Cancer Survivor Sam Hunter Has Brought Open Faced Goodness and Healthy Drinks to Summit Pointe
Samaria Hunter By Joel Rubin Toastique Gourmet Toast and Juice Bar (www.toastique.com) is a 21st century breakfast/lunch place. With hearty helpings of such ingredients as avocado, smoked salmon, lump crab, peanut butter, Tuscan tuna, and ricotta atop healthy...
50 Years of Arlo On Your Radio
(Arlo working the board before his 10 AM to 3 PM mid-day shift in February 2025. Photo by Jeff Maisey) By Jeff Maisey “The enormity of the importance of Mike Arlo in our lives can best be described by imagining what the past 50 years would have been like without him:...
Williamsburg Symphony celebrating 40th anniversary
(Michael Butterman conducts the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra. Image by Kim Kiely Photography.) By Jim Roberts Dr. Jon E. Krapfl was a loyal subscriber to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 20 years. So loyal, in fact, that even after he moved to Williamsburg in...
ESSAY: Sounds of Silence
By Tom Robotham For the last decade or so, I’ve been in the habit of turning on CNN first thing in the morning, and letting it run for hours until it was time head to campus for afternoon classes. Often, it was background chatter while I prepared lectures, graded...
2025 VEER Music Awards
Some info for those attending the 2025 VEER Music Awards. The event is this SUNDAY, February 2 at Elevation 27 in Virginia Beach. TIME: Doors open at 5 PM. Show starts at 6 PM sharp. The program generally runs 3 hours. PARKING: The large Wal-Mart parking lot across...
NEWS: Two Years After Council Push for Local Investment, Hampton Roads Ventures Has Yet to Deliver
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 More than two years after Norfolk’s city council directed a for-profit...
VEER Music Awards Nominees Announced
By Staff We are pleased to announce the complete list of nominees for the 2025 Veer Music Awards. The 757 region had an immensely diverse range of musical releases in 2024. In determining nominees, we looked primarily for bands and musicians who officially released a...
Music Video of the Year Nominees Announced
We are pleased to announce the nominees in the Music Video of the Year category for the 2025 Veer Music Awards. The awards presentation is scheduled Sunday, February 2 at Elevation 27. Online voting is set to begin soon…stay tuned. And the nominees are… Sunny...
Animated/AI/Effects Music Video of the Year Nominees Announced
By Jeff Maisey We are pleased to announce the nominees in the Animated/AI Music Video of the Year category for the 2025 Veer Music Awards. This is a new category for our music awards presentation. We also include music videos with heavily artistic effects within this...
TRAVEL: Return To Scotland, Highlands & Castles
(Barcaldine Castle is an enchanting Bed & Breakfast today.) Words & Photos by Jeff Maisey We began Day 2 of our West Highland Way trek with sore muscles, dried mud on our boots, and an optimistic sense of adventure with nine miles of what would be very stony...
Stockard to Shine in Ain’t Misbehavin’ Director’s Chair
(Director Anthony Mark Stockard) By Jerome Langston “But ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ is a song I sang a lot, and it used to be my go to audition song,” recalls Anthony Mark Stockard, university professor and NSU Theatre Company’s producing artistic director, during a recent...
REVIEW: Laufey in Concert
Words by By Montague Gammon III Photo by Jeff Moore The jam-packed opening night Chartway Arena-Virginia Arts Festival concert called “Laufey: A Night at the Symphony with Virginia Symphony Orchestra,” provided this opera and classical music (and classic rock and ‘60s...
An Evening of Songs, Stories and Wild Tales with Graham Nash
(Graham Nash’s 2013 autobiography “Wild Tales” is a fabulous example of his storytelling brilliance.) By Jeff Maisey No matter how simple or complex every song has a story behind it, and inspiration for its creation. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash...
Still Making Sense of Remain in Light
Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew revisit the classic Talking Heads album “Remain in Light” on the 31st Street Stage at the Oceanfront. Photo courtesy of Remain in Light By Jim Roberts The Talking Heads aren’t reuniting, but Virginia Beach is one of only seven cities in...
