HAMPTON ROADS — The Virginia Arts Festival announced it has added more musical artists from classical, jazz, roots rock and Broadway to its 2026 season.
Touted as one of its most robust seasons ever, the lineup features a broad and diverse program of music, dance and theater, with an emphasis on artistic excellence and audience engagement, it said.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, Jan. 30, at 10 a.m. and will be available at vafest.org, by phone at 757-282-2822, or in person at the Virginia Arts Festival Box Office.
The additional acts:
Norfolk’s Diehn of Music: Celebrating F. Ludwig Diehn
One man’s lifelong love of music fueled a composing career and endowed programs that would nurture artists for generations to come. F. Ludwig Diehn, a successful businessman with degrees in law and chemistry, fulfilled his musical dreams by composing works for orchestra and chamber ensembles that have been performed around the world. He chose Norfolk as his home, and left a legacy to Old Dominion University, whose impact is vast, touching the lives of aspiring artists and audiences alike. On March 11 in Chandler Recital Hall, Old Dominion University, Virginia Arts Festival celebrates Diehn’s life and music in a sparkling performance of his works featuring some of the region’s finest musicians.
Love, George & Ira: A Gershwin Celebration
Famed Broadway music director and the Festival’s Goode Family Artistic Advisor for Musical Theater and the American Songbook, Rob Fisher cut his musical teeth on Gershwin. The uniquely American music that George and Ira Gershwin created fused classical, Broadway, jazz and Tin Pan Alley to form an exhilarating new kind of music for the 20th century and beyond, conquering stage and screen with enduring classics like “Embraceable You,” “Summertime,” “Love is Here to Stay,” and “Rhapsody in Blue” a favorite for audiences and orchestras. Rob Fisher curated the Carnegie Hall Gershwin Centennial celebrations of Ira’s in 1996 and George’s in 1998. The Gershwin brothers’ timeless songs explore the joys and disappointments of love, brought vividly to life by Ross Lekites (“Brigadoon,” “Frozen”) and Patti Murin (“Frozen,” “Wicked”). In this must-hear concert, Fisher gathers Broadway singers and a swinging quartet for a trip down a memory lane of greatness, courtesy of the immortal Gershwin brothers. The show will take place Saturday, March 28 at 8 p.m. in the Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center, Norfolk.
Lee Greenwood
Making his Festival debut, international country music icon Lee Greenwood brings a celebrated career marked by chart-topping hits, industry honors, and enduring patriotism. A Grammy Award-winner and recipient of multiple CMA and ACM Awards, Greenwood has released twenty-two studio albums, earned seven No. 1 hits, and charted thirty-eight singles. His signature anthem, “God Bless the USA,” reached the Top Five on the country charts three times — an unprecedented achievement — and rose to the Billboard Hot 100 following Sept. 11, 2001. Honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s National Patriot’s Award, Greenwood has also entertained U.S. troops on more than 30 USO Tours He performs on May 3 in the Festival’s Perry Pavilion in Norfolk.
The Lone Bellow
It’s a sound like no other: born in the South, transplanted to Brooklyn, cooked in a Kentucky farmhouse and distilled in a Muscle Shoals studio — true to its roots in country, blues, gospel and indie rock. Fans flock to share this band live, craving concerts of raw, ecstatic energy, with lush harmonies driving songs that pulse with honesty and human connection. May 8 in the Perry Pavilion, hear this ensemble hailed as “arguably the most talented trio working in Americana music today” (Americana Highways).
Michael Mayo
In its 4-star review of his debut album, Jazziz raved, “Michael Mayo has developed his own lush, neo-soul sound that adroitly showcases his clear tenor.” This L.A.-based artist has captivated audiences worldwide with heavenly harmonizing, hard-hitting beatboxing, and heartfelt crooning — now he brings his signature style to the Perry Pavilion May 26.
Palmyra
They met at James Madison University, and now they’re attracting critical acclaim with roots/folk songs that fans can’t get enough of: compulsive and immediate anthems to be sung or shouted out loud. “If it’s possible to fall head over heels for a band, then Palmyra is [that] band. Beautiful, full of gorgeous harmony” (Red Line Roots). Fans can plan for May 27 to hear this band in the Festival’s Perry Pavilion. Co-presented with North Shore Point Downtown.
Cowboy Junkies
In the ‘80s, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something beautiful and reflective — and that audience has followed this iconic roots band through four decades of moving, masterful music. Their “virtuosic blend of folk and rock textures” (No Depression) fills the Perry Pavilion June 7. Co-presented with North Shore Point Downtown.
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