I don’t know about you but the week just flew by for me.  Today was Stephanie Harris’ first Live Music Friday.  Stephanie is a big music fan who will rock out to just about anything but mostly to Neil Diamond and Wham! That’s how she rolls and we love her for that.  Our featured artist is this year’s Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival’s Emerging Artist Contest winner, Luke Hartman.  Luke is a member of the Reckless Passengers and a very talented singer/songwriter.

A pretty cool thing is happening in Norfolk this weekend.  You’ve heard of pop-up restaurants but what about a pop-up city block?.  That’s exactly what’s happening in downtown Norfolk Friday and Saturday nights.  Better Block is an international project that rebuilds a block in the city that is in need of some TLC and with the help of volunteers, they put in some elbow grease and a lot of love to spruce it and house pop-up shops and eateries to showcase what it would look like if the area was thriving on a permanently level.   This particular one will be located at Granby Street from Olney Road to Addison Street.  A handful of local business’ will be on-site in their temporary weekend home including O’Connor Brewery, who will be hosting a beer garden for the thirsty adults and, of course, there will be plenty of live, local music.  A lot of our LMF family will be tantalizing the crowd with their tunes including Over The Ocean, The Hunts, Skye Zentz and The Gents, Gina Dalmas and CTP and Broken Mouth Annie.  It’s going to be a great event that kicks off Friday at 5p and goes into Saturday.  Everything is still being finalized and added, so click on this link to stay up-to-date on everything.

Our friends at Muzik Lounge and Chichos in Chesapeake are putting on a Spring Fling Saturday night and a couple of our good friends will be in on the fun.  K’bana Blaq and D*Nik will be there supplying a good amount of their funky, soul.  On The Bright Side and City Voices will provide plenty of rock.  Click here for more info on the show and check out Muzik Lounge’s review of City Voices’ Transparency release show.

That’s it for me today.  Tons of great music out there this weekend for you to hear, so get out and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC!

Most of the time when you grab a fresh piece of music, whether it’s from your favorite artist or a new one, it’s takes a listen or two to get into the groove and to grasp a feel for it.  This was not the case when I popped in Jennifer Hope’s Velvet Fire into my CD player.  I was instantly hooked by the opening cords of the opening track, Taker.  A great guitar driven intro really grabs a hold of you but as soon as Jennifer’s vocal enters the picture, you know you’re in for a great journey.

Her beautiful voice reminds me very much of Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries and the music really sets itself apart from anything else out there with it’s edgy synthesizers underlining the tracks and it works out really well especially in the tunes Maze of Lies and Rapture.

Velvet Fire is a true gem that really focuses on the true talent of Jennifer Hope as her words shine across her powerful voice.  No wonder it caught the eye and ear of the Mr. Edward Van Halen, who sponsored this project.  Velvet Fire is comprised of 9 amazing Jennifer Hope-penned tunes and 1 breathtaking rendition of U2′s With Or Without You and was produced by Warren Huart whose resume includes The Fray, Aerosmith and Eve 6.

Velvet Fire must be included in everyone’s collection and Jennifer Hope’s name is one you’ll be hearing about for a long time.  Click here to visit Jennifer’s website to grab your very copy of Velvet Fire.

   Jennifer Hope – Velvet Fire ****

This past weekend is in the rear view mirror, the weather is beautiful, the pollen is awful and it’s Tuesday.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and is easing back to the workflow.  My email was flooded with entries for the limited edition, signed copy of the first pressing of Over The Ocean’s Be Given To The Soil.  Thanks to everyone that entered and thanks to The Local Music Show on 96X for spreading the word.  One entry from over 100 was randomly picked (I put all of the names in a hat and picked 1) and that winner was Rachel West.  Congrats Rachel!  The band is hosting a vinyl release party tonight at Fact Or Fiction Records, which is inside of With Lavender and Lace in Norfolk.  It kicks off at 7p and the band will be playing an acoustic set and have their vinyl available.  It’s FREE so get down there and have a good time.

Yesterday, we were thrilled to welcome Bonner Black to the studio for another one of web exclusive performances.  As you know, I get a lot of requests from national recording artists who would like to appear on the show.  I like to reserve Live Music Fridays for our local talent but I don’t want to leave everyone else out, so I decided to start a web exclusive series.  Bonner is a rising star on the Nashville scene and a regular performer at the world famous Bluebird Cafe.  Bonner was in town this past week playing a series of shows with Grant Austin Taylor and stopped by the studio yesterday to perform two songs; “Comin’ Alive” from her debut album, Struck By Lightning and “Love Don’t Burn”, a brand new song that will appear on a new EP that she’s currently working on.  It was a little hectic in the studio yesterday with breaking news about the accident at the MMMBT.  We were in a bit of a holding pattern as we were waiting for the coverage to go off the air.  We use the same control room for the news as we do The Hampton Roads Show, so we couldn’t do both at once but we able to get it done and it was awesome.  You can find out more about Bonner on her website and you can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Congrats to Luke Hartman for winning the Sea Level Festival Emerging Artist contest.  Luke will be our Live Music Friday featured artist this week.  Luke has something in common with last year’s winner, Nate Sacks: They are both members of the band Reckless Passengers.

