsey Opening a restaurant is tough. Harder still in a pandemic. Near impossible when your menu might...
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