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...
ESSAY: The Things I Carry
When my mom died, in 2015, I was faced with a decision—or rather, a multitude of decisions: what to retrieve from her house—my childhood home—and what to leave behind. Some decisions were relatively easy. I wished I could take her piano, which she taught me to play...
2023 Virginia Arts Festival Announced
Soprano Julia Bullock will be featured during the VAF’s co-commissioned “Five Freedom Songs” composed by Jessie Montgomery. Photo by Allison Michael Orenstein. BY JEFF MAISEY Virginia Arts Festival’s magnificent 25th anniversary season might seem like a hard...
ESSAY:Tangled Up in Blue
NO EASY BEAT: Tom Robotham’s “backstage/all access pass” to the frontlines of NYC’s crime and fire scenes in the late 1970s. By Tom Robotham Recently on Facebook, I saw a meme asserting that there’s no such thing as a good cop: they’re either dirty, clean but...
NEWS: Hermitage Museum’s Rapid Capital Campaign
Staff Report The Hermitage Museum and Gardens has begun a rapid capital campaign with the goal of raising $3.5 million for needed renovations to its Visual Arts School, a Tudor England-styled building, and for enhancements to its grounds. “The preservation and...
ESSAY: Powerless
By Tom Robotham On the morning of September 30, when hurricane Ian started to make its presence felt in Norfolk, I was watching CNN’s coverage of the devastation in Florida. Since my oldest friend lives in Fort Myers—ground zero, as it turned out—I was worried...
NEWS: Lynne Seagle Has Been a Transformative Leader
(Lynne Seagle. Photo by Mark Edward Atkinson) By Jeff Maisey After more than 40 years, Hope House Foundation Executive Director Lynne Seagle will step aside on New Year’s Day upcoming. During the past four-plus decades, Seagle has been a transformative leader, a...
ART NEWS: Shooting Stars
By Jeff Maisey Award-winning international celebrity/fashion photographer and director Markus Klinko is best known for capturing some of the most iconic images of the stars. Klinko’s extensive portfolio includes captivating images Beyonce, Lady Gaga, David...
Still Ga Ga Over the Goo Goos
By Jim Morrison For a decade after they formed in Buffalo and before they became radio stars, The Goo Goo Dolls toured in a van, a trio sometimes headlining and sometimes opening for bands like The Gun Club or Motorhead. Their first album, recorded on a $750 budget...
Symbolism Abounds in Chrysler Exhibition
Matt Eich (American, b. 1986), Fire hose baptism, Newport News, Virginia (from the series “The Invisible Yoke, Volume III: The Seven Cities”), 2013 Archival pigment print, The Do Good Fund, Inc., 2020–5 © Matt Eich By Jerome Langston “I like curating photography...
Details About Possibilities of Paper
Roberto Benavidez, Bosch Beast No. 4, 2017. Paper, paperboard, glue, crepe paper, and wire, 36 x 22 x 12”. (Photo by Echard Wheeler) By Betsy DiJulio In the minds and hands of 13 artists, lowly paper is elevated. Generally thought of as a support for other media or...
Feast Festively on Beethoven’s Bounty
(Piano soloist Orli Shaham) By Montague Gammon III The Virginia Symphony opens its 2023-24 Season with a Beethoven Festival whose bounties Music Director and concert conductor Eric Jacobsen twice likened to a “steak dinner with dessert,” a two course musical feast of...
Forward with Humble Pie’s Legacy
By Jeff Maisey Back in the early 1970s, Humble Pie was considered one of the best live rock n roll bands to experience as is evident on their “Rockin’ the Fillmore” double-album released in 1971. The English group was formed by Steve Marriott (vocals, Small Faces)...
Conceptual End of Massive Resistance installation is impressive
By Betsy DiJulio From the Berlin Wall to the US-Mexico Border Wall, the West Bank Wall and even the conceptual “fourth wall” in theatre, walls, often steeped in controversy, divide, barricade, contain, and, conversely, keep out. But in 1979, Maya Lin, then a...