That’s all for me today.  Get out there and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC!

Friday is here and I know I’m not the only one excited.  Fridays tend to get a little giddy, that’s right, giddy around here at the station.  The week is full of breaking news and running around at wits end that when Friday is here, full of smoothies , comedy and music, we get: giddy. Speaking of music, the amazing Over The Ocean was our Live Music Friday featured artist.  One of my favorite bands, the guys have really refined their unique and wonderful sound.  This is their second appearance on The Hampton Roads Show, having appeared here a year ago as they were about to head up to New York to record their second album.  Well, that album was just released Tuesday.  Be Given To The Soil is a collection of 11 songs that really open up your senses and makes you just want to sink in with a glass of whiskey or scotch and enjoy the journey.  The physical record is available exclusively on double vinyl.  The current pressing is on dark green vinyl and available by clicking this little link.  They performed two songs off of it today, Riverbed and In This Darkness.  Only about a minute of In This Darkness made it on air but, as always, the full two song performance is right here:

The initial pressing of Be Give To The Soil was on double clear vinyl and quickly sold out but the band signed one of them for me and I want to give it to one of you.  All you have to do is email me at kyle.bloom@wavy.com and let me know why you want it.  I’ll randomly select a winner Monday and it will be yours.

They will be having an intimate release party Tuesday at With Lavender and Lace.  The band will perform an acoustic set, so you don’t want to miss it.  Click here for all the details.

Another release party is happening this weekend.  Our friends at Muzik Lounge are sponsoring the CD release party for City Voice’s Transparency.  Saturday night at Peabody’s, you’ll enjoy the awesome sound of City Voices along with our buddies from Pilot!.  Proverbial and Harley Sumbat are also on the bill along with our good friend, Caitlyn Casey.  Caitlyn has an amazing voice, so you must head down to the Oceanfront and here it for yourself.  Tickets are just $10.

That’s all for me today.  Have a great weekend and get out and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Saturday night is the Emerging Artist Showcase which will highlight 10 of the most talented, undiscovered singer-songwriters.  The showcase is part of the Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival that kicks off tonight in Norfolk.  The festival is put on annually by Tidewater Arts Outreach or TAO, which is a group whose mission is to “uplift the human spirit by bringing live, quality music and arts experiences to people in Hampton Roads who are in homes, hospitals, shelters, facilities and dependent care programs or otherwise are isolated from society”.  Sea Level highlights the great songwriting and musical talent of Hampton Roads with a series of concerts throughout the weekend in Ghent and downtown Norfolk.

Tonight is the Sea Level kickoff concert at the Naro featuring Glen Phillips from Toad The Wet Sprocket.  Doors open at with the show starting at 7:30 with openers Grant Austin Taylor and Bria Kelly.  Tickets are $35 at the door.  Before that, head down the street to No Frill Grill and see one of my favorites, Gina Dalmas, treat everybody to her honky tonk sounds or if you’re in the mood for pizza, hit up Ynot and grab a pie and pint and listen to the acoustic sounds of Lewis McGehee.  After all of that, head down to Cogans for a night cap with Scott Slay.

Friday night belongs to downtown where at 6p Veer Magazine and River Notes House Concerts present Shane Cooley at Urban Outfitters off of Granby.  Across the street at Jewish Mother, our friends at Muzik Lounge will host a show featuring our good friends Longfellow Street and Logan Vath along with Jenn Lawyer.  That kicks off at 7:30 and the party continues with a plethora of locals from Soul Haven Studios.  Seth Stainback, Ben Phelps, Ray Meeks, Luke Taylor, Jesse Chong, Elizabeth Nix, Swabir Silayi and BJ Griffin takeover JewMa at 10p.

Saturday afternoon will be a day of busking along the streets of Ghent and a ‘musical’ petting zoo will be setup at the corner of Colley and Brandon.  Several instructors and instruments will be on hand for your kids to play and learn and Jim Merrill will be on hand to show off the custom guitar he built for the festival that will be raffled off.  Around 2p, the Beacon Award Tribute Concert will take place.  Hunter Hughes is this year’s recipient and the performers will include Mike Aiken, Brandon Bower, Paddy Dougherty, Tray Eppes, Skip Friel, Susan Greenbaum, Lawrence Lambert, Jackie Merritt, Lewis McGehee, Narissa Bond, Bobby “Blackhat” Walters, and Karl Werne.

