We Love You, John Hughes-Virginian Pilot

These days, coming-of-age movies tend to center around supernatural anti-heroes like vampires and zombies or self-obsessed millennials like the gang in the current flick, “The Bling Ring.”

It can make a movie fan nostalgic for a time when adolescent archetypes involved sensitive weirdoes, wacky wise guys and loveable geeks. “It’s kind of sad,” said comedian Anna Barbay of the recent teen movie trend.

As someone who can quote dialogue from every John Hughes movie ever made, it’s safe to assume the Chesapeake comic favors plotlines based on say, a group of teenagers baring their souls to each other during a Saturday morning of school detention or a kid who fakes being sick to play hooky from school.

That is, films like the Hughes teen-centric classics, “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

“Everyone can relate to being an awkward teenager or having raging hormones that make you go completely bonkers,” said Barbay, a member the Hampton Roads based comedy troupe, Nerd Alert.

During the eighties, John Hughes had a hand in creating some of the most iconic teen films of the era, but he also mined comic gold outside of the adolescent genre with hits like “Planes Trains and Automobiles” and his biggest grossing hit, “Home Alone,” which starred then 8-year old, Macaulay Culkin.

Pop culture expiration dates are fleeting but the movies of John Hughes remain relevant thanks to cable television. “Most of us in Nerd Alert grew up in the nineties when the TBS network seemed to play the entire John Hughes catalog on an endless loop,” said Barbay.  Nerd Alert will skewer those films in “We Love You, John Hughes,” their first headlining comedy show, being staged Friday and Saturday at the Venue on 35^th in Norfolk.

 “We’ve taken some familiar characters and put them in different situations,” said Barbay.  “Even if you’re not a John Hughes fan you’ll have a laugh because of the utter ridiculousness of some of the sketches.”

Nerd Alert first performed together last summer to compete for an opening slot at the Norfolk Comedy Festival. Several of its members had met while training under the instruction of The Pushers, a local sketch and improv comedy troupe including some of the writers behind the off-Broadway hit “Cuff Me, The Fifty Shades of Grey Musical Parody.”  Although they didn’t win the contest, Nerd Alert felt like they were on to something. “We all meshed together really well,” said Barbay.  “We were all once extremely nerdy kids who read comic books and were socially awkward. To disguise that fact, most of us became the class clowns in high school.” 

John Hughes died of a heart attack four years ago at the age of 59.  Although he retired from filmmaking in 1994, the characters he created are unforgettable.  Each member of Nerd Alert has a favorite.

Travis Carl:

Dean Edward Rooney from Ferris Bueller, for his tenacity and never quit attitude. He also has a pretty sweet mustache.

Rafael Henriquez:

Cousin Eddie from “Vacation.” Beastly man. Leisure suit. Kansas plates. Enough said.

Colleen Kristen:

Allison Reynolds i.e. the weird girl in “The Breakfast Club.” I firmly believe in the power of awkwardness, and Allison was a master of this skill. Plus, she got the hot bad boy in the end.

Stephen Johnson:

Kevin McCallister from “Home Alone.” If you are ever abandoned by your family and forced to protect your castle against intruders, it's not half as bad as dating Buzz's girlfriend. Woof.

April Threet:

The raccoons from “The Great Outdoors.” I love wise-cracking, talking animals.

Dante Alvarado:

Ferris Bueller is the reason people use the sick excuse for missing school and work...Ferris pulled off the ultimate "I need a me day" by trashing an expensive car, hanging with his girl, and romping through Chi-town.”

Matt Cole:

Del Griffith in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” for keeping his laughter, smile and unending optimism in the face of tragic personal loss and hardship. He makes Steve Martin's character, with his wife and loving family, look like a whiny little girl!

Lisa Bolen:

Duncan from “Some Kind of Wonderful.” He's the bad boy with a heart of gold. He will beat up the jerks who mess with his friends, and he'll be witty while he does it.

Anna Barbay:

Jack Butler from “Mr. Mom.” I share a mutual understanding of what it's like to be bullied by a preschooler and toddler, while your spouse goes off to do grown-up things. It's almost like watching a biography of my own life, if I were a dude.

 

Teenapalooza-Virginian Pilot Newspaper

In the fall of 1992, Virginia Beach native Al Midgett got the news that his wife was pregnant with their first child.

Just five months later, their son came into the world weighing only 1 pound, 4 ounces. Consequently, the tiny tot suffered serious health complications that resulted in a hefty hospital bill.

Friends and neighbors rallied around the family and hosted a fundraiser to help defray costs.

That act of goodwill was the inspiration behind The Noblemen, a nonprofit organization Midgett formed two decades ago to raise money for children’s charities in Hampton Roads. The Nobleteens, an offshoot of the group, was formed five years ago at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach.

Since then, the student-run philanthropic group has expanded to every public high school in the city.
This Sunday, the Nobleteens host Teenapalooza III, a benefit concert featuring teens at The Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach. Funds raised in previous years have been used to help homeless teens and children battling cancer.

“These kids are aware of what’s going on in their community outside of their TVs, computers and iPhones,” said event co-director Eric Brass of The Nobleteens. “They’re engaged in what’s happening in the world around them.”