Glowing Native Glassworks
Angela Babby (Lakota, born 1964) Melt: Prayers for the People and the Planet, 2019 Kiln-fired vitreous enamel on glass mosaic on tile board, Image courtesy of Angela Babby, Photo by Angela Babby, © Angela Babby. By Betsy DiJulio With a title like Clearly Indigenous,...
Top 50 Local Songs of 2025 (So Far)
By Jeff Maisey If you’re following our Facebook page, you’ve no doubt checked out our VEER Top 10 This Week playlist of new songs released by 757 region recording artists. We cover the full music spectrum including pop, hip hop, jazz, punk, folk, experimental,...
Playtime: Toys and Art
(Artist Clayton Singleton has some fun with his Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em Robots painting as part of the exhibition “Playtime: Toys and Art”) By Betsy DiJulio Toys turn adults into time travelers, telescoping us back to the people, places, and passions of childhood. For...
CONCERT PREVIEW: The Band Perry
By Jim Roberts The Band Perry had a remarkable start in 2010, releasing a self-titled album, selling 5 million copies of their single, “If I Die Young,” and winning three Country Music Association Awards. While the sibling trio went on to win a Grammy Award for Best...
Shining Light on Jazz Vocalists
(Jazz singer René Marie. Photo by Antonio Porcar.) By Jerome Langston In what has been a spectacular year for high level jazz concerts here in Hampton Roads, on both the Southside and the Peninsula — the 5th annual Vocal Jazz Summit returns next month to the Z in...
Sensational Samara
By Jerome Langston It is just a few days following his Carnegie Hall debut with twenty-something, jazz superstar vocalist, Samara Joy, that tenor saxophonist, Kendric McCallister, is chatting with me about their upcoming concert here at Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall. One of...
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...
Craft on Colley: Semi-Fine Dining at its Finest
By Marisa Marsey A cynic might sneer, “What are those guys trying to do, corner NoCo?” The thought’s not ungrounded. Dave Filipowski and Rich Katz own neighboring hangouts Cogans North and Hank’s Filling Station on the north side of Colley Avenue. So it’s reasonable...
Top Shelf Service
(Annie Rostov) By Jeff Maisey Few industries seem to be as impacted coming out of the pandemic as the restaurant business. While customers have returned to near pre-Covid numbers, restauranteurs in Hampton Roads and across the nation have seen their food costs and...
Neptune Festival preparing for back-to-back beer and wine festivals
By Jim Roberts The small staff at the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival is gearing up for a number of large events the last weekend in September: the Neptune Festival Art & Craft Show, the 49th Annual Boardwalk Weekend, and the Neptune Festival Grand Parade, among...
Filibuster bourbon
By Marisa Marsey Heading to Derby Day, my fancy races to mint juleps and the bourbon that braces them. (Of course, my fancy races to bourbon many a day, anyway). A good bet for those juleps – if you want to stay true to Virginia while toasting Kentucky – is...
Return of The Belvedere
By Marisa Marsey Were you as ecstatic as I when you heard that the beloved Belvedere Coffee Shop & Diner was being resurrected in the spanking new Moxy Hotel at the Oceanfront? If you possess any VaBeachVa history, I’m guessing that’s a resounding, fist-pumping...
Afterglow Brewing Shines in Norfolk’s Railyard District
(Josh Evans and Jeff Hartline. Photo by Diane Catanzaro.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Here’s some exciting news for beer lovers! Norfolk’s newest brewery held their Grand Opening the weekend of July 8. Afterglow Brewing is now open for business at The Railyard...
Winning Big with Aloha State of Mind
(Matt Topping enjoys the taste of success — and Hawaii — at COVA Brewing Company.) By Jeff Maisey It’s a big deal to win an award — gold, silver or bronze — at the World Beer Cup competition. For a brewery to garner consecutive golds for the same entry is nothing...
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