Open Call for Photography Categories: Veer Music Awards
We are now accepting submissions in the Live Photography and Posed Photography categories for the 2025 Veer Music Awards. General instructions: — Each photographer may submit up to three (3) photographs in each category — Photos should be submitted as jpeg...
Breakfast Lecture Series Taking Off in Virginia Beach
Yellow leaders Stephanie Walters and Anita Patel speak at CreativeMornings’ October meeting at The Garage VB. Courtesy of CreativeMornings Virginia Beach By Jim Roberts Kate Pittman, the executive director of the ViBe Creative District in Virginia...
Norfolk Officials Signal Changes are Necessary for Floodwall to Move Forward
(Yellow poles, reflecting the height of the proposed walls, have been installed by Freemason residents in protest to the city of Norfolk’s flood resilience plan. Photo by Jim Morrison) By Jim Morrison/VirginiaMercury.com Norfolk officials sat down for an...
ESSAY: Mourning in America
By Tom Robotham When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, I disagreed with many friends who thought there was no way he could win. The book I mentioned in my last essay—Amusing Ourselves to Death—kept coming to mind, and Trump personified author Neil Postman’s dark...
Degrading Our Public Discourse
By Tom Robotham Kamala Harris has been subjected to a lot attacks since she became the Democratic nominee for president: She’s a communist; she’s not really Black; she’s morally suspect because she never gave birth; she laughs too much. They’re all so idiotic that...
37 Things To Do This Halloween
Compiled by Staff Fright Nights at the Naro Expanded Cinema The Naro is presented a series of horror flicks for the month of October, including “The Shining” (Oct. 18), “Killer Klowns From Outer Space (Oct. 19), “Elvira” (Oct. 25), “Halloween III” (Oct. 26)....
Deborah Thorpe reflects on 37 years at the Governor’s School for the Arts
(Deborah Thorpe used this selfie for her social media post announcing her retirement.) By Jim Roberts Shelly Cihak, executive director of the Governor’s School for the Arts, addressed hundreds of students and supporters at the Wells Theatre on the first day of the...
Bodies in Motion
By Tom Robotham Over the years, I’ve written a lot about my love of music and the cultivation of that love, from the first piano lessons that my mother gave me at the age of 5 to my foray into the New York City jazz scene after college. Something few people know about...
How Virginia is Addressing the Dark Side of Gambling
Legislators make bipartisan push for more state funding to counter the effects of problem gambling until the Virginia Gaming Commission is up and running By Markus Schmidt The expansion of casinos and the rise of online gambling platforms in Virginia have sparked...
The Scene: Opening Night of Jackie Merritt Exhibition
Do You See Me Now: A Solo Exhibition by Jackie Merritt Through September 13 Norfolk Arts’ Offsite Gallery @ MacArthur Center norfolkarts.net
Very Peculiar Sounding
By Jeff Maisey In mid-May, post indie Brit-pop sensation Vinny Peculiar will release a new collection of songs under the album title “Things Too Often Left Unsaid,” but not before he vacations in Norfolk (Virginia) — of all places — to visit with friends. While in...
Three Dog Night Opens The Dome
(Founding singer Danny Hutton. Photo courtesy of Three Dog Night) By Jeff Maisey In 1993, hitmakers Three Dog Night were the last band to headline the Virginia Beach Dome, but don’t expect founding singer Danny Hutton to necessarily remember the venue. “If you showed...
In Deep with John Moreland
(John Moreland. Image by byAngelina Castillo.) By Jim Morrison For a decade, John Moreland pursued his dream. He'd evolved from playing in a hardcore band to a singer/songwriter who brought audiences to tears. He made a stunning appearance on The Late Show with...
Ancient Musical Thrill with The Tallis Scholars
By Montague Gammon III Prime Virginia Arts Festival favorites, the British a cappella early music vocal group called The Tallis Scholars, returns to Hampton Roads for a 500th birth-year celebration — at Norfolk’s Christ and St. Lukes Episcopal Church — of the man who...
A Foray into Fauré
(A 1903 photograph of French composer Gabriel Fauré.) By Montague Gammon III A double-dozen dose of seldom heard music comes to the Larchmont United Methodist Church April 26 to honor French composer Gabriel Fauré with the closing concert of the Norfolk Chamber...
A Landmark American Opera
(Opera vocalist Flora Hawk) By Montague Gammon III The most important show to take the stage at the Harrison Opera House since the US premiere of composer Thea Musgrave’s Mary Queen of Scots in 1978 and the world premiere of her Christmas Carol in 1979, maybe even...
