Rumble On
By Jeff Maisey Rick Rumble, host of WNOR-FM99’s mega-popular “Rumble in the Morning” show, recently celebrated 25 years at the radio station, and slathered a little extra icing on the cheesecake by signing a five-year extension. Several former interns,...
ROBOTHAM: See You at the Pub
(Columnist Tom Robotham was among the first to enjoy the patio when Taphouse Grill in Ghent reopened in late summer) By Tom Robotham Ten years ago, I wrote an essay in this space called “The Soul of the Pub”—my reflections on the appeal of pubs in general, and The...
ODU School of Music Tunes in Despite COVID
(Dr. Nancy K. Klein conducting Old Dominion University’s symphony and chorus. Photo courtesy of ODU.) By Montague Gammon III The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic hit ODU’s F. Ludwig Diehn School of Music last March, when this descendent of the University’s 62 year old...
OPINION: Reparations, To Be or Not to Be
BY JOHN L. HORTON I just finished reading the latest issue of TIME Magazine (double issue, September 21/28, 2020). The magazine has a feature/society piece about the “Rosewood massacre” (circa 1923), where nine survivors and descendants have been awarded some...
The Myth of Individualism
By Tom Robotham No man is an island, / Entire of itself, / Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. ~ John Donne I didn’t watch this year’s Republican convention—I couldn’t stomach the thought—but I did see the opening montage, which...
ESSAY: Thoughts and Prayers
By Tom Robotham Let me ask you a question: Do you pray? If so, for what and to whom? I used to pray a lot. Throughout my childhood, I attended services at a lovely old Episcopal Church virtually ever Sunday, and for several years I served as an acolyte. In...
CANCELED: 2020 Boardwalk Art Show
Virginia MOCA announced today the cancellation of the 2020 Boardwalk Art Show scheduled for the weekend of October 23. "It was a tough but necessary call given public safety concerns,” said Virginia MOCA Executive Director, Gary Ryan. “The good news is that we have...
My Story
(Jerry Gaines, pictured clearing 25-feet in the long jump, was Virginia Tech’s first full-scholarship black athlete. Courtesy photograph.) By Dr. Jerry Gaines The circumstances across our nation being what they are, it seems appropriate to share this story now. Back...
VIEWPOINT: A Perspective On The Trump Presidency
BY JOHN L. Horton “I am absolutely a Nationalist.” -- President Donald J. Trump “A person shows what he is by what he does with what he has.” -- Anonymous “When a person shows you who he is…believe him.” -- Maya Angelou “If you don’t know, now you know…” -- The...
Waiting For Godot: The Elusive Promise of Reopening
By Tench Phillips, Naro Cinema The temporary closing of the Naro Cinema on March 20 of this year marked the beginning of a long period of anticipation for the extended Naro family. We originally planned for a July 4 weekend reopening with showings of the...
Lucy Negro Redux: A Groundbreaking Ballet
By Jerome Langston The February 2019 world premiere at TPAC’s Polk Theater of Nashville Ballet’s Lucy Negro Redux, a provocative and illuminating work of contemporary ballet that embraces spoken word poetry, narration and a range of acoustic music, garnered...
ART REVIEW: Four Friends Shine Soul Finger Project
(“Sade,” Anthony Burks, Sr) By Betsy DiJulio Delayed for two years due to the global pandemic, Soul Finger Project was worth the wait. Conceived by Ramel Jasir, (FL) the show brings together for the first time his work and that of three friends: Anthony Burks, Sr....
A Different Type Of Richmond Ballet
By Jim Roberts Jennifer Chapman lives in Virginia Beach but works for Richmond Ballet. Her job—even before the rest of the world embraced telecommuting—is to help the dance company build an audience beyond Richmond and specifically in Hampton Roads. In the...
Jack White Supplies the Rock
By Jim Morrison Jack White recently released one album, "Fear of the Dawn," with another, "Entering Heaven Alive," arriving July 22. He's also rehearsing about 100 songs for his Supply Chain Issues Tour that stops in Portsmouth on April 23. What's the secret to the...
Three Dog Night Brings the Hits of the 1970s
(Three Dog Night’s current lineup continue to perform to sold-out crowds) By Jeff Maisey If you can remember the days of handheld AM transistor radios chances are you know the music of Three Dog Night. From 1969 to 1974, no other recording artist achieved more top 10...
