Utopian Visions and Harsh Realities
By Tom Robotham Much of the discussion about socialism…is entirely pointless, because of the failure to agree on terminology. ~ Theodore Roosevelt. In today’s political arena, no word is bandied about more carelessly than “socialism.” Diehard supporters...
The Future of Journalism
By Tom Robotham Recently I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion on the state of journalism. The event was timely. That very day, news had broken that The Virginian-Pilot building had been sold to a condo developer, and that longtime PBS news...
2020 Veer Music Awards Results
(Anthony Rosano & The Conqueroos, pictured with Bob Seger at Madison Square Garden, won the live performance and blues categories. Photo courtesy of the band.) By Jeff Maisey On Tuesday night, The Vanguard Brewpub in Hampton hosted the 2020 Veer Music Awards —...
Move Over 757, Here Comes the 948
The State Corporation Commission (SCC) announced today that the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) has assigned a new area code to the Hampton Roads region. The new 948 area code will relieve the future exhaustion of phone numbers in Virginia’s 757...
The Trouble with The 757
By Tom Robotham When you hear the name Nashville, what comes to mind? It’s safe to say that “country music” would be a common response. How about New York? Broadway, perhaps, or Wall Street. Likewise, mention Los Angeles, and most people will think,...
Black History Year-round: Who Are we?
BY JOHN L. HORTON “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” — Marcus Garvery “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the...
2020 Vision
By Tom Robotham If I had to choose one event of 2019 that symbolizes the year now winding down it would be the near-collapse of Notre Dame after a fire broke out in the cathedral last April. For me, and for millions of other people, it was a heartbreaking...
ANNOUNCEMENT: Veer Music Awards Photo Categories
Veer Music Awards: Photography Categories We are now accepting submissions in photography categories to be considered for nomination in the upcoming Veer Music Awards. Photography Categories: Live and Posed. Live photos are of a band/musician performing at a...
Benchtop Wins 2nd Golden Tap Award
BY DIANE CATANZARO, CHRIS JONES, BRIAN KOSKI, JENNIFER MCDONALD & JEFF MAISEY For the second consecutive year, Benchtop Brewing Company took home Veer Magazine’s annual Golden Tap Local Beer Awards trophy, the award given to the brewery with the most...
EMPOWERING YOUNG BLACK MALES
By John Horton “It is impossible to pretend that you are not heir to, and therefore, however inadequately or unwillingly, responsible to, and for, the time and place that give you life – without becoming, at very best, a dangerously disoriented human being.” (S) James...
MUSICAL: A Soulful Christmas
By Jeff Maisey Anthony Wayne, the former Norfolk resident who scored success on Broadway performing in “Tootsie: The Musical,” “Pippin,” “Once On This Island,” and “Anything Goes,” as well as Broadway nationwide touring productions of “The Color Purple” and “A...
Goldberg Set to Return with “Hiding in Plain Sight”
By Jim Morrison For Michael Goldberg, the journey back began with a guy in Norway on Facebook. Goldberg was a fixture in the Baltimore music scene in the early 1970s when he was walking upstairs at The Classroom, a club he played six nights a week when he met a woman...
Marie Osmond Brings Symphonic Christmas to Norfolk
By Jeff Maisey Marie Osmond needs little introduction. Marie’s older siblings debuted as bubblegum pop group The Osmonds in 1970. Her brother Donny soon after became a teen idol as a solo artist. Marie Osmond, the second youngest and only daughter in the family,...
PREVIEW: Dave Koz Continues Smooth Jazz Holiday Tradition
By Jeff Maisey Newport News’ Ferguson Center for the Arts has become a traditional stop for Grammy-nominated smooth saxophonist Dave Koz during the holiday season. This year, Koz and Friends — Jonathan Butler (guitar), Rick Braun (trumpet), Richard Elliot (saxophone),...
PREVIEW: Christmas Rolls On with Mannheim Steamroller
By Jim Roberts In 1984, when Chip Davis released his first Christmas album, music industry “experts” told him it would end his career. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Thirty-seven years—and 31 million album sales—later, Davis is the best-selling Christmas...
Scrooge Adaptation is Holiday Highlight
(Beatty Barnes plays the iconic role of Scrooge.) By Jerome Langston “It’s good to be back producing,” says Tom Quaintance, Virginia Stage Company’s Producing Artistic Director. “And I’m excited to go into rehearsal for this show on Tuesday.” The show that Tom is...
