Take 5 with Ghent Pride Co-Chair Chris Reybrouck
Take 5 with Ghent Pride Co-Chair Chris Reybrouck By Jeff Maisey Tell us about your new role this year as Co-Chair of Ghent Pride. What goes into planning the event on Monday, June 17 at the Palace Shops in Ghent? I am honored to have been part of the founding...
Surprising Suffolk…Center
Suffolk Center’s new Outdoors @ The Center event space will host live music this summer on Thursdays. Photo courtesy of Suffolk Center. By Jeff Maisey “You can have it all in Surprising Suffolk.” That was the branding slogan televised and promoted on signage far...
ESSAY: What Kind of American Are You?
By Tom Robotham Last month, I saw Alex Garland’s much-discussed film Civil War. Since then, I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it. I don’t mean to imply that I think it’s a great movie. I continue to have mixed feelings about it. Nevertheless, the specter it...
TRAVEL: A Second Helping
(Lynn, Bruno, and Jeff at Chez Bruno in Dijon.) By Jeff Maisey In last month’s issue of Veer, I wrote solely about one of my favorite dining experiences in Paris, the majestically unique, warmly welcoming Au Vieux Paris d’Arcole. I was heartened by the response from...
Chrysler Museum Unveils New Logo
By Jeff Maisey The Chrysler Museum of Art has unveiled a smart, contemporary logo that by all appearances touches on a very 1970s-era retro vibe while also looking into the future. In a statement, the museum conveyed, “After a decade with the signature tower, the...
Troy Ketchmore Keeps Fighting to Clear his Name and Tame the Streets
By Joel Rubin It was 1995, and Troy Ketchmore was taking a birthday gift to his infant son who was living with the child’s mother and her new boyfriend at the time. With Troy were two “friends,” all of them armed but with no apparent intention of using the guns....
ESSAY: Leaving The Treehouse
By Tom Robotham For the last few weeks, I’ve been looking for a new apartment. It’s not that I’m unhappy with my current place. Not by a long shot. For 17 years, it has served me well. In the afternoons, on clear days, the living room is bathed in sunlight filtered by...
TRAVEL: The Best Ever
(An early evening glass of wine outside Au Vieux Paris. Photo by Lynn Hughes-Hailey.) By Jeff Maisey “How do you know about this place?” A distinguished looking gentleman in his 70s from California introduced to Lynn and I as the Doctor kept looking over his right...
Naro-Minded
(Kris King stands in the center of the Naro video collection at ODU’s Perry Library.) Words & Photo by Jim Roberts Naro Expanded Video’s collection of 43,000 DVDs has been lovingly preserved at Old Dominion University’s Perry Library, but touring the new academic...
A Proposed Army Corps Change could Affect Hundreds of Billions in Federal Funding
By Jim Morrison As Norfolk’s $2.66 billion storm risk plan moved toward approval by the City Council last spring, residents of the city’s poorer, Black neighborhoods on the Southside grew heated when they learned wealthier neighborhoods would get protective...
Beyond Monet
By Jim Roberts More than 50,000 people attended the “Beyond Van Gogh” immersive art exhibit in Virginia Beach in 2023, so it’s little surprise that the Virginia Arts Festival and Canada’s Paquin Entertainment Group are back this year with “Beyond Monet,” a celebration...
ART: Jackie Merritt’s Deep-Hearted Honesty
(“Talking Heads”) By Betsy DiJulio Jackie Merritt puts color where it doesn't exist. But where it most surely lives. Recently, as I perused some 20 of her portraits (and one still life)--rendered in chalk pastel, charcoal, and watercolor—I smiled to myself as I...
WAR Headlines Funk Fest
By Jeff Maisey Many of you know the classic hit songs from the band WAR — “Low Rider,” “The Cisco Kid,” “Summer,” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” What you may not recall is the musical crossover group from Southern California known for weaving elements funk, jazz,...
Come Sail Away with Styx and Foreigner
(Styx returns to Virginia Beach August 20. Photo by Jason Powell) By Jeff Maisey Styx keyboardist/singer Lawrence Gowan is marking his 25th anniversary with the classic rock band known for its many FM radio hit songs like “Come Sail Away,” “Blue Collar Man,”...
Getting in a Brazilian Groove
By Jerome Langston “John Toomey and I met Nate Najar through a mutual friend, Chuck Redd, who's been down here and played with us,” says Jimmy Masters, a highly regarded jazz bassist, during a recent phone chat about the long running jazz series that he curates at the...