VA Stage Closes Season with Every Brilliant Thing
(Actress Anna Sosa) By Jerome Langston “Every Brilliant Thing is a play that I have seen more often than any other play that I’ve directed,” says Tom Quaintance, the Producing Artistic Director of Virginia Stage Company, during a recent phone chat earlier this week....
Visual Art Calendar
(On view at Chrysler Museum of Art: Greta Pratt (American, born 1955), “Juneteenth Celebration,” 2023 Archival pigment print © Greta Pratt) Compiled by Staff “Greta Pratt: Jamestown Is Sinking” Through July 27 Chrysler Museum of Art Greta Pratt’s photographic series...
ART: Fun with Ceramics
(Walter McConnell’s “Theory of Everything.” Courtesy of the artist and Cross MacKenzie Gallery.) By Betsy DiJulio From the shelves of the local dollar store to the rarefied environs of the world’s most prestigious museums, ceramics run the gamut and are ubiquitous...
GRAMMY Winner Curates and Creates Music
By Montague Gammon III One of the most acclaimed of contemporary composers, the 2024 GRAMMY winner for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Jessie Montgomery, who’s also a prime instrumentalist and who just happens to have a real, albeit distant, familial Norfolk...
RESTAURANT NEWS: A Gateway to India
By Marisa Marsey Paul Chhabra, the civic-minded, seasoned restaurateur who’s been broadening Hampton Roadsters’ palates with biryanis, bharthas and basmati for over three decades, is pulsing with boyish energy early this morning as he pulls up in a U-Haul to a...
REVIEW: Stay for the Food at Civil Libation Bistro
Words & Photo by Betsy DiJulio With a persistent heat index in the triple digits and a cute hand-drawn cocktail menu, no one will judge if you go to Civil Libation Bistro for the hand-crafted cocktails, but be sure to stay for the food. While this southern...
Love Song Hits All the Right Plant-Based Notes
By Betsy DiJulio “I’m not gonna write you a love song ‘Cause you asked for it ‘Cause you need one…” Nope, like alternative pop artist, Sara Bareilles, lilts, “I’m not gonna write you a love song ‘cause its make or breaking this.” Why? Because Virginia...
Tea is Just One Jewel in Prince Tea House’s Crown
(Afternoon tea, anyone? Photo courtesy of Prince Tea House VB.) By Marisa Marsey When someone says tea house, what do you picture? A stiff upper-lipped British parlor, fine bone china, crustless watercress sandwiches and clotted cream? Perhaps your thoughts race to a...
BEER: Crossing the Thin Brew Line
(Beer-tender Cara and Thin Brew Line’s new brewer, Raf Corredor. Photo by Chris Jones.) By Diane Catanzaro & Chris Jones There you are in Virginia Beach, looking for a place to get a libation, a sip of suds, a beer. You’d like something fresh, delicious, and...
The Grey Goose Turns 40
(The Grey Goose now serves brunch six days a week. Photo by Grey Goose ) By Marisa Marsey “That was really tasty,” said Phillip Epstein as he and his wife Dana exited The Grey Goose Tea Room in Downtown Hampton. “But I don’t need to go back again.” The year was 2007....
Mexican-Inspired for Cinco de Mayo
By Jeff Maisey Mexican lagers have been a favorite amongst local beer lovers, especially on Hampton Roads’ notoriously humid, hot days of spring and summer. Beer brands from South of the Border like Modelo, Dos Equis, Tecate, Cerveza Pacifico Clara have...
REVIEW: Crudo Nudo is a Delight
(A vegan’s dream come true dish. Photo courtesy of Crudo Nudo.) By Betsy DiJulio Sadly, I was late to the Crudo Nudo party. Until recently, I was under the mistaken impression that the storefront restaurant, open for four years, was charcuterie-heavy with little to...
DINING: Comforts of Ireland
(Robert McGregor Wallace, the general manager at Grace O’Malley’s, displays the house-made fish and chips. The Scotland native said, “That’s the real thing.”) Local pubs serve fish and chips and other traditional dishes By Jim Roberts There may be a friendly rivalry...
Chef Jae in Your Kitchen
(Jae Sinnett prepares everything from scratch in your kitchen. Photo by Mark Robbins By Jeff Maisey Let’s say you enjoy the good things in life and within your social circle are likeminded friends who equally appreciate the sounds of jazz, savor a select bottle of...
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