ESSAY: Winning Isn’t Everything
By Tom Robotham On March 25, the Yankees and the Giants will kick off the 2026 baseball season. The next day, the other 28 major league teams will join the action. Normally, I’d be excited about this. As I’ve noted in this space before, baseball is my favorite sport,...
The Dome By Rutter Mills Announced
(Brother Rutter announces his law firm’s new naming sponsorship with The Dome. Photo by Melissa Dawn.) By Jeff Maisey The Dome in Virginia Beach has a new name — The Dome by Rutter Mills — and an expanded mission. The original Dome, officially named the Alan B....
ESSAY: Furry Friends
By Tom Robotham When I was a child, I longed for an animal companion: a horse, a dog, or at least a cat. A horse was unrealistic because our suburban yard was too small, and—let’s face it—they’re expensive to care for. Plenty of our neighbors had dogs, on the other...
Naro Minded: The Duo Who Defined a Neighborhood
(Tench Phillips and Thom Vourlas share a laugh and popcorn outside the Naro Expanded Cinema. Photo by Jeff Maisey.) By Jim Roberts Tench Phillips III and Thom Vourlas were featured on WTAR News in August of 1977—about two weeks before they opened the Naro Expanded...
RESULTS: 2026 VEER Music Awards
(The Last Bison and members from Tidewater Pipes & Drums perform "Switzerland") By Jeff Maisey BJ Griffin took home three awards during the 2026 Veer Music Awards at The NorVa in Norfolk. The America’s Got Talent contestant scored Album of the Year for...
ESSAY: Mind the Gap
Essayist Tom Robotham connects with Paris in an antique bookstore. By Tom Robotham This year, I’ll turn 70. What the fuck?! It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was sitting in my pajamas on the floor of my family’s living room in Staten Island, watching The Donna...
2026 VEER Music Awards Nominees Announced
By Jeff Maisey We are pleased to announce the complete list of nominees for the 2026 Veer Music Awards. The 757 region had an immensely diverse range of musical releases last year. In determining nominees, we looked primarily for bands and...
Music Video of the Year Nominees Announced
We received numerous music videos this year from 757 region recording artists. Following are our nominees for the 2026 Veer Music Awards in the Music Video of the Year category: BJ Griffin, “This Good?” Luh Mar1, “I Gotta Problem” The Revamps, "Fever" Red Weather,...
AI/Animated Music Videos of the Year Nominees Announced
The following are nominees for Best AI/Animation Music Video of the Year Starving Artists, “Talking Bible” Quicksilver Night, “Words” Jarrett Beeler, “Mergers & Acquisitions” Goldi, “Let Me In REMIX” Suburban Key Party, “Go Baby Go” Quicksilver Night, “The...
Live Photography Nominees Announced
We are pleased to share the 2026 Veer Music Awards nominees in the Live Photography category. Robbie Bruner, “Clover Stokes of The Band Monarch” Ryan Del Rosario, “Mean Jesus” Robert Peck, “Anthony Rosano” Katie Culver, “Sheezer at LAVA...
Gilbert Domally Roars as Simba in The Lion King
(Gilbert Domally as Simba. Photo by Evan Zimmerman) By Jerome Langston “I love ‘Hakuna Matata.’ I love swinging out on that vine. It’s such a star entrance you know... to swing out and bust out those high notes,” says actor Gilbert Domally, who plays Simba, in the...
Symphony Hails Hailstork’s Genius
By Montague Gammon III Hampton Roads’ two most accomplished, most famous and finest (classical) musicians meld their talents April 30 at Norfolk State’s Wilder Performing Arts Center for the Virginia Symphony Orchestra's “Happy Birthday, Hailstork” concert. JoAnn...
Alana Springsteen Returns to Her Pungo Roots
By Jeff Maisey Up and coming contemporary country music recording artist Alana Springsteen returns to her hometown Saturday, April 25 for a free show on the 24th Street Stage as part of Beachevents’ Oceanfront Concert Series. Springsteen will showcase a lot of new...
Reimagining Piece of Eden on Virginia’s Eastern Shore
(Cast of Piece of Eden. Photo courtesy of Sheila Vera.) By Sheila Vera On Virginia’s Eastern Shore, history does not feel distant. Along this narrow stretch of land between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, many places carry Algonquian names like Nassawadox,...
Finding Resonance: Kayce Laine Brings Sound Healing Home to Norfolk
By Jim Roberts When Kayce Laine saw her face on the digital marquee outside Scope Arena in Norfolk, she cried. “Growing up there, I always saw myself as being like a pop star,” she said. “I wanted to be on these stages doing pop music.” She will realize part of that...