Later that night is the Emerging Artist Showcase.  Held at the historic Attucks Theater, Justin Clements, Dustin Furlow, Luke Hartman, Sophie Harton, John Kovacevich, Stephan Lazar, Roy Moats, Will Overman, Dan Pellegrino and Jared Swift will perform their original songs in front of a panel of judges that include Veer Magazine’s Jeff Maisey, Paul Shugure and Hunter Hughes.  Tickets are $10 at the door.

The festival wraps up Sunday night with a showing of “Greenwick Village: Music that defined a generation” at the Naro and live music featuring Bob Zentz, Narissa Bond, Dave Potvin, Carol Butler and MaryAnn Toboz.  Doors open at 6:45 and it’s $9 at the door.

A great weekend packed with great local music.  Get out there and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC

…but I like it.  That’s my little ode to the Stones, who announced their 50 and counting tour (The nearest show will be in Philly June 18).  Now onto the local love.  Tomorrow kicks off the first of three battles for the spot to open up FM99′s Lunatic Luau Friday, May 3 at Farm Bureau Live.  9 great local rock bands will be split into groups of 3 and rock to the fullest at Smoked Out in Virginia Beach.  Tomorrow night will feature Category V, Ghost Of April and MINDVENT.  Next Thursday, A New Day Rising, Nitro Fish and Revery will battle it out and the final three, Hobgoblin, Seven Ten Oil and JACT, will rock out Thursday, April 18.  A winner will be chosen each night and the final three will perform Thursday, April 25 and the winner among those three will open up the Luau.  So get out there and support your favorite band.  Now for my little editorial side note:  Why does there have to be a ‘battle’ for local bands to win a slot in a music festival put on by a local radio station.  The rock scene in this area is growing at record pace with great original talent and what better way to showcase that then by having their own stage at the Luau.  Evidence from last year’s Luau clearly shows that the audience embraces the local talent as shown in this picture from Revery’s set.Who knows? Maybe a locals only rock festival will happen in the near future but in the meantime, get out there and support your local music.

Tonight is the first Local Original Music Party.  A new monthly showcase, LOMP will feature local music, arts and brew at the Granby Theater and it offers a great party atmosphere to showcase our local talent.  Tonight, our friends The Dahus and Bear Crossing along with Bad Volcano will supply the tunes and Young Veterans Brewing Company will supply the brew.  Everything kicks off at 8p and it’s all just $20.

A big congrats goes out to the 10 finalists in the Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival’s Emerging Artist Contest.  The finalist are Justin Clements, Dustin Furlow, Luke Hartman, Sophie Harton, John Kovacevich, Stephan Lazar, Roy Moats, Will Overman, Dan Pellegrino and Jared Swift.  The 10 will perform this Saturday at the Attucks Theater and the winner will receive a slew of prizes including an appearance on The Hampton Roads Show as our Live Music Friday featured artist April 12.  The showcase is $10 at the door and will also feature last year’s winner, Nate Sacks.  I’ll feature more on the Sea Level Festival in tomorrow’s blog.

That’s all for me today.  Get out there and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC

I’m back to the grind and on the road to recovery after a lovely bout with pneumonia that had me sidelined for a few days but I’m back.  Today is the release of a record that a lot have been eagerly waiting for: Over The Ocean’s Be Given To The Soil.  This is a record that has been waiting to be played on a turntable since the group entered Singing Serpent Studios in New York last year to record it.  A 55 minute masterpiece comprised of 11 musical journeys that take you on a complex journey through your soul and it’s welcomed.  A grand followup to their debut, Paper Houses, you will gladly push your other recordings aside and keep Be Given To The Soil on constant rotation.  As I was instructed by guitarist Joshua Bogart, this record is best played at night while sipping your favorite whiskey…and I highly recommend that.  The initial run of 100 limited clear with dark green haze double vinyl quickly sold out but don’t fret, another run of 100 dark green double vinyl copies are available through their label, Spartan Records.  Each order will receive a code for a digital download of the album plus the great B-side ‘Mountain’.  The band will be hosting a vinyl lounge party next Tuesday, April 9 at With Lavender and Lace in Norfolk.  They will be playing a striped down set and will have exclusive copies of the record available.  They will also be our Live Music Friday featured artist this week, so you definitely don’t want to miss that.

