NEWS: Showtime at The Pavilion in Portsmouth
(Hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia opens the 2022 season at Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion) By Jeff Maisey Concerts are back — finally — in Portsmouth, and the 2022 season will be one to remember. After a couple years of dashed hopes due to a tear in the tent top roof...
Good Sense and Good Magic
By Tom Robotham And I go on believing in the possibility of love. – Pablo Neruda Twenty years ago, during my stint as editor of Port Folio Weekly, my friend Mike Pearson suggested that I get together with one of his colleagues at Old Dominion University—poet...
ESSAY: American Studies
By Tom Robotham Thirty-five years ago—10 years after I graduated from college—I decided to go back to school to pursue a master’s degree in American Studies. At the time I had no plans to become a teacher. My decision was motivated purely by a desire to gain a deeper...
ESSAY: The Sins of Our Fathers
By Tom Robotham I know a lot of people who’ve ordered ancestry test kits like 23andMe, but I’ve never felt compelled to do so, since I already know a great deal about my family history. My mother, especially, was interested in genealogy, and when I was still very...
OPINION: ONE MAN’S EXPERIENCE WITH CRITICAL RACE THEORY
By John L. Horton As the saying goes: “You learn something ‘new’ everyday…” Just imagine all that. In just the past several days, I have watched the SHOWTIME documentary series: “everything’s gonna be all white…” Basically, this is a provocative new three-part...
VA Arts Fest Readies 25th Anniversary
(American Ballet Theatre opens the 25th anniversary season of the Virginia Arts Festival) By Jeff Maisey For its silver anniversary season, the Virginia Arts Festival (VAF) has unveiled some returning fan favorites, first-time performers, and an impressive roster of...
ESSAY: My Life in Nine Songs
By Tom Robotham Music…is not simply a distraction or a pastime, but a core element of our identity. – Daniel Levitin, The World in Six Songs The other day, I pulled from one of my bookshelves a volume that I’ve revisited often over the last few years: Daniel...
ESSAY: Achieving the Dream
By John L. Horton The most dangerous person in the world is a person who is sincerely ignorant and conscientiously stupid. You have a moral obligation to be intelligent. — Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. If Dr. King were alive, he would have been 93 years old on...
Why is a Norfolk community development entity investing everywhere but Norfolk?
Hampton Roads Ventures, created by the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, is headquartered in this office building in Norfolk. (Jim Morrison/ For the Virginia Mercury) BY JIM MORRISON, Correspondent, Virginia Mercury NORFOLK — When they posed for a picture...
ESSAY: A Christmas Meditation
By Tom Robotham So this is Christmas, and what have you done? – John Lennon When I was a kid, the Christmas season was the most exciting time of the year. Ushering it in, shortly after Thanksgiving, was the arrival of the Sears Christmas catalogue—or “Wish...
CONCERT PREVIEW: World of Music Speaks Universal Language
By Jeff Maisey Banjo legend Béla Fleck has been keen to expand the boundaries of his instrument, composing, performing, and exploring the realms of acoustic music in jazz, Western classical, bluegrass, and within the complex world of classical Indian. Together with...
PREVIEW: All Things Equal
(Michelle Azar stars as Ruth Bader Ginsburg Photo courtesy of Bay Street Theater.) By Jim Roberts The playwright Rupert Holmes and actress Michelle Azar are sharing universal acclaim for “All Things Equal—The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” a one-woman show...
Relatable to the Future: Khalia Campbell and Patrick Coker Discuss Alvin Ailey’s Legacy
By Kate Mattingly In a recently posted video that’s part of Katie Couric’s “Thank You Notes” series, Judith Jamison, director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) from 1989 to 2011, listens to AAADT dancer Khalia Campbell thank her for her support....
Let’s Boogie with Little Feat
By Jeff Maisey Thank Frank Zappa for Little Feat. If you search Wikipedia for how Little Feat hit the pavement as a band back in 1969, you’ll read of three wild stories. But which is true? “It was the summer of 1969 and we were in Los Angeles,” said co-founding...
England’s Star Shines in Henry V at Virginia Stage
(Christopher Marquis Lindsay as Henry V. Photo by Matthew Omilianowski of TOC Creative.) By Montague Gammon III The greatest coach-to-underdogs pre-game speech the world has ever heard, or can ever expect to hear, is part of what makes Shakespeare’s c. 1599 history...
