GRC and TWBW Offer Lessons in How Non-Profits Can Help Each Other
By Joel Rubin A canoe and a Bevin’s Skiff look remarkably alike, but you row a skiff, you paddle a canoe. So says Tom Brandl, US Naval Academy grad, retired Marine Colonel, eight consecutive year summer student at a renowned boatbuilding school in Brooklin, Maine and...
A-List Jazz Vocal Summit at The Z
(Jane Monheit will teach and perform over 3-day event focused on jazz vocalists) By Jerome Langston It is quite early in my highly enjoyable, recent phone chat with Jane Monheit, when the acclaimed jazz singer pays me a particularly flattering compliment. “You have a...
The Story of The Dome Is a Must-See
By Jeff Maisey With “That Was Our Room: The Life & Times of the Dome,” Norfolk-based documentarian Paul Unger hones-in his skills as a storyteller. Unger, whose credits include “Hardcore Norfolk: The Movie,” is keen to set the stage with archival television...
Festevents to Commemorate The Boathouse During Harborfest
By Jeff Maisey “We were backstage and there was a buffet spread out with chicken, roast beef and all kinds of good stuff,” recalled singer David Middleton, whose local band, the Waxing Poetics, opened for numerous nationally touring acts, including the Ramones, at the...
Ghent Pride & More
On Tuesday, June 20, Ghent Pride will return in style thanks to the perseverance of event organizer Robert Roman. Together with his husband, Claus Ihlemann, Roman has been one of the most active people in Hampton Roads lobbying politicians, businesses, and ordinary...
Desplaines Departs Norfolk Botanical Garden
By Kelly Welsh Norfolk Botanical Garden (NBG) announces President & CEO Michael P. Desplaines will step down in late June to accept the CEO position at The Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia, California this July. Mr. Desplaines has been with the Garden since...
Blues Dancing in Norfolk
(Mentor artist Joshua Purnell, center, and Noah Stovall, left, dance with partners. Tidewater Blues meets every Monday at the Fred Huette Center in Norfolk for blues dance instruction and a social dance.) Words & Photo By Pat Jarrett Nationally, the Tidewater...
In Search of Excellence
By Tom Robotham One of my favorite moments in the history of television is the opening scene of Newsroom, a short-lived HBO series about a jaded TV anchor, Will McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels. In the scene, McAvoy is asked at a college forum why America is the...
Darrell Redmond is a Motivated Man on a Mission
By Joel Rubin Languishing in both juvenile and adult Virginia lockups for 25 years, felon Darrell Redmond could not have imagined that this past April 16, he would be the star attraction at a Hampton fund raiser, attended by local mayors, business leaders, social...
A Beloved Teacher and a Norfolk Native: Eva May Morris Gregory
(ODU student Alayna Vilardi. Photo by Lyn LeFevre.) By Kathryn Finney Inside a large Victorian house on Lafayette Boulevard in Norfolk, thousands of students studied the art of dance with their teacher, Eva May Morris. Her legacy lives on through a merit-based...
Demons Respond to Current Moment in Time
By Jeff Maisey Norfolk hard-edge punk rock band Demons will unleash its new full-length album, “Under the Western Heel,” with a big stage performance August 12 at The NorVa. Previously, the quartet, comprised of Zach Gehring (vocals/guitar), Chris Matthews...
THEATER: Escape to Margaritaville
(The cast from Little Theatre of Virginia Beach’s “Margaritaville.” Photo by Joshua Stubbs. By Jim Roberts Jimmy Buffett’s not touring this summer, but Hampton Roads’ “Parrotheads” can experience the next best thing when the Little Theater of Virginia Beach presents...
ART: A Curatorial Gem
(Matt Lively, “Orbit”) By Betsy DiJulio I go to art museums to be inspired, transported, challenged, and even provoked, but not perplexed. Feeling baffled in an art exhibition is deeply unsatisfying and, frankly, irks me because it generally means someone hasn’t...
Benoit & Rosano Team-Up for Album and Tour
By Jim Morrison Tab Benoit may be best known as one of Louisiana's finest blues guitarists and vocalists with a three-decade career releasing solo records and working with legends like Anders Osborne, George Porter, Jr., and Cyril Neville. But Benoit has also been a...
The Icon & Iconic Album Cover
By Jeff Maisey One of the most recognizable, iconic record album covers in pop culture almost never saw the light of day. “If it was up to me I would have rejected the cover,” said legendary trumpet player Herb Alpert, who released “Whipped Cream & Other...