World Premiere Destined for Greatness
(Jordan Williams and Edwin Green bring Redd Foxx and Malcolm X to life. Photo by Beth Dedman.) By Jerome Langston “This one feels really special because I have a new Foxy this time. I have a new co-star. And this guy just happens to be one of my best friends,” says...
John Lennon’s Lost Weekend Captured in Photos
(May Pang surrounded by her photographs of John Lennon. Photo by Scott Segelbaum.) By Jeff Maisey Funny thing happened on the long and winding road just past Penny Lane en route to a Madison Square Garden concert appearance with Elton John— former Beatle John Lennon...
Chameleons Tour Glowing Arctic Moon
(The Chameleons play Richmond Music Hall on Monday, April 20. Photo by Helen Millington.) By Jeff Maisey By age 21, in 1983, I had absorbed the music of The Beatles as a kid influenced by teenagers on the dead end street I was raised on. From this impressionable...
Compelling Storytelling at the Heart of Primary Trust
(LeVonte’ Herbert as Sam (tan shorts with cigarette in hand) and Brenden Wrenn as Kenneth. Photo courtesy of NSU Theatre Company.) By Jerome Langston “And when it was done, and the rights became available — I saw it online... I think I was in Walmart. And I stopped...
The Unequalled All Things Equal Returns
(Michelle Azar portrays Ruth Bader Ginsburg.) By Montague Gammon III The Virginia Arts Festival brings back to Hampton Roads, March 29, the most important play that anyone in local audiences will see this year, and perhaps for many years to come. “All Things Equal –...
Beer Buzz in the 757
Razova Beer. Photo credit Kylie Posten. By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Here is a smattering of suds-based snippets and stories in the 757 to keep you in-the-know. The Garage Brewery in Chesapeake recently sponsored a collaboration beer in support of the 757...
Vegan Delight Where Cali Meets Colley at the Cantina
By Betsy DiJulio Vegan fare is perhaps not what one would go searching for in a Baja surfer bar in Ghent, but if that surf-hut-meets-urban-storefront happened to be Colley Cantina, that’s exactly what you should seek out. In fact, their website lists “Baja Cuisine and...
Oktoberfest 2025
By Jeff Maisey If beer has a national — make that multi-national — holiday then surely it is Oktoberfest. Celebrations abound, including right here in Hampton Roads. So how did it all begin? Way back on October 12, 1810, King Ludwig I married Princess Terese of...
Nourish Your Soul
By Betsy DiJulio As a longtime foodie, I have a somewhat vast collection of cookbooks. But there are only two that are housed in my kitchen, along with my quintet of recipe file binders: mine and Angela Phillips’. Admittedly, Angela is a close friend and favorite...
A Taste of Honey
By Jeff Maisey The St. George Brewing Company in Hampton has long tapped into the flavor of honey and earned national and statewide acclaim in beer competitions with its multi-award winning Honey Meade Lager, now called Honey Lager. The buzz around honey at the...
That’s Kosher!
(Yogev Kremisi brings much needed dining menu to Ghent.) By Marisa Marsey “Are you Charlie?” Yogev Kremisi gets that question a lot. The trim, swarthy 38-year-old chuckles as he clarifies he’s not. But he is the new proprietor and chef of Charlie’s, the venerable...
A Taste of Joy
Dallas Walton, of Cork & Bull, is among the top chefs whipping up delicacies to benefit Easterseals PORT Health's Culinary Connections. Courtesy photo. By Marisa Marsey Ashley Bruno, looking sharp in a royal blue chef’s apron and puffy white toque (yet...
For Valentine’s, I Present My New Love: “Easy Weeknight Dinners”
By Marisa Marsey Emily Weinstein makes no bones about not being a professionally-trained chef. It’s why the editor in chief of Cooking and Food at The New York Times is so good at her job. Most home cooks aren’t culinary school grads either. Skill levels vary wildly...
Big Ugly Celebrates Big 10
(Peake Lager remains a big favorite amongst Big Ugly Brewery fans) By Jeff Maisey Chesapeake’s first craft brewery will mark its first decade in business with an event being dubbed as Big Ugly Brewing: 10 Year Anniversary Tiki Party. The weather might be chilly...
ESSAY: Lost & Found
By Tom Robotham Last spring, I wrote an essay called “Leaving the Treehouse”—a reflection on my realization that it was time to vacate the apartment I had occupied for 17 years. I called it the Treehouse because it was on the fourth floor of an old building in West...
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