MUSIC PREVIEW: A Triplet of Trios from The Feldman
(Horszowski Trio is set to dazzle a Norfolk audience.) By Montague Gammon III Early December’s Feldman Chamber Music Society concert at the Chrysler Museum’s Kaufman Theater showcases three piano trios: a mid 20th Century masterpiece by the under recognized...
Mae’s Everglow Shines Again
(Mae performing live during a recent concert. Photo by Jim Morrison) By Jim Morrison In their nearly 20 years, Mae has managed to navigate the twisting and turning labyrinth of the morphing modern music industry, rebounding from one whiplashing change to another They...
Virginia Symphony’s Marsalis, Mozart & Mahler, Beamish & Brahms
(New Virginia Symphony Orchestra Music Director Eric Jacobsen in rehearsal with saxophone great Branford Marsalis. Cell phone photo by Kristen E. Bennington.) By Montague Gammon III Virginia Symphony’s Music Director Eric Jacobsen kicks off the conducting part of...
Torggler Fine Arts Center Dazzles
By Betsy DiJulio A sparkling new gem has taken its rightful place on the jewel box campus of Christopher Newport University (CNU). With its cadences of colonnades, pristine pediments, balustraded balconies, and dynamic domes, the campus is a love song to the...
Remember Mom’s Cinnamon Toast?
Words & Photos by Stef Wasko From the two entrepreneurs who introduced Norfolk to The Handsome Biscuit and Field Guide, comes a third culinary phenomenon serving the best thing since sliced bread— Toast. This newest member of the David Hausmann and John Porter...
IPA Border Crossing
By Jeff Maisey What do you get when you mix two of the finest IPAs (India Pale Ale) brewed in Virginia? 40 Mile to the Border Agave IPA, of course. Unlike most collaborations between brew masters in the craft beer industry where unique, over-the-top concoctions...
No Animals were Harmed in the Making of This Feast (And Many Were Helped)
By Marisa Marsey Maybe it was the movie Babe. Or passing a truck crammed with chickens en route to the processing plant, feathers drifting onto your windshield like fresh-fallen snow. Even the most diehard carnivore may be prompted to forgo flesh from time to time,...
Bold Mariner Lands in Lamberts Point
By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Ah, life in the United States Navy, haze gray and underway. Periodically while afloat in a boat, the salty sailor gets a hankering for some salubrious suds. All that time at sea, and you can't see a malted beverage...
Virginia Distillery Company
By Jim Roberts According to Andrew Shand, a master distiller who worked in Scotland’s whisky industry for 35 years before moving to Virginia two years ago, the most important qualification in his trade is patience. “We always say: If you want gin or vodka, you order...
Home Republic is Beer at its Freshest
By Elizabeth Erschens It has taken years since the closing of Hilltop Brewing Company and Alt Platz Brewing Company, but Hampton Roads again has a locally owned brew pub. Joe Curtis, owner of Home Republic Restaurant and Brewpub in Virginia Beach, has his system up...
Taste of Spring – and BEER – at Tides Inn
By Jeff Maisey The scenic Tides Inn, known for its romantic location on the Chesapeake Bay for weddings and its world class marina, spa, golf course and restaurants, has decided to give ol’ man winter the boot and celebrate the full bloom of warmer weather with...
NORFOLK NATO FESTIVAL’S Wines of the World
By Jeff Maisey Savoring a glass of Old World vino is without question one of life’s most enjoyable experiences. American travelers vacationing in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal are accustomed to trying fine wines found at every café, brasserie and restaurant...
Grilled Cheeseheads
Words & Photos by Marisa Marsey Say, “Cheese!” That’s almost all you can say at hot-off-the-press Grilled Cheese Bistro in downtown Norfolk where, true to its name, the menu lists seven iterations of the feel-good, security blanket of a sandwich. If, like me,...
Center of the Universe Expands to Hampton Roads
By Jeff Maisey During the early 2000s, Chris Ray had a demanding, seasonal day-job, but in his free-time he and brother Phillip Ray often spent time homebrewing. A graduate of William & Mary, Chris Ray was drafted in 2003 by the Baltimore Orioles as a relief...
ADVERTISEMENTS