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...
Hurrah for Film & TV
(Green room and studio at Hurrah TV and Film Academy. Photo by Michael Bibbo of Waverleigh Creative.) By Montague Gammon III The Hurrah Players unique new Nusbaum Family TV & Film Academy, which starts its first round of classes for ages 12 and up on January 6, is...
Instrumental Lifeline from Hampton to Swannanoa
(L-R) Chris Jaconson, Roberta Lea, Kelly Murphy, Bobby Black Hat Walters, Karen Benson, and Karl Werne raised $7,700 to benefit musicians in need recovering from Hurricane Helene. By Jim Morrison Bobby Jaramillo arose early, as usual, on a September morning in the...
ESSAY: The Resilience of Hope
By Tom Robotham In the wake of the election, as I noted here last month, I felt a profound sense of despair—and it lingers still. But in recent weeks, it’s been counterbalanced by meditations on hope—how it “perches in the soul,” as Emily Dickinson put it, “and sings...
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...
Ace Frehley Brings 10,000 Volts & More
By Jeff Maisey Ace Frehley, best known as the lead guitar welding Spaceman character in the original lineup of glam metal band KISS, will plug in to the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts on June 4 for an electrifying performance of his solo hits like “New York...
Renée Fleming Gives a Great Voice to Nature
(Renée Fleming returns to Norfolk's Harrison Opera House for a June 1 performance. Photo by Andrew Ecclesdecca) By Montague Gammon III The most celebrated operatic soprano of our time, probably the most celebrated since the days of Maria Callas, comes back to Norfolk...
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...
Dogs Come First at Pups and Pints
(Wasserhund craft beers are to bark for at Pups & Pints in Virginia Beach.) By Marisa Marsey Woof, woof! Arf! Bark! Bark! That’s Sheepish Onyx, my seven-month-old Mini Sheepadoodle, tail wagging in prestissimo tempo because she’s at Pups and Pints. I’d better turn...
New Realm Expands Virginia Beach Capacity
By Jeff Maisey In 2018, New Realm Brewing Company acquired the gigantic, short-lived brewing facility of San Diego-based Green Flash Brewing Co. in Virginia Beach. The brewing capacity at that time was 40,000 barrels/year. New Realm had only recently opened its...
La Patrona Taqueria is All About The Food
By Betsy DiJulio In a landscape dotted with mostly fungible Mexican restaurants, Taqueria La Patrona is a welcome respite for the hungry traveler, even if you just traveled from down the street, even if you crave far more than tacos, and even if you subscribe to an...
Veteran-Owned Chesapeake Bay Pedal Club is Back on the Water for 2023
(A fun day on the Inlet. Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Pedal Club) By Dana Nichols It’s hard to miss the lively turquoise and lime green paddle boat cruising Rudee Inlet: the vibe is energetic, music is playing, passengers are smiling or dancing — sometimes in...
Run For The Roads
(Blackened yellowfin tuna over cauliflower rice risotto, spinach, citrus gremolata and orange hoisin served up at The Roads Bistro. Courtesy photo.) By Marisa Marsey Michael Baldwin, who recently opened The Roads Bistro, radiates joy. Even over the phone, you sense...
REVIEW: Vegan Planet Café Sent Me into Orbit
By Betsy DiJulio A few years back, I visited Vegan Planet Café with the intention of reviewing it, but the casual, eclectic storefront didn’t seem quite ready for its close-up, so I ordered some food, which was just fine, and went elsewhere for my review. But...
Studly Brewing Opens with Home Run
Blake Edmunds has Studly Brewing Company on an early season winning streak By Jeff Maisey Drinker up. If you’re a baseball fan, chances are as good as the Astros winning another World Series you’re gonna love Chesapeake’s newest craft beer maker, Studly...
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