Brass has kids of his own involved with the teen charity and credits the group for inspiring teens.
“Anything a kid can get involved with that implies civic engagement is a good thing,” he said. “It brings out the best in them and gives them confidence and leadership qualities.”

The benefit concert will feature young bands from all over Hampton Roads, and Brass hopes the event will help spread the charity’s reach.

“I think there’s going to be a real push to expand Nobleteens to schools in Norfolk, Chesapeake and all of Hampton Roads.”
The most distinctive aspect of this particular event is its teen-centric emphasis.

“There are a lot of benefit concerts that support kids, but most of them involve adults,” Brass said. “Teenapalooza is special in the sense that the kids really run the show. Kids organize it, kids perform and kids reap the benefits.”

One of them is Matt Shwayze, singer/guitarist in the rock band To Build Mts. He’s also Al Midgett’s son, the preemie who inspired it all.

Who are the musicians starring in Teenapalooza? Here’s a primer:

Alana Springsteen The Virginia Beach native’s first major performance was singing the national anthem at a Norfolk Tides game. Since then, the 12-year-old has performed with country duo Sugarland and is the youngest songwriter to play Nashville’s influential Tin Pan South Songwriter Festival.

User Friendly Formed last year by four friends from Kempsville High School, the rock quintet really took off after the addition of female powerhouse vocalist Sammi Seacrest from Ocean Lakes High.

Just Folks With its blend of alt-folk and indie pop, this newly formed quartet should appeal to fans of such acoustic-based acts as The Lumineers or Mumford & Sons.

Coastland Playing a blend of power pop with a modern edge has landed this Virginia Beach five-piece outfit on the airwaves of alt-rock radio station 96X.

Zig Zag This five-piece band of Cox High School students plays high-energy music and covers everything from the B-52s to the Beatles.

The UnXpected Even kids can get the blues. Ranging from age 11 to 15, this Peninsula-based quintet performed earlier this year at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

Norfolk Harborfest-Virginian Pilot

The organizers of Harborfest have a lot to live up to after last year's annual waterfront festival coincided with OpSail, which was like the traditional Norfolk maritime celebration on steroids.

"OpSail was really a special once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing," said Ted Baroody, president of Festevents, which stages Harborfest.

"We won't have that international component of the tall ships coming in from all over the world, but we will still have an awesome domestic fleet of vessels coming through and some really unique water-related programming."

It may not top the global grandeur of OpSail, but watching someone fly 40 feet in the air with a jet pack still sounds pretty cool.

That's one of the new additions to this year's Harborfest, which runs Friday through Sunday at Town Point Park in downtown Norfolk. A kickoff seafood feast is tonight. The 007-inspired jet-pack spectacle will feature superhero-style stunts and a pilot who can literally walk on water.

"The jet pack is water-propelled, so the show will take place over the river," Baroody said. "The water is pumped up through a tethered line, and then the operator can hover and fly and do all kind of neat tricks."

Additional aquatic adventures will include paddle-boarding demonstrations and a water swing that allows riders to pass through gaps in a waterfall. Young kids, and cryptozoologists, will likely make a beeline for the mermaid aquarium, which will feature live "mermaids" and storytelling.

Over the course of its 37-year history, Harborfest has evolved into a party on the Elizabeth River that includes live music, food and fireworks; this year's model is no exception. But at its core, the event is a celebration of the nautical history of Hampton Roads.

"Harborfest was inspired by a tall ship that visited Norfolk when the city didn't even have a public space for the boat to dock," Baroody said. Nearly four decades in, the gathering is now one of the biggest waterfront festivals on the East Coast.

"Even though we have national live music acts, the Elizabeth River truly serves as our main stage," Baroody said.

In addition to the new water elements, Harborfest is bringing back some of the traditions left out last year to accommodate OpSail, like the popular tug boat show and the Chesapeake Bay Workboat races.

And naturally, there will be the popular Parade of Sail.

Although the tall-ship element will be scaled down from last year, festivalgoers will get a chance to experience them in a new way.

"Most, if not all, of the tall ships will be open to the public for tours, but this year we've also added a ticketed option," Baroody said. "Guests will have the opportunity to go out on a 45-minute sail on two of the tall ships, the Sultana and the Schooner Virginia."

OpSail didn't have that.

LOUD HARBOR

For many music fans, Harborfest is the unofficial kickoff to the outdoor concert season. Here's a look at the headliners: 

O.A.R. 8: 30 p.m. Friday The band's reggae-infused blend of roots rock first gained popularity with the jam band crowd. Over 15 years, O.A.R. has honed its freewheeling fraternity house vibe to include a more indie-centric pop rock approach.

Eddie Money 8 p.m. Saturday Chart-topping classic rocker Eddie Money's most recent gig as a TV pitchman for Geico serves as a good reminder why his seminal hit "Two Tickets to Paradise" endures as pop culture ear candy. Catchy, blue-collar rock 'n' roll is the former cop's trademark.

Rusted Root 4:30 p.m. Sunday With its infusion of rock, world beat and a strong percussive element, Rusted Root is perhaps best known for its bouncy 1994 radio hit "Send Me on My Way." The ubiquitous song with the penny whistle solo has since been featured in too many TV commercials and movie soundtracks to list.

Jana Kramer Feature-Virginian Pilot Newspaper

People really like Jana Kramer.

The comely country music newcomer is getting the kind of fan, and industry, support that suggests she isn't just the latest in a long line of Nashville's pretty faces.

Kramer recently was named top new female vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards - over critical darling Kacey Musgraves. The video for her hit "Why Ya Wanna" is up for two awards at the Country Music Television Awards show on Wednesday. And she's been nominated for a Teen Choice Award alongside Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

Then there's the summer gig opening for "The Voice" star Blake Shelton, whose tour starts at Farm Bureau Live in Virginia Beach on July 19.

Not bad, considering Kramer released her first record just under a year ago.

But then again, it's not like the 29-year-old Michigan native is a showbiz novice. Some fans may know her for her three-year run as fashionista Alex Dupre on TV's " One Tree Hill." Others may be familiar with her roles on NBC's " Friday Night Lights" or HBO's "Entourage."

"I do miss acting, and one day I'd like to balance both of them, but music has always been my first love," said Kramer, who performs Saturday at the Patriotic Festival at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. "At this point I consider myself a country music singer who can act and not the other way around."

It's a fair assessment considering Kramer's eponymous debut album of country-pop has yielded two hit singles, with a third, "I Hope It Rains," climbing the charts.

Even so, trading TV for music was a leap of faith that some of the singer's own advisers were against.
"They said that a lot of actresses try country music and hardly any of them break through," Kramer said. "They didn't scare me.

"Besides, I don't like rejection. I knew that I was going to do this no matter how long it took or how hard I would have to work. Music is my passion."

With her good looks and charmed resume, it might be easy to assume that Kramer comes by her self-confidence naturally.

Not so.

"Ever since I was a little girl I used to do singing competitions and dreamed of being a singer, but I shied away from it for the longest time. I would always tell myself that I wasn't good enough."
But as she got older, Kramer started rewriting her internal dialogue.

"You have to believe in yourself and fight for what you want."

It's a self-empowerment mantra that has won Kramer a large fan base of young girls, whom she communicates with regularly on social media.

"I actually heard about the Teen Choice Awards from one of my fans on Twitter. To even be considered a role model for young girls is really sweet, and I want to continue to be someone they can look up to."

Lyrically, Kramer's songs range from heartbroken, tender ballads to festive feel-good anthems. In short, they tell good stories.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do," she said. "I want to make people laugh and cry and just feel. I want to have an impact."

Mill Point Music Festival-Virginian Pilot Newspaper

Several months ago, Casey Haas drove his food truck past Mill Point Park in downtown Hampton and noticed something had changed.

"There was a brand-new stage with a nice new awning and seating," he said. "The city gave the park a nice face-lift."

Inspiration struck soon after at a bar in downtown Hampton.

"I was having a few beers with my brother and a friend, and we got to talking about putting on a music festival."

Next, Haas picked up his cellphone and called a friend who worked for the city's parks department.
"I asked her if it was something that would be hard to do, and she said no."

Before they knew it, Haas, his brother Alex, and Sean Pepe, owner of the Hampton Board Shack, had become concert promoters. On Saturday, five bands will perform on the main stage at the inaugural Mill Point Music Festival. A variety of acoustic-based acts will perform on a side stage.

"The park is gorgeous and underutilized," said Haas. "It's ready for some good cultural programs."
The Haas brothers will pull double duty at the free festival. Their food truck, labeled Stuft, will be one of four mobile eateries offering street food. Local microbrews will be on tap from Hampton's St. George Brewing Co., and local vendors will exhibit their goods.

"Downtown Hampton is really an awesome, forward-thinking community," Haas said. "It's very arts- and music-related, and this festival is a chance to bring it all together."

Saturday's lineup offers an array of musical genres. Here's an overview of the main stage performers:

Seth Stainback and Roosterfoot
With his vivid storytelling and powerful voice, Stainback has quickly made a name for himself in Hampton Roads. The Virginia Beach-based musician's first full-length CD, "Earth & Worm" is a 13-track collection of blistering blues rock and raw country soul.

Jackass Flats
Over the past few years, Jackass Flats has emerged as adept ambassadors for the evolution of Virginia bluegrass. Formed in Richmond more than a decade ago, the band initially stayed true to the traditional high lonesome sound but has since introduced alternative country and rock into the mix.
Dharma Initiative

Employing two keyboards, bass and drums, this Hampton-based band with the sly "Lost" reference brings together an exotic world beat in which trip-hop, reggae and cool jazz comfortably coexist.
The Beets Collective
This quartet, rooted in traditional reggae, infuses elements of blues and experimental rock.

Sean Petersen Experiment
A one-man band, the Chesapeake musician plays guitar while using digital sound- looping technology to create a full band sound. If you've ever wondered how the Grateful Dead would sound playing a Snoop Dogg song, then Petersen's your guy.