Local Bagpiper Reflects on Virginia International Tattoo
By Jim Roberts I’ve played the bagpipes for more than 30 years. My piping has taken me all over the United States and to Canada and Scotland. My band, Tidewater Pipes & Drums, has opened for Rod Stewart—twice—and we’ve played on stage with the Chieftains,...
Violent Crime in Norfolk is up. The jury is still out on why — and what to do about it.
A portable security camera on Granby Street in downtown Norfolk being used by police as part of a hot spot policing strategy. (Photo by Jim Morrison) By Jim Morrison In March of 2021, a Norfolk prosecutor who had recently retired after 27 years wrote to City...
ESSAY: On Television
By Tom Robotham As an instructor of media studies, I spend a lot of time thinking about the ways in which various mass media affect our lives. I’m struck, especially, by the fact that today’s children can barely imagine what life was like before the advent of...
ESSAY: The Sound of Surprise
(Count Basie at his piano in 1955. Photo by James J. Kriegmann) By Tom Robotham Whenever someone asks me what kind of music I like, my go-to answer is, all of it. I’d be hard-pressed to pick a single favorite genre. That said, when I reflect on the richness of my...
2023 VEER Music Awards Results
By Jeff Maisey On February 5, the City of Hampton presented the 2023 Veer Music Awards at The Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery. The Honorable Mayor Donny Tuck of Hampton personally presented the first pair of awards — Best Smooth Jazz and Best Traditional Jazz —...
16 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month
Compiled by Staff February marks Black History Month and we’ve compiled a checklist to help you fully enjoy celebrating through speaker forums, education, visual art, performing arts, and culinary art. A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Virginia Symphony...
Lessons from the Dojo
By Tom Robotham Recently, I finished watching the fifth season of Cobra Kai, the Netflix series that serves as a sequel to Karate Kid. Its charm lies in its campiness—especially during the fight scenes, which are absurdly over the top. And yet, while I enjoyed...
2023 Veer Music Awards Nominees Announced
We are delighted to announce the nominees for the 2023 Veer Music Awards (see below). Online voting will begin this weekend at veermag.com Each category will have a write-in option as it is inevitable some talented musician/band who released an album, EP, single or...
Historic High Note for Symphony
Dr. Andrea F. Warren By Jeff Maisey On December 1, Dr. Andrea F. Warren became president and CEO of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Noteworthy is that Dr. Warren now has the distinction of being the first Black woman to head a significant symphony orchestra in...
TRAVEL: A Weekend of London Pubs
(Veer publisher Jeff Maisey enjoys a pint of Fuller’s London Pride outside The Red Lion.) By Jeff Maisey “Congratulations,” said John. “You’ve found the London pub where locals hang out.” I had bellied up to the bar at The Ship & Shovell, pardoned myself for the...
Demons Respond to Current Moment in Time
By Jeff Maisey Norfolk hard-edge punk rock band Demons will unleash its new full-length album, “Under the Western Heel,” with a big stage performance August 12 at The NorVa. Previously, the quartet, comprised of Zach Gehring (vocals/guitar), Chris Matthews...
THEATER: Escape to Margaritaville
(The cast from Little Theatre of Virginia Beach’s “Margaritaville.” Photo by Joshua Stubbs. By Jim Roberts Jimmy Buffett’s not touring this summer, but Hampton Roads’ “Parrotheads” can experience the next best thing when the Little Theater of Virginia Beach presents...
ART: A Curatorial Gem
(Matt Lively, “Orbit”) By Betsy DiJulio I go to art museums to be inspired, transported, challenged, and even provoked, but not perplexed. Feeling baffled in an art exhibition is deeply unsatisfying and, frankly, irks me because it generally means someone hasn’t...
Benoit & Rosano Team-Up for Album and Tour
By Jim Morrison Tab Benoit may be best known as one of Louisiana's finest blues guitarists and vocalists with a three-decade career releasing solo records and working with legends like Anders Osborne, George Porter, Jr., and Cyril Neville. But Benoit has also been a...
The Icon & Iconic Album Cover
By Jeff Maisey One of the most recognizable, iconic record album covers in pop culture almost never saw the light of day. “If it was up to me I would have rejected the cover,” said legendary trumpet player Herb Alpert, who released “Whipped Cream & Other...