Dreamgirls Brings Glitz and Glamor
(The Dreamettes. Photo by Sam Flint.) By Jerome Langston “I was holding on to this,” says Anthony Stockard, the producing Artistic Director of Norfolk State University Theatre Company, regarding his theatre company’s latest collaboration with Virginia Stage Company,...
James McMurtry Brings Storytelling and Songs
(James McMurtry is back on the road in support of “The Horses and the Hounds.” Photo by Mary Keating Bruton.) By Jim Morrison It's the details that make James McMurtry's songs compelling character studies. That and the melodies, of course. There are the parents...
STAGE: Witness The Great Gatsby Anew
(Aamira Challenger, Katie Housley, Palymyra Mattner, Joshua Liburd, and Conner Keef. Photo by Darryl Estrine. Aquila Theatre’s The Great Gatsby.) By Montague Gammon III The Aquila Theatre’s casting of The Great Gatsby, coming to the Norfolk’s Attucks Theatre...
Down In the Weeds with Bright Eyes
By Jim Morrison It was nine years since Bright Eyes, the trio featuring frontman Conor Oberst, had released an album when "Down In the Weeds Where The World Once Was" hit the streets in 2020. You're forgiven if Oberst came across as something of a dystopian mystic....
Beethoven’s Ninth is Sauced with Joy and Hope
(Virginia Symphony Orchestra Music Director Eric Jacobsen) By Montague Gammon III The Virginia Symphony opens the month of April with that most exuberantly glorious piece of symphonic and choral music, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and its particularly timely message of...
Copper Fox Distillery Expands To Williamsburg
By Jim Roberts Aside from the pleasing assonance of the name “Copper Fox,” the Sperryville-based distillery draws its name from the metal its stills are made of and the fact that it was founded in the heart of the commonwealth’s fox-hunting region. “Foxes are pretty...
Grace O’Malley’s: Norfolk’s Irish Pub
By Jim Roberts Martin Marron is adamant that opening Grace O’Malley’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Norfolk is not the culmination of a life-long dream. “It was—years ago,” he said after giving a tour of the nearly finished surroundings (Official grand...
Virginia Beach Gordon Biersch Celebrates 10th Anniversary
By Jeff Maisey When Gordon Biersch opened its brewpub in Virginia Beach Town Center ten years ago, a much need void was filled for consumers looking for freshly brewed beer in the resort city. Since then, of course, a sea change has occurred and the craft beer craze...
Coastal Virginia Beer Trail Launched to Boost Tourism
By Jeremy Bender The Hampton Roads area craft breweries now have an official beer trail dubbed Coastal Virginia Beer Trail at COVAbeertrail.com. The site – with the tagline “Where craft beer and water meet – is designed largely as a tool for tourists and...
Rip Rap Brewing: 757’s Newest Brewery
Words by Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Photos by Chris Jones Living in the 757, we are all familiar with the Navy’s ubiquitous presence, but we may not be so “in the know” about America’s “fifth military service,” the Coast Guard. Created in 1790 by George...
Common Grounds Beer Festival
By Jeff Maisey There are so many craft beer festivals these days. Finding a way to stand out from the field is becoming increasing difficult. Enter a newly hatched festival scheduled for Saturday, May 14. It’s called Common Grounds, a collaborative brewers’ festival....
O’Connor Scores Bronze at World Beer Cup
By Jeff Maisey The Brewers Association held its World Beer Cup awards presentation on May 6 in Philadelphia, and Norfolk’s O’Connor Brewing Company took home a bronze trophy for its O’Connor Dry Irish Stout in the Classic Irish-style Dry Stout category. Nearly 6,600...
Commemorating 500th Anniversary of The Reinheitsgebot
By Jeff Maisey April 23 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot, famously known as the German Purity Law regulating the ingredients used in the production of beer. Those ingredients, of course, are water, barley and hops. The original purpose was to prevent...
St. George’s Day
By Jeff Maisey You could say April 23 is not only England’s national day it’s also a banner date at one Hampton brewery. Yep, St. George’s Day. St. George is the patron saint of both England and Germany. When the brewery got its start some 20 years ago, owner William...
Lunch with the Chef: Taste’s Thomas Yager
By Steve Marsey If there were a lineup to pick out chefs, Thomas Yager probably would be the least likely IDed. Tall, slender and meek, there’s none of the swagger or swelled ego that one might expect from such a young man holding the title of Executive Chef at...
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