In 2015, Hampton Roads saw lots of great music and celebrated its longtime symphony conductor
Mike Holtzclaw
Contact Reporter
mholtzclaw@dailypress.com
The year 2015 was a lively one for the arts across the Peninsula and Hampton Roads.
From pop music to the fine arts, here is a “baker’s dozen” list recalling some of the best and most prominent live performances we saw in the past year.
The Downtown Hampton Block Party provided plenty of great performances by local and national artists (climaxing with a free show by Ricky Skaggs that got moved indoors by the weather). Lots of great nights out on the block, but there was no sweeter moment than the evening in August when Anthony Rosano and the Conqueroos — opening a night of blues rock acts — called longtime bass player (and Hampton resident) Paul Warren up on stage. Warren, who had been sidelined for several months while battling cancer, rejoined the band for a rollicking cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together.” In front of his hometown crowd, Warren made it clear that he still has a lot of music left to play.
On Sept. 13, Bobby “Blackhat” Walters put together a show spotlighting several generations of “The Blues Family of Hampton Roads.” Originally scheduled to close Hampton Bay Days, the concert was moved across the water to the Chrysler Museum after the festival was canceled. From the youngsters (Tyler Bevington, Logan and Cole Layman, Zack Salsberry, Hamed Barbarji) to the elder statesmen (Lathan “Pudgee” Hill, “Dirty Red” Garrett and plenty more), it was a night of collaboration and celebration.
On Feb. 1, JoAnn Falletta marked her 25th anniversary as music director and conductor of the Virginia Symphony. Throughout the year, she led her orchestra through a wide variety of programs including Mozart, Mahler, Bartok and Elgart. Frequently the symphony played a full weekend slate — performing the same program on Friday at the Ferguson Center in Newport News, on Saturday at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk and on Sunday at the Sandler Center in Virginia Beach.
Also in February, soprano Renee Fleming and pianist Olga Kern gave a world-class opera recital at Chrysler Hall, sponsored by the Virginia Arts Festival. The program featured works by Schumann, Rachmaninoff and Strauss.
In May, the inaugural Lava Music Festival took over the grounds of the Suffolk Executive Airport with two stages of non-stop music from a diverse roster of local acts (such as Major and the Monbacks) and national headliners (including Fitz and the Tantrums and of Montreal). The weather was fine and the atmosphere joyful. For a first-time festival, everything ran smoothly. Can’t wait to see the 2016 edition.
When K’bana Blaq took the stage at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center in August, he didn’t simply perform songs off his new CD “Blaqmagie.” Instead, he crafted an elaborate set piece with 18 dancers and video projections; while Blaq sang his songs, the multi-media production helped to depict the story of how he had to overcome self-doubt and other obstacles to complete the album. A truly creative endeavor.
In May, local singer-songwriter Karl Werne took the stage at The American Theatre in Phoebus to celebrate his 50th birthday and the release of his outstanding CD “This Little Notebook.” The stage was crammed with almost two dozen talented and eclectic pop, rock and jazz musicians who had contributed to Werne’s album. The music was as sweet as the feel-good vibe.
Two opera events were especially memorable. In April, the Virginia Arts Festival presented Bartok’s chilling “Bluebeard’s Castle,” with colorful and spectacular sets by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. And in November, Virginia Opera did a charming production of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” which drew strong attendance and suggested a renewed interest in the local company.
In May, Williamsburg pianist and songwriter Bruce Hornsby played his first hometown show in eight years. He and his trusty backing band the Noisemakers (now featuring Virginia Beach guitar hero Gibb Droll) provided more than two hours of hits, album tracks and crowd requests at the Lake Matoaka amphitheater. His hit “Valley Road” moved from the piano to the dulcimer; his lovely “Mandolin Rain” was given a touch of Sam Cooke magic; and his encores included the Grateful Dead’s “Jack Straw,” presaging Hornsby’s appearances at the high-profile Dead reunion shows at Chicago’s Soldier Field over Fourth of July weekend.
At the end of June, the 48th annual Hampton Jazz Festival had two sold-out nights and one near-sellout for a total crowd of about 27,500. In addition to longtime festival favorites Jill Scott and Frankie Beverly, the weekend also featured debut performances by Jennifer Hudson, Trombone Shorty and Avery Sunshine, as well as local standouts The Unifics and the Myra Smith Experience. Nobody walked away disappointed.
The Ferguson Center’s biggest show of the year wasn’t music, but rather, comedy. “Monty Python” mates John Cleese and Eric Idle came to town in October with their “Together Again At Last for the Very First Time” multi-media show — telling tales and performing sketches and sharing enough memories to delight anyone who knows which word you never ever say to the Knights of Ni.
Christopher Newport University’s annual Torggler Summer Vocal Institute brought in a terrific list of singers who served as both instructors and performers — Bobby McFerrin, Straight No Chaser, Kelly O’Hara and homegrown Broadway performer Heather Parcells.
The highlight of the amphitheater season? A sold-out show in Virginia Beach by piano man Billy Joel (and, as a bonus, an unannounced opening set by Gavin DeGraw). He started the show by saying he had nothing new to play and would just stick to the old favorites. Nobody complained.