SWING TIME: New Releases from Jae Sinnett & Eddie Williams
By Tom Robotham Hampton Roads has long been home to some first-rate jazz musicians, and I can think of no better evidence of this fact than the superb quality of two recently released albums by musicians who live here: Commitment, featuring drummer-composer Jae...
Focus on Modern Jazz Composers
Trumpeter Taylor Barnett will perform with local jazz musicians for “The Modernists” By Jerome Langston “I broke my finger 3 weeks ago while on vacation,” bassist Jimmy Masters says to me earlier this week, before we even start chatting about the latest show in...
Beaching It with Alana Springsteen
By Jeff Maisey Coastal Country is a thing, just ask rising music star Alana Springsteen, who was born and raised in Virginia Beach. “I’m a Beach girl through and through,” said Springsteen. “It made me who I am. It comes out in so many ways in the music that I write....
Top 40 Concerts of Summer
(Neo-soul crooner Anthony Hamilton headlines the opening night of Hampton Jazz Festival By Staff Nine-time Grammy nominated smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz recently told Veer Magazine the summer of 2023 will mark the true, post-pandemic return to form for the concert...
ART REVIEW: Heart Pulsates with Fantastical Intrigue
(Claudia Bueno’s fantastical art exhibition extends to the exterior of the Hermitage Museum. Photo by Lindsay Collette.) By Betsy DiJulio Born of shattering heartbreak and a deeply integrated process of healing, Echoes of the Heart embodies artist Claudia Bueno’s...
Audacious Bold Mariner Unveils NATO Fest Beer
By Jeff Maisey The COVID-19 global pandemic has sunk many plans this spring, but it was unable to divert The Bold Mariner from completing its charted mission for this year’s Norfolk NATO Festival beer collaboration celebrating Italy. The beer is called Audace,...
Mead: The Drink of Ancient Kings & Warriors
(Glenn Lavender says everyone needs mead. Photo by Sarah Harris) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones When you think of mead, what picture do you see in your mind’s eye? Some Thor-ish fellow downing a skull-chalice of mead after an epic battle? Beowulf, wolfing down...
Takeaways from VA Beer Co’s 4th Anniversary
(The crew from Virginia Beer Company celebrate curbside. Photo courtesy of the brewery) By Jeff Maisey Virginia Beer Company co-founders Robbie Willey and Chris Smith could never have imagined celebrating the fourth anniversary of their successful Williamsburg brewery...
The O’Connor Decade
(Penny & Kevin O’Connor in February 2020. Photo by Jeff Maisey) By Jeff Maisey A little luck of the Irish and a determined can-do attitude on St Patrick’s Day 2010 got O’Connor Brewing Company up and running with its first batch of beer. In our mid-March 2010...
Baladi Mediterranean Café: A Playground for the Taste Buds
By Betsy DiJulio With some 35 plant-based dishes (and still more that are vegetarian)—mezze, soups, salads, wraps, entrees, sides, and desserts—Baladi Mediterranean Café is a vegan’s veritable playground. They even offer vegan wine. In fact, Wednesdays...
Tour de ’Burg: A drinking tour of Williamsburg
(Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones treat their out-of-town guests to a tour of Williamsburg, including this scenic stop on the deck of Billsburg Brewery.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones When you think of Williamsburg, VA, what pops into your mind? A bonny burg...
2019 Distilled
(In 2020, make it your New Year’s Resolution to tour Virginia’s distilleries. Photo by Revel Photo Co.) BY JIM ROBERTS General Assembly Increases Commission For Distillery Stores The Virginia General Assembly passed a bill in March raising the commission for licensed...
Brews News and Clues
(New Realm Brewing Co will be expanding distribution of its popular products like Hazy Like a Fox IPA to the Roanoke region. Photo courtesy of New Realm.) By Chris Jones and Diane Catanzaro Does spending a billion dollars to buy a brewery bring you beer bliss?...
BEER REVIEWS: Guinness, O’Connor, Cape Charles
Stock Ale Guinness Open Gate Brewery Baltimore, MD I’m a longtime fan of Guinness Extra Stout. It was one of the first European beers I tried back in the 1980s and remains a tried-and-true favorite. When in Ireland, it’s my go-to brew, along with Murphy’s. As...
Coelacanth to Close in Norfolk
STAFF REPORT Days before its fourth anniversary celebration (December 14), Norfolk independent craft brewery Coelacanth announced on Facebook it will close its doors at year's end. "It’s been an amazing, crazy, fun, hard, interesting, fulfilling and stressful 4 years....
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