Music Venues and Institutions
For larger concerts and events, Virginia has the Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow (marketed as D.C. for most tours), the Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach in Virginia Beach, the Richmond Coliseum, the Hampton Coliseum and the Norfolk Scope. Vienna is home to the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, the only National Park for the arts in the United States. Wolf Trap features a large outdoor amphitheatre, the 7,000 seat Filene Center, as well as a smaller indoor venue called The Barns. The Old Dominion Opry is another major venue, located near Colonial Williamsburg, a popular tourist attraction.
Virginia's other prominent music venues include The Birchmere in Alexandria, a local country and bluegrass club where Mary Chapin Carpenter performed early in her career. The Landmark Theater in Richmond and the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk both host the Virginia Opera. Phase 2 (the former Cattle Annie's, but significantly remodeling in 2010) is a popular, large club venue in Lynchburg with a reputation for attracting prominent performers. Garth Newel Music Center in Hot Springs was once a farm that is now known for classical, jazz, and blues concerts with gourmet meals and views from the side of Warm Springs Mountain.
Richmond's 929 West Grace Street has housed a punk and rock-oriented club nearly uninterrupted for nearly three decades. Most famously known as Twisters throughout the 1990s, more recently the building has been known as Club 929, The Nanci Raygun, and Bagel Czar before re-opening in 2009 as Strange Matter. Like its predecessors, Strange Matter hosts up-and-coming local and national touring acts nearly every night. Alley Katz in Richmond continues to have regular shows. Toad's Place accommodated mid sized bands in 2007 and 2008 but closed shortly after that time. Another mid sized venue is The National which holds around 1,500 people.
The Hampton Roads area also has several more intimate venues. The most prominent of them is the Norva Theatre, which is a small club-style venue for smaller to mid-size acts.
The Shenandoah Valley hosts a few smaller venues. The mockingbird in downtown Staunton hosts a 168-seat newly renovated grass roots and acoustic music hall. Clementine cafe in downtown Harrisonburg has cemented itself as the premier venue in the valley. The Basement of the Blue Nile in Harrisonburg is one of the most popular stops for up-and-coming touring bands.
Read more about this topic: Music Of Virginia
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