The American Theatre

Logan Layman and her UnXpected bandmates prepare for busy summer

When the photo above was taken back in March, 12-year-old Williamsburg resident Logan Layman already knew she was heading to north to play the Chicago Blues Festival on June 6 as part of a youth all-star band. Turns out, she's going to Chicago twice...

Tags: Chicago Blues Fest, The UnXpected (music group), Entertainment Events, Entertainment, Music

Nellie McKay, quirky songstress, to perform in Hampton with string quartet

A Sunday story from my colleague David Nicholson included a nugget of exciting information. Nellie McKay, a piano-playing songwriter known for witty, irreverent tunes, will play The American Theatre in Hampton Nov. 1. Nicholson's story about the 2013-14...

Tags: NPR, Entertainment, Music, Tameka Cottle, Music Industry

Tonys 2013: 'Vanya and Sonia,' 'Lucky Guy' lead play nominees

NEW YORK -- The Tony nominations announcement Tuesday morning brought good news to Christopher Durang’s dysfunctional-family tale "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" and the late Nora Ephron's period journalism weepie "Lucky Guy" with the two...

Tags: Cicely Tyson, Broadway Theater, Theater, Tom Hanks, Radio City Music Hall

Tonys 2013: Tom Hanks seeks a new kind of prize

NEW YORK -- Can Tom Hanks add a Tony Award to his crowded mantle? That’s one of many questions that emerged after the Tony committee announced its acting nominations Tuesday morning, with Hanks' name on the shortlist for best actor in a play for...

Tags: Cicely Tyson, Tom Sturridge, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (movie), Broadway Theater, Radio City Music Hall

Fernando Jones Blues Camp for kids is coming to Hampton week of July 21

Jackie Scott, a Norfolk blues singer who has been involved with youth Blues Camps in Chicago in recent years, said that the concept will come to Hampton this summer. "My trip to Chicago was a success!" she wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. "Just got...

Tags: Buddy Guy, Hampton (Hampton, Virginia), Entertainment, Music, Newport News (Newport News, Virginia)

Branford Marsalis: Q&A with a jazz sax master

Branford Marsalis, a Grammy-award winning saxophonist, doesn't like to be fenced in. He's played with jazzy rock bands, the New York Philharmonic and his own experimental funk ensemble, Buckshot LeFonque. Although he's not a staunch traditionalist like...

Tags: Miles Davis, Culture, Frank Foster, Arts and Culture, Durham (Durham, North Carolina)

Back to the '70s: Arts center seasons to include Emmylou Harris, Todd Rundgren, Jackson Browne and Dr. John

Summer is when the area's performing arts centers announce their fall schedules. The Peninsula's two main centers -- The Ferguson Center for the Arts and The American Theatre in Hampton -- have plenty of interesting shows heading our way. As my colleague...

Tags: Natalie MacMaster, Emmylou Harris, Arts and Culture, Arts, Dr. John (music artist)

Family of Teen Who Died at L.A. Rave Receives $190K Settlement

KTLA News

LOS ANGELES ( KTLA) -- The family of a 15-year-old girl who died of an ecstasy overdose at the Electric Daisy Carnival rave has received a settlement of nearly $200,000 as a result of a lawsuit against the organizers and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum....

Tags: Human Interest, Entertainment Events, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, File Sharing, KTLA

Ferguson Center takes a prize in recent Veer Local Music Awards

My reporting last week on the Veer Local Music Awards missed a few choice categories, ones that were included in the print edition of the Feb. 15 edition of the alternative paper. Most significant was the Ferguson Center's victory in the Best Performing...

Tags: Norfolk (Norfolk, Virginia), Concerts, Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Classical Music (genre)

Bay Days festival schedule includes local acts United Souls, EVER-G, Rylo, Gator Allmond

Bay Days organizers announced the full entertainment schedule for the giant outdoor festival happening Sept. 9-11 in downtown Hampton. The array of local musical talent playing the event looks strong. Funk revivalists House and Sinnett, country-rockin'...

Tags: Maritime (music group), Arts and Culture, Hinduism, Theater, Fine Arts

Christmas calendar: Events that inspire holiday spirit

Daily Press

NOVEMBER Virginia Symphony Orchestra — Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italien." 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. Ferguson Center for the Arts, 1 University Place, Newport News. Tickets start at $20. Coliseum Central Holiday Parade Presented by Peninsula Town...

Tags: Ticketmaster, International Travel, Maritime (music group), Preservation Hall Jazz Band (music group), History (tv network)

Tiesto sets the tone for Electric Daisy Carnival at Playhouse Hollywood