SWING TIME: New Releases from Jae Sinnett & Eddie Williams
By Tom Robotham Hampton Roads has long been home to some first-rate jazz musicians, and I can think of no better evidence of this fact than the superb quality of two recently released albums by musicians who live here: Commitment, featuring drummer-composer Jae...
Focus on Modern Jazz Composers
Trumpeter Taylor Barnett will perform with local jazz musicians for “The Modernists” By Jerome Langston “I broke my finger 3 weeks ago while on vacation,” bassist Jimmy Masters says to me earlier this week, before we even start chatting about the latest show in...
Beaching It with Alana Springsteen
By Jeff Maisey Coastal Country is a thing, just ask rising music star Alana Springsteen, who was born and raised in Virginia Beach. “I’m a Beach girl through and through,” said Springsteen. “It made me who I am. It comes out in so many ways in the music that I write....
Top 40 Concerts of Summer
(Neo-soul crooner Anthony Hamilton headlines the opening night of Hampton Jazz Festival By Staff Nine-time Grammy nominated smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz recently told Veer Magazine the summer of 2023 will mark the true, post-pandemic return to form for the concert...
ART REVIEW: Heart Pulsates with Fantastical Intrigue
(Claudia Bueno’s fantastical art exhibition extends to the exterior of the Hermitage Museum. Photo by Lindsay Collette.) By Betsy DiJulio Born of shattering heartbreak and a deeply integrated process of healing, Echoes of the Heart embodies artist Claudia Bueno’s...
RESTAURANT NEWS: 1608 Crafthouse Rebounds
(1608 Crafthouse’s Bacon Cheeseburger is a popular menu item.) By Jeff Maisey Kevin Sharkey was prepping for the fifth anniversary of his 1608 Crafthouse on Pleasure House Road in Virginia Beach when the pandemic struck in March 2020. He’s been battling ever since...
Fountain Flows into 757
By Jeff Maisey There’s a new hard seltzer in town — Fountain. Made in New York City, this new, upstart brand is fun — from the well-carbonated bubbles, zesty citrus and berry flavors to the eye-catching packaging — screams fun. After enjoying a few cans over a recent...
Driving You to Drink: Beer Touring in Hampton and Newport News
(Members of the Hampton Roads Brewing & Tasting Society gather for a pre-beer photo. Photo courtesy of Diane Catanzaro.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Who is ready to get out of the house and visit a bunch of breweries? We’ve put together a little beer tour...
RESTAURANTS: Local Brands Expand
(Owner Bob Roberts has Redwood Smoke Shack expanding with a new Virginia Beach location. Photo courtesy of Redwood Smoke Shack.) By Marisa Marsey Some of our favorite homegrown eateries are expanding – opening a new location, introducing a new concept – making us...
A Coterie of Charcuterie
(Katie Huger, owner of Long Board Charcuterie, curates exquisite, customized boards to celebrate special events as well as every day.) By Marisa Marsey There’s a joke circulating at fromageries: “How do you irritate a cheesemonger? Ask for a charcuterie board with no...
NATO Festival Beer Brings People Together
(Brew Day at The Bold Mariner Brewing Company in Norfolk) By Jeff Maisey In what has now become a Norfolk NATO Festival tradition — born five years ago — a collaboration beer pairing The Bold Mariner Brewing Company and NATO Headquarters will be featured at the...
Fox Tail Wine Bar Adds Flavor to New Phoebus
(Interior view of Fox Tail Wine Bar. Photo by Michael Fernando.) By Jeff Maisey “I felt like the type of experience we’re offering did not exist in this neighborhood and there was an opportunity to bring something new, fresh and exciting to a community that was...
COASTAL FERMENTORY: New Brews in the ‘News
(L-R) Coastal Fermentory’s Mike Reppert and Brandon Samuels. Photo by Diane Catanzaro. By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones “I’m goin’ to Newport News, mama, gonna catch a battleship across the doggone sea.” The Memphis Jug Band immortalized the ‘News in their...
Foodie Destinations: Fuller’s, El Diablo, Deadrise, and Kismet are making a statement
(Joe Illes, Gary McIntyre and John Ledbetter) By Jeff Maisey Phoebus is going to be the next Ghent. That’s what local businessman/real estate tycoon Richard Levin has been saying for a few years now. He put his money where his mouth is by purchasing numerous buildings...
Celebrating Irish Beer
By Jeff Maisey Once upon a time in America — think 2010 and before — there were basically two choices of beer to consume in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day at local restaurants and bars: Guinness Extra Stout (draft or bottle) and mass produced lagers infused...
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