A Rare Look at Collectors’ Artwork
(Swoon, Thalassa, 2012. Screenprint, coffee stain, hand painting on paper, 120 x 84 in. Collection of the Waldo Family. Photo by Echard Wheeler) By Betsy DiJulio With Collector’s Edition, MOCA set out to craft a colorful, summery, and celebratory exhibition. But what...
MUSIC: Champagne to Flow at Funk Fest
By Jeff Maisey “I’m going to make you a star one day.” A young teenaged Evelyn King was cleaning the offices of Philadelphia International Records headquarters. She came from a family of entertainers, joined her first local R&B group in Philly at age 14, and...
Koz Brings Summer Horns to Norfolk Jazz Festival
By Jeff Maisey Grammy-winning smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz is no stranger to Hampton Roads. For a decade and counting, Koz & Friends have performed their annual Christmas show at the Ferguson Center in Newport News. On Saturday, August 19, Koz returns to 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...
Oktoberfest Beers to Enjoy
Erdinger Oktoberfest This seasonal beer offers a synergistic combination of two classic German styles, Oktoberfest and wheat beer; a surprising alliance that works very well together. Cloudy body with some amber hints. The head is frothy, pleasantly white and with a...
OKTOBERFEST 2019
(Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe poses with Mrs. Osfolk of the Bier Garden at last year’s Oktoberfest celebration) By Jeff Maisey If beer has a national — make that multi-national — holiday then surely it is Oktoberfest. Celebrations abound, including right here in...
Rah Rah for Ray Ray’s
By Marisa Marsey If April showers bring May flowers…what do May flowers bring? When it comes to the one that’s an apartment high-rise at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, the answer is Ray Ray’s at the Mayflower, a new breakfast/lunch eatery by consummate chef Ray...
Sly Clyde Celebrates 1 Year with Margarita-inspired Cider
Sly Clyde releases margarita-inspired cider By Jim Roberts Releasing a lime-flavored cider in the middle of a July heat wave wasn’t just a sly move—it was a Sly Clyde move. “The idea was just to be a summer refresher,” said Patrick Smith, who succeeded Brent...
Wine Spectator Recognizes Local Wine Lists
(Jennifer Eichert’s Mermaid Winery locations in Norfolk and Virginia Beach each received Wine Spectator’s 2019 Best of Award of Excellence) By Jeff Maisey Several Hampton Roads restaurants were honored in Wine Spectator’s 2019 Restaurant Awards, which highlights...
New Realm Beers Coming to Northern Virginia
Virginia Eagle Distributing Company (VED) announced this week that a formal distribution agreement has been signed with New Realm Brewing (New Realm). Beginning immediately, New Realm will be offering their award-winning brand to the entire VED territory. “This is an...
Culinary Alchemists Create Vegan Delights at Mea Culpa
Words & Photo by Betsy DiJulio When a chemist loses her job, what’s a gal to do? Make waffles, of course. Wait, what? Cristina Angelo, co-owner of Mea Culpa with her partner and chef, Kris Harvey, has a master’s degree in chemistry and, until her...
Lindsey Miller: The Fire Behind The Smoke At Redwood
(Lindsey Miller, "Boss Momma" of Redwood Smoke Shack. Photo credit: Back Bay Photography) By Marisa Marsey You may have heard about Bob Roberts and his award-winning, Central Texas-style barbecue. You may know that he found a stationary home for his two-year-old...
TASTE Acquires Cuisine & Co
(Jon Pruden, TASTE co-owner/president, with a Ghent location manager) Staff Report Taste Unlimited, the gourmet/speciality foods business operating TASTE stores throughout Hampton Roads and Richmond, recently acquired the popular full-service catering company known as...
New ABC Laws Go Into Effect July 1
Below is the list of new ABC laws that go into effect July 1. Happy Hour Advertising (HB 2073 and SB 1726) This law allows retail on-premise ABC licensees to advertise both the alcoholic beverages featured during a happy hour and the beverage prices. Creative...
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