<\/p>\n
HAMPTON ROADS \u2014 The Virginia Arts Festival announced it has added more musical artists from classical, jazz, roots rock and Broadway to its 2026 season.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Tickets go on sale this Friday, Jan. 30, at 10 a.m. and will be available at vafest.org<\/a>, by phone at 757-282-2822, or in person at the Virginia Arts Festival Box Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n The additional acts:<\/strong><\/p>\n Norfolk\u2019s\u202fDiehn\u202fof Music: Celebrating F. Ludwig\u202fDiehn\u202f<\/strong> Love, George & Ira: A Gershwin Celebration<\/strong> Lee Greenwood<\/strong> The Lone Bellow<\/strong> Michael\u202fMayo<\/strong> Palmyra<\/strong> Cowboy Junkies<\/strong> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source wydaily.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Virginia Arts Festival recently announced a slew of new acts slated to perform in the Hampton Roads area over the coming months. (Virginia Arts Festival) HAMPTON ROADS \u2014 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2257016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2257015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Virginia-Arts-Festival-Announces-New-Performances-Added-to-2026-Season.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2257015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2257017,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2257015\/revisions\/2257017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2257016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2257015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2257015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2257015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
One man\u2019s lifelong love of music fueled a composing career and endowed programs that would nurture artists for generations to come. F. Ludwig\u202fDiehn, 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\u2019s life and music in a sparkling performance of his works featuring some of the region\u2019s finest musicians.<\/p>\n
Famed Broadway music director and the Festival\u2019s 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 \u201cEmbraceable You,\u201d \u201cSummertime,\u201d \u201cLove is Here to Stay,\u201d and \u201cRhapsody in Blue\u201d a favorite for audiences and orchestras. Rob Fisher curated the Carnegie Hall Gershwin Centennial celebrations of Ira\u2019s in 1996 and George\u2019s in 1998. The Gershwin brothers\u2019 timeless songs explore the joys and disappointments of love, brought vividly to life by Ross Lekites (\u201cBrigadoon,\u201d \u201cFrozen\u201d) and Patti Murin (\u201cFrozen,\u201d \u201cWicked\u201d). 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.<\/p>\n
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, \u201cGod Bless the USA,\u201d reached the Top Five on the country charts three times \u2014 an unprecedented achievement \u2014 and rose to the Billboard Hot 100 following Sept. 11, 2001. Honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society\u2019s National Patriot\u2019s Award, Greenwood has also entertained U.S. troops on more than 30 USO Tours He performs on May 3 in the Festival\u2019s Perry Pavilion in Norfolk.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a sound like no other: born in the South, transplanted to Brooklyn, cooked in a Kentucky farmhouse and distilled in a Muscle Shoals studio \u2014 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 \u201carguably the most talented trio working in Americana music today\u201d (Americana Highways).<\/p>\n
In its 4-star review of his debut album,\u202fJazziz\u202f raved, \u201cMichael\u202fMayo\u202fhas developed his own lush, neo-soul sound that adroitly showcases his clear tenor.\u201d This L.A.-based artist has captivated audiences worldwide with heavenly harmonizing, hard-hitting beatboxing, and heartfelt crooning \u2014 now he brings his signature style to the Perry Pavilion May 26.<\/p>\n
They met at James Madison University, and now they\u2019re attracting critical acclaim with roots\/folk songs that fans can\u2019t get enough of: compulsive and immediate anthems to be sung or shouted out loud. \u201cIf it\u2019s possible to fall head over heels for a band, then Palmyra is [that] band. Beautiful, full of gorgeous harmony\u201d (Red Line Roots). Fans can plan for May 27 to hear this band in the Festival\u2019s Perry Pavilion. Co-presented with North Shore Point Downtown.<\/p>\n
In the \u201880s, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something beautiful and reflective \u2014 and that audience has followed this iconic roots band through four decades of moving, masterful music. Their \u201cvirtuosic blend of folk and rock textures\u201d (No Depression) fills the Perry Pavilion June 7. Co-presented with North Shore Point Downtown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n