Three Women Make Swan Lake Shine: Nayara Lopes, Oksana Maslova, and Dayesi Torriente
By Kate Mattingly One of the most famous tales of devoted fans is the story of ballet aficionados eating the pointe shoes of dancer Marie Taglioni in 1842. Taglioni attracted acclaim for her superhuman performances that merged strength and delicacy, and...
Kara Walker: Provocative, Impactful Art
Kara Walker (American, b. 1969). Boo-hoo (for Parkett no. 59), edition PP 5/6, 2000. Linocut, 40 x 20 1/2 in. (101.6 x 52.1 cm). Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, 2003.13. © Kara Walker By Betsy DiJulio Kara Walker’s reputation as...
STAGE PREVIEW: Hamilton’s Triumphant Return
(Hamilton cast on stage. Photo by Joan Marcus) By Jerome Langston “It’s been going really well. The audiences are really fantastic. They’re just as energized and excited as they’ve ever been, which is a testament to Hamilton,” says actor/singer Blaine Alden Krauss,...
Goosby Opens the Doors of Classical Music to All
By Jerome Langston Chatting with violinist Randall Goosby while he is navigating the streets of Memphis, Tennessee, a city that he spent most of his formative years growing up in, is rather interesting—even including the initial, slightly awkward portion... because...
REVIEW:William Walton: The Complete Façades
Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Orchestra “William Walton: The Complete Façades” (Naxos) “Façade” is the original title of quirky, witty poetry of Edith Sitwell read to the music of William Walton. This Naxos label CD, recorded at Virginia Wesleyan in 2021, features...
Restaurant REVIEW: Cowboy Neil’s Tex-Mex Cantina
By Betsy DiJulio “It needed some love,” said “Cowboy” Neil Waranch of the former home of Stoley’s on Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach. For six weeks, he loved up the grungy space, maintaining the long bar and overall footprint, but giving it an appealing update...
Getting In The Spirits
(Kara King gazes out to a bright future for craft spirits in Virginia.) Photo courtesy of Ironclad Distillery Co. By Jim Roberts By all measures, the spirits industry in Virginia is booming. While the number of distilleries grew 19 percent from 2016 to 2017, sales...
Benchtop Wins VEER’s 2018 Golden Tap Award
By Staff Benchtop Brewing Company won the overall Golden Tap when Veer Magazine presented its annual Local Beer Awards at O’Connor Brewing Company in Norfolk. Gold, silver and bronze medals were given out in 50 categories ranging from various beers styles to...
Samichlaus Tapping at the Bier Garden
Words by Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Photos by Chris Jones So, St. Nicholas’ Day is coming up on Thursday, December 6. How are you going to ring in that holiday? Traditionalists will have the kinder place their shoes or a special boot by the fireplace, to...
A Trailblazing 10 Years for Devils Backbone
By Jeff Maisey It’s been 10 years since Devils Backbone Brewing Company opened its well-known brewpub in rural Nelson County, and today the brewery is remembered as a trailblazer that helped raise the bar for all craft breweries in Virginia. "Looking back on my 25...
The Bunker Saves Young Veterans’ Dream Brewery
By Jeff Maisey The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger famously sings, “You can't always get what you want/But if you try sometimes you might find/You get what you need.” And, sometimes, you get even more. Such is the case for the Virginia Beach craft brewers at Young...
Back Bay’s Farmhouse Brewing Company
By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones If you’ve lived in the Tidewater area for many years you’ve seen a lot of changes in the landscape. In days of yore most of Virginia Beach, where Chris spent his formative years, was farmland instead of suburban sprawl. Now...
Waging the 2018 757 Battle of the Beers
By Jeff Maisey What better location to wage battle than at a military reservation. That’s where this year’s 757 Battle of the Beers will be held — Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach. Camp Pendleton was constructed in 1912 and served primarily as a riffle range for the...
Behind The Scenes At Blanca Food + Wine
By Marisa Marsey Dining is theater; everyone plays a role. There are settings, choreography, presentations. Open kitchens bring backstage to center. But most folks rarely see preproduction; the late-night set-building and rehearsals leading to the invitational dress...
Norfolk Day Brewing for 2019
By Jeff Maisey Ring, ring. Hello, this is Norfolk calling. Wait a minute, this is Norfolk — Norfolk, Virginia. At the beginning of August, Smartmouth Brewing Company president Porter Hardy IV was contacted by David Holliday, founding brewer and owner of Norfolk...
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