Two Nights to Smile and Dance with Beres Hammond
By Jim Morrison Beres Hammond grew up the ninth of 10 children in Jamaica listening to his father's jazz and soul records, artists like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. But ska was the sound of the moment on the island inevitably slipping into his style when he started...
New Music Reviews
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard “Le Risqué” Australian psych-rock pilots King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard just dropped a bomb of a first single from their upcoming record “Flight b741”. The new single “Le Risque” is a fun straight forward boogie number that...
ART: Modeled Reality
(Anthropocene Reliquary: ebonized ash, crushed coal, found bone, digital image) By Betsy DiJulio I look at my work as a distillate of experience. Life events, travel, relationships, politics and dreams all condense to varying degrees into my sculpture. I synthesize,...
Films That Move – 2024 Premieres
(Renata Sheppard) By Montague Gammon III Big art coming out of the small town of Cape Charles has made this erstwhile ferry boat stop on Virginia’s Eastern Shore known from Los Angeles to New York, at film festivals across the USA and as far flung as Ireland and Hong...
Homecoming for Missy Elliott at the Coliseum
(Ciara, Missy Elliott, and Busta Rhymes) By Jerome Langston "I feel like she is the ultimate trendsetter, but she’s also timeless,” says Nakia Madry-Smith, during a recent chat about the Hampton Roads born and reared popular music icon, Missy Elliott, who is currently...
Backstories Vol. 1
(Dylan & Jason of Waters Edge Winery Norfolk) By Joel Rubin If you have seen the weekly newsletter I publish (generally to promote the offshore wind industry Dominion Energy is bringing to the region), you know that many of the articles feature small businesses,...
Voodoo Brewing Co. opens pub in Virginia Beach
(Alex and Chrissy Bergren have opened a Voodoo Brewing location in Virginia Beach. Photo by Jim Roberts.) By Jim Roberts Voodoo Brewing Co., the newest entry into Hampton Roads’ beer scene, opened on January 13 in Virginia Beach. It’s a locally owned and...
DINING: A Tale of Two Italians
(Something for every Italian taste at Sorella’s. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.) By Marisa Marsey Hibernation season, for me, means hunkering down beneath a mountain of blankets and gorging on classic movies à la “Casablanca” and latter-day faves like “Moonstruck”...
Going to the Dogs
(DOGGONE GOOD: Larry Sauger and Karl Neumann have Pittie Dog Grill sizzlin’) By Marisa Marsey Since adopting a puppy last year, my ears prick up at any mention of the word “dog” as avidly as Sheepish, my Miniature Sheepadoodle, sniffs out squirrels. So when I heard...
Big Ugly Wins 2023 Golden Tap Award
Big Ugly Brewing won the 2023 Golden Tap Award in a region-wide competition where the tally was picked by readers and our committee of judges — including Diane Catanzaro, Chris Jones, Brian Koski, and Jen McDonald — provided expert analysis. The 757 region craft...
VEER’s Golden Tap Awards & The Key to Lager Town
By Jeremy Bender Who is the best brewery in Hampton Roads this year? What are the finest IPAs, stouts, lagers, sours and pilsners? On Tuesday, December 5, VEER Magazine will present its 2023 Golden Tap Awards at Elation Brewing in Norfolk beginning at 6 PM. The...
Stuff Their Stockings…And Yourself
(FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Brian Brinson’s popular Lizard Café is the perfect lunch combo with Prince Books in downtown Norfolk.) By Marisa Marsey Time for the holidays. Yay! Time for holiday shopping. Ugh! I love pretty much any festive tradition (more mistletoe, please)...
WINE REVIEWS: Reds To Splurge On
By Jeff Maisey I’m normally a $25-$50/bottle wine guy at home, but during the festive fall and holiday season this year I’ve splurged a bit, and the upgrades have been noticeable. Moone Tsai Howell Mountain 2018 Red Blend Napa Valley Lynn and I recently hosted a...
Restaurant Reverie
(Daily menu additions like this Roasted Red Pepper Bisque w/fried basil and smoked peppercorn have business booming for chef/owner Kevin Sharkey at 1608 Crafthouse in Virginia Beach.) By Marisa Marsey Heading west on I-64 for a business meeting in Richmond last...
A Wine Education at Crystal Palate
(Crystal Cameron-Schaad enjoys sharing an education in wine culture with patrons.) By Jeff Maisey For the more sophisticated traveler, experiencing a destination through its culinary and winemaking culture is an essential ingredient in understanding the uniqueness...
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