Over The Ocean – Be Given To The Soil – Spartan Records 2013

The last Tuesday of March is here and the year 2013 seems to be swinging by.  Tons of great local musicians have released their latest works and are prepping up for their run of summer shows and festivals.  This weekend, you can dust off those ear plugs and head out to Chesapeake for the first music festival of the year and perhaps one of the finest local lineups ever.  The Music 4 More Festival takes place this Friday and Saturday at the VA Live Entertainment complex off of South Military Highway in Chesapeake.  Music4 More is a charity organization that is based in Baltimore in which their main focus is to collect instrument donations and provide them into school and community music programs.  This festival in particular will help rebuild Oscar Smith Middle Schools music program.  60 of the finest local musician of all genres, including Live Music Friday alumnus The Fuzz Band, Phillip Roebuck, Revery, Brother Speak, Shakespeares Ghozt, 710 Oil and Kelsey Vivien, will take over 5 stages spread out over 18 hours in two days.   The cost for your ticket is $12.  That’s all and that covers both days.  This week’s Live Music Friday featured artist The Hunts will not only be among the performers but they will also visit CHKD Friday for a concert.  If you’re new to the local music scene then this is your opportunity to not only experience the best of Hampton Roads but also help a great cause.  Click here to grab your ticket.  You can always grab one at the door but that’s going to cost you an additional $3.  Click the pic below for the lineup and set times.  SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC

Friday is always a good day here at the LMF desk but today was especially good because the lovely people from Blue Bell ice cream stopped by and supplied us with an ample supply of the custardy treat.  It was also extra good because The TRADOC Winds were our Live Music Friday featured artist.  The Winds are just one part of the ensembles that make up The TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command) Band.  The group didn’t escape the cuts due to sequestration as their upcoming Heritage of Heroes Concert at the Ferguson Center for the Arts was cancelled.  They still have plenty of performances on the horizon that the public is invited to attend.  Click here for the schedule and all things you need to know about TRADOC Band.  If you missed their performance on the show, as always, I got you covered:

The competition is heating up for FM99′s Battle Of The Bands contest.  The winner will open up the 13th Lunatic Luau that will happen Friday, May 3rd at Farm Bureau Live in VB.  A lot of bands to vote from including a number of LMF alumnus.  Click the link to vote for your favorite!

Last year’s winner, Os76, is teaming up once again with another finalist from last year, One Among Us, for a FREE show Saturday night at Geared Up in VB.  These are two great rock bands that have big things coming their way, so get out there and check them out for FREE while you can.

For your listening pleasure tonight, get out to Wesley House for the true-indie.com showcase featuring Kelsey Vivien and The Clouds, our LMF artist last week, along with fellow member of the LMF club, Solemn Flight.  You still have time to email if you want FREE tickets to the show.  Just email me your name at kyle.bloom@wavy.com and, if chosen, you’ll get on the guest list.

Last but not least, our good friend Logan Vath just posted a video of a brand new song that he debuted at his record release show for Better Man or Ghost (Pick up your copy today).  Ain’t It Like Nebraska is the title and, like his other songs, is brilliant.  Check it out below and I’ll catch up with you next week.  SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC

It’s been a busy couple of days back here at the LMF office (or desk).  Spring is here and summer is just around the corner and that means the dust is coming of the road cases and the bands are ready to hit the summer stage, it also means my inbox is quickly filling up with band submission.  So I’ve been busy booking the LMF calendar this week but I have a little time to fill you in on some happenings that are going on in our wonderful local music scene.

• Uglyography is looking for new band member.  Drummer/Guitarist Jack Morgan has decided to step down and the band is currently searching for a new member.  If you’re a much-instrumentalist who is up for a lot of work and plenty of good times, contact the band at uglyography@gmail.com.

• Schematic, the new musical venture from Mae’s Dave Elkins, is off and touring around this great land of ours.  They will be making a tour stop in Virginia Beach Saturday, April 13 at Jewish Mother Hilltop

• Wesley House in Norfolk is hosting the true-indie.com showcase with LMF’s Kelsey Vivien and The Clouds, Solemn Flight, The Afterthought Stranger and Full Fledge.  This will be Solemn Flight’s last show until late summer.  Tickets are $5 at the door but I have a pair to giveaway.  Email me at kyle.bloom@wavy.com and tell me you want them.

• Revery is currently in pre-production for their follow up to Avarice & Absolution.  Guitarist Mike Doyle tells me that they plan on starting tracking next month.  I’ll keep you posted.

That’s all for me today.  I’ll catch up with you tomorrow with a preview of Live Music Friday with The TRADOC Winds.  Something a little different for LMF.  As always, get out and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC!