A-List Jazz Vocal Summit at The Z
(Jane Monheit will teach and perform over 3-day event focused on jazz vocalists) By Jerome Langston It is quite early in my highly enjoyable, recent phone chat with Jane Monheit, when the acclaimed jazz singer pays me a particularly flattering compliment. “You have a...
The Story of The Dome Is a Must-See
By Jeff Maisey With “That Was Our Room: The Life & Times of the Dome,” Norfolk-based documentarian Paul Unger hones-in his skills as a storyteller. Unger, whose credits include “Hardcore Norfolk: The Movie,” is keen to set the stage with archival television...
Festevents to Commemorate The Boathouse During Harborfest
By Jeff Maisey “We were backstage and there was a buffet spread out with chicken, roast beef and all kinds of good stuff,” recalled singer David Middleton, whose local band, the Waxing Poetics, opened for numerous nationally touring acts, including the Ramones, at the...
Ghent Pride & More
On Tuesday, June 20, Ghent Pride will return in style thanks to the perseverance of event organizer Robert Roman. Together with his husband, Claus Ihlemann, Roman has been one of the most active people in Hampton Roads lobbying politicians, businesses, and ordinary...
Desplaines Departs Norfolk Botanical Garden
By Kelly Welsh Norfolk Botanical Garden (NBG) announces President & CEO Michael P. Desplaines will step down in late June to accept the CEO position at The Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia, California this July. Mr. Desplaines has been with the Garden since...
Blues Dancing in Norfolk
(Mentor artist Joshua Purnell, center, and Noah Stovall, left, dance with partners. Tidewater Blues meets every Monday at the Fred Huette Center in Norfolk for blues dance instruction and a social dance.) Words & Photo By Pat Jarrett Nationally, the Tidewater...
In Search of Excellence
By Tom Robotham One of my favorite moments in the history of television is the opening scene of Newsroom, a short-lived HBO series about a jaded TV anchor, Will McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels. In the scene, McAvoy is asked at a college forum why America is the...
Darrell Redmond is a Motivated Man on a Mission
By Joel Rubin Languishing in both juvenile and adult Virginia lockups for 25 years, felon Darrell Redmond could not have imagined that this past April 16, he would be the star attraction at a Hampton fund raiser, attended by local mayors, business leaders, social...
A Beloved Teacher and a Norfolk Native: Eva May Morris Gregory
(ODU student Alayna Vilardi. Photo by Lyn LeFevre.) By Kathryn Finney Inside a large Victorian house on Lafayette Boulevard in Norfolk, thousands of students studied the art of dance with their teacher, Eva May Morris. Her legacy lives on through a merit-based...
NEWS: Chrysler Museum Names Director of Curatorial Affairs
By Jordan Fontenot Following a national search, Castro was selected to oversee the Museum’s Curatorial, Conservation, and Collections & Exhibitions divisions, as well as serve on the Senior Leadership Team. In this role, which begins April 17, he will help to...
STAGE: A Love Letter to the Harlem Renaissance
(Director Jerrell L. Henderson) By Jerome Langston There is much to see inside the large MacArthur Center rehearsal space, for Virginia Stage Company’s latest production, the Pearl Cleage drama, Blues for an Alabama Sky. The magic of theater is blossoming, in a space...
Energetically, Serenely Glimmering Music from the Virginia Symphony
(Conductor Thomas Wilkins) By Montague Gammon III Take your seat, for a concert of joyousness. The Virginia Symphony’s Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto concert in late April showers the Ferguson Center, Chrysler Hall and the Sandler Center with “Pure joy,” to quote an...
Les Violons du Roy: Timeless Music, Treasure Trove of Jewels
(Classical guitarist Miloš Karadaglić will join Les Violons du Roy on stage.) By Montague Gammon III Hampton Roads snagged first dibs on a new, century spanning program of truly golden oldies, thanks to the Virginia Arts Festival. The celebrated French Canadian...
Marlin Mural Festival at VWUm
By Betsy DiJulio If you are an educator—or even if you’re not—and find yourself envious of this capstone assignment for art students at Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU), the brainchild of Professor John Rudel, you would be forgiven that deadly sin. How he managed to...
The Poem Wants to be Heard
(Poet Tim Seibles and jazz bassist/composer Chris Brydge. Photo by Jennifer Fish.) By Tom Robotham Most of us, I suspect, were introduced to poetry through the written word, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. And yet, when we read poems in silence—in the...
Lessons From The O’Jays
(Eddie Levert of The O’Jays) By Jeff Maisey The O’Jays are one of America’s most beloved old school soul and R&B groups. You no doubt know the songs from radio play and television commercials: “Love Train,” “I Love Music,” “Use Ta Be My Girl,” and...
Justin Kauflin Headlines The Z
(Justin Kauflin performing at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. Photo by Andrea Palmucci.) By Jerome Langston The first time I heard acclaimed jazz pianist and composer, Justin Kauflin, actually play — was in support of legendary jazz vocalist, Sheila Jordan, whose...
Hornsby + yMusic = BrhyM
By Jeff Maisey Grammy-winning piano man Bruce Hornsby, known for his pop hits “The Way It Is” and “Mandolin Rain,” has a new collaboration project where he teamed with experimental chamber ensemble yMusic for a refreshing new album — “Deep Sea Vents.” Pop artists such...
ODU Students Shine in 2024 Exhibition
(Avery Keys’ Static ) By Betsy DiJulio “Is it my imagination or is ODU student work considerably stronger than in the past?” I asked John Roth, professor and chair of the ODU art department, via messenger, pressing further, “If the latter, to what do you attribute...
Threshold Rides Symbolism
By Betsy DiJulio Janus, the two-faced Roman god, is featured on the discreet, but rather baroque, medallion mounted above the entrance to the American Academy in Rome’s main building (c. 1914) with its austere, symmetrical, and orderly Renaissance architectural...
Virginia Wines Rising
(Significant investments in new equipment and vineyard expansion at leading wineries such as Early Mountain are helping put Virginia on the map of great wine regions. Photo courtesy of Early Mountain) By Marisa Marsey Have you seen the bumper sticker proclaiming:...
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...
ADVERTISEMENTS