Lapped by the waters of the James and York rivers, Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, southeastern Virginia’s Lower Peninsula and Hampton Roads region has long swayed to its own distinctive rhythm, including a rich tradition of music and the performing arts.
With easy access by car and train, and airlift into Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport and Norfolk International Airport, groups can tune into famed rock venues, historic theaters, outdoor festivals and more.
Like the smash hit Happy from Virginia Beach-born star Pharrell Williams, it’s a ticket to good vibes and memories.
Jazzed Up
In this month’s cover story (see “Hail!, Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll,” page 24), we celebrate historic music venues and sites around the U.S. Built on undeveloped farmland in 1970 and still rocking the concert circuit, the multipurpose Hampton Coliseum’s legacy goes from Elvis Presley to Keith Urban. Located on the Hampton Roads Convention Center campus, the venue, with total seating for 13,800, offers the more intimate 6,200-seat Stars Theatre configuration and banqueting for 2,000 people.
“Hosting musicians and music aficionados from around the world for over 47 years, the Hampton Coliseum is also home of the world-renowned Hampton Jazz Festival, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this June,” said Hampton CVB Director Mary Fugere. “Our city has always been known as a mecca for good music and fantastic live performances.”
The intimate 392-seat American Theatre, from 1908, combines diverse year-round programming with versatile theater, studio and classroom spaces. The Hampton History Museum features a monthly Front Porch Music Series in its 100-seat Great Hall.
The convention center also serves as a concert venue, hosting events such as the annual Jazz Legacy. This month, waterfront Mill Point Park is the setting for the seventh annual group-friendly Chesapeake Bay Reggae Fest, featuring Keith Poppin and other legends from reggae’s Golden Age.
Hampton’s peninsular neighbor, Newport News, is the birthplace of legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917). Founded the same year, the Walter Reed School, now the multipurpose, event-capable Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center, honors the “First Lady of Song” with a 276-seat theater and annual April music festival, both in her name, and is celebrating her centennial year with a series of special events.
Since opening in 2004, Christopher Newport University’s event-capable Ferguson Center for the Arts has attracted nearly 2 million patrons from all 50 states and 15 countries with seasonal (September to May) entertainment including legendary artists, Broadway shows, orchestras and more. Planners can arrange for backstage tours of the architecturally stunning “Ferg,” including the green room and costume and scene shops.
Performing in a vintage movie theater, the 1960s-era Peninsula Community Theatre welcomes groups for shows and events. Groups can also enjoy the Wednesday night Summer Concert Series at Port Warwick on Styron Square.
“We feel that our performing arts opportunities are the ideal way to welcome meeting planners and attendees to the city,” said Cindy Brouillard, director of tourism for the Newport News Tourism Development Office. “By participating in our cultural activities, hopefully business travelers will return home with a sense of place and an authentic visitor experience.”
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Colonial Williamsburg groups have a truly historic option for shows and rentals in the 1933 Kimball Theatre. Built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. as an official RKO theater along with New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and Roxy Theatre, the Kimball’s eclectic live entertainment mix includes the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra.
By the Rock of the Bay
The beat continues in group destinations across Hampton Roads Bay.
In Norfolk, James Brown, Prince and Justin Timberlake have all headlined at The NorVa, named “Best Music Venue in America” in Rolling Stone’s 2013 Readers’ Choice awards. Housed in a former 1920s movie hall, this high-energy 1,500-person capacity venue has multiple viewing levels, including a wrap-around balcony level and VIP lounge, and welcomes corporate events, private parties and more.
“Our vibrant, accessible and walkable waterfront destination has unique edginess that makes it a fun city to explore,” said Donna Allen, VisitNorfolk’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Musical experiences range from concerts at the NorVa to annual events including our Waterfront Jazz Festival (35th edition this July) and ETC (Embrace the Culture) Music & Arts Festival in September.”
Opened in 1972, Chrysler Hall is the region’s premiere performing arts center. Evoking New York City’s Lincoln Center, this 2,500-seat venue features the Virginia Symphony Orchestra among its attractions. Originally a WWII USO theater, the lavish 1,632-seat Harrison Opera House is home to the Virginia Opera. Home of the Virginia Stage Company, the 1913 Wells Theatre is an event-capable Beaux-Arts national landmark.
On the waterfront in neighboring Portsmouth, the outdoor Portsmouth Pavilion accommodates 6,500 people for live entertainment from all musical genres, with past headliners including B.B. King, Tony Bennett and Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. With outstanding acoustics and intimate seating with a last row just 175 feet from the stage, the 2,000-seat Willett Hall features concerts, theater, musicals and dance performances.
With outdoor venues lining its famed Atlantic-facing boardwalk, Virginia Beach is for music on the sand, under the stars and more.
“Virginia Beach is a music and performing arts lover’s dream,” said Brad Van Dommelen, director of the Virginia Beach CVB. “Genres and events range from classical music concerts and theater performances to live music and cultural festivals offered year-round. For meeting planners looking to incorporate a unique and memorable music or arts experience into their itinerary, the options in Virginia Beach are endless.”
As Virginia Beach developed a growing market for the performing arts around 2001, plans were drawn for an enhanced venue to replace the 1,000-seat Pavilion Theatre. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the architecturally stunning Sandler Center for the Performing Arts has more than exceeded that charter. Located in the city’s vibrant Town Center, the Sandler’s masterful 1,300-seat Performance Hall is among several spaces available for group rental. Others include the 2,200-square-foot Miller Studio Theatre, configurable for banquets and receptions of up to 200 people.
Presently featuring an event-ready 80-seat theater and in-house bar across from the Sandler, Zeiders American Dream Theater is an experimental “creative kitchen” for musicians, writers and other artists. Launched in 2015 by Mike Zeiders, a Navy veteran with a passion for musical theater, programing at the “Z” includes collaborations with the Virginia Symphony and Virginia Musical Theatre. Slated to open in June 2018, the Z’s new event-capable Town Center location will feature a 300-seat auditorium, 150-seat black box space, recording studio and prefunction lobby.
Certified “Virginia Green,” the outdoor Veterans United Home Loan Amphitheater (formerly Farm Bureau Live) seats 20,000 fans and features 30 to 40 concerts across a wide range of genres each year from April through October.
Opened in 2006, the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts is the transformation of the former 1922 Suffolk High School. Providing an evocative stage for a range of artistic performances, the venue, embodying Suffolk’s small-town charm, also hosts events and offers catering.
