Appalachian folk songs and AC/DC will both take over Herndon High School’s auditorium later this month.

The tunes will come courtesy of the school’s band, known as the Pride of Herndon, which will give a free concert on Oct. 30 as a show of gratitude after the community came through during a recent “Tag Day” fundraiser.

Held this year on Sept. 9, the annual fundraiser involves band students going around town to knock on doors, seeking donations to support the school’s extensive musical program.

“We realize there are many choices when it comes to donating, and we are so grateful to our community for their generosity,” Pride of Herndon director Kathleen Jacoby said. “Tag Day contributions help pay for concert programs, music, uniforms, instrument maintenance, invitational performances, and master instructors.”

The celebratory concert will start at 7 p.m. on the school auditorium at 700 Bennett Street. The program will include classical music and the aforementioned folk songs from the wind ensemble, along with pop and rock jams from the marching band.

Fresh off its 75th anniversary season, the Pride of Herndon has more than 100 students across different ensembles, including marching and jazz bands, a symphonic band, wind and percussion ensembles, an indoor drumline and a color guard.

The band is still raising money so students can travel to Waikiki, Hawaii, for the upcoming Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade, which commemorates the Dec. 7, 1941 attack that officially pulled the U.S. into World War II. The Herndon High School band was selected to represent Virginia in this year’s parade.

According to a message on the band’s website, it remains $5,000 short of its fundraising goal to cover all travel and shipping expenses.

The sounds of Broadway are coming to Fairfax County in a truck this fall.

The Concert Truck will kick off the season with six stops across the county in three days, starting at the Oakwood Meadow Senior Residences in Rose Hill on Sept. 27 and concluding on Sept. 29 at the Providence Community Center in Oakton.

The mobile concert hall will also make stops at The Boro for its inaugural Tysons Fall Mixed Market, George Mason Regional Library in Annandale, the Mosaic District in Merrifield, and Capital One Center in Tysons.

At each stop, The Concert Truck co-founder and pianist Nick Luby will be joined by singer Jacob Lamb for an hour-long performance “featuring arrangements of Broadway classics,” according to a public relations representative for The Boro.

Luby started The Concert Truck with fellow pianist Susan Zhang in April 2016 as a way to expand the accessibility of live music, according to the pop-up’s website.

Equipped with lights, sound and instruments, the 16-foot box truck launched in Columbia, South Carolina, delivering eight performances in five days. It has since appeared across the country and partnered with local and national arts organizations, such as the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera and the Virginia Arts Festival.

The full schedule for the truck’s Fairfax County tour is below.

September 27, 2023 @ 11:00 a.m.
Oakwood Meadow Senior Residences
5815 S. Van Dorn Street, Alexandria, Virginia

September 27, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m.
Boro Park
The Tysons Mixed Market
8350 Broad Street Tysons, VA 22102

September 28, 2023 @ 11:30 a.m.
George Mason Regional Library
7001 Little River Turnpike Annandale, VA 22003

September 28, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m.
Mosaic
2905 District Avenue Fairfax, VA 22031

September 29, 2023 11:00 a.m.
Capital One Center — The Sculpture Garden
1680 Capital One Tower Road Tysons, VA 22102

September 29, 2023 @ 2:30 p.m.
The Providence Community Center
3001 Vaden Drive, Fairfax, VA 22031

For anyone looking to get a more traditional Broadway experience, Capital One Hall is bringing back its “Broadway in Tysons” series for a third year. The season will open with “Jesus Christ Superstar” — which is celebrating its 50th anniversary — on Oct. 20-22, followed by “The Cher Show” on Feb. 16-18, “STOMP” on April 5-7 and “Little Women” on May 17-19.

The guitarist from The Police, a “Glee” crooner and even Emily Dickinson will pay a visit to The Barns at Wolf Trap over the next year.

The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts unveiled an initial lineup of performances today (Tuesday) for the 2023-2024 season at its 382-seat indoor venue, which primarily operates from October through May after the park’s Filene Center concludes its summer season.

Tickets for the newly announced shows will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. this Friday (Aug. 11). They’re already available for purchase by Wolf Trap members, who are donors of $80 or more.

The upcoming season will feature performers from a variety of genres, including rock, musical theater, folk, comedy and chamber music, according to Wolf Trap Foundation President and CEO Arvind Manocha.

“The Barns gives everyone the chance to enjoy their favorite artists in a uniquely intimate setting, and this season continues to underscore Wolf Trap’s commitment to providing diverse and innovative performances for our patrons,” Manocha said in a statement. “We can’t wait to share the rest of this season’s lineup.”

Still performing at 80 years old, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Andy Summers will open the season on Oct. 13 with his “The Cracked Lens + A Missing String” tour, which combines music, photography, theater and short story readings.

Other highlights include jazz from the Branford Marsalis Quartet on Oct. 17-18, the 10th anniversary tour of indie/folk band The Lone Bellow on Nov. 26-27, and a holiday concert by actor and singer Darren Criss on Dec. 2-3.

Criss’s “A Very Darren Chrissmas” show is among several shows aimed at musical theater fans. The Barns will also host singer Linda Eder on Nov. 2, Broadway actor Stephanie J. Block on Feb. 9-10 and Tony Award winner John Lloyd Young on March 1.

In addition, the season will feature chamber music curated by artistic advisor Wu Han, starting on Nov. 3-4 with violinist Pinchas Zukerman celebrating his 75th birthday by playing work by Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Dvořák.

The Orion String Quartet’s farewell tour (Nov. 19), the music of Beethoven (March 10 and April 19) and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (Jan. 28), and Emily Dickinson’s poetry (April 5) will also figure into the chamber music lineup.

A full breakdown of the season from the Wolf Trap Foundation can be found below. Read More

Updated at 12:20 p.m. on 6/23/2023 — The Mosaic Live kick-off event on Saturday has been canceled due to forecasted inclement weather, according to Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik. The series will instead begin on July 1 with the Munit Mesfin Band.

Earlier: Live music will take over Strawberry Lane at Mosaic District this summer.

A new “Mosaic Live” concert series is set to kick off on Saturday, June 24 at 5 p.m. It’s the latest addition to the Fairfax County Park Authority’s annual summer entertainment lineup, which is underway with 118 live performances scheduled at 20 different venues around the county.

The Mosaic Live kickoff event will be headlined by Groovalicious, a band that pays tribute to disco and other 1970s music. The Vienna Singing Princesses will serve as an opening act, with local elected officials expected to attend, according to the Providence District office, which helped organize the series.

Future concerts will begin at 6 p.m. every Saturday through Aug. 19:

• July 1: Munit Mesfin Band
• July 8: Los Three Baritones
• July 15: School of Rock from Vienna
• July 22: Brian Cunningham Project
• July 29: Centro Cultural Bolivia
• Aug. 5: Patrick Alban & Noche Latina
• Aug. 12: Tobago Bay Calypso Band
• Aug. 19: Ocho de Bastos

(Correction: This story initially said future concerts would begin at 6:30 p.m.) 

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik’s office is also bringing back Nottoway Nights, a concert series that will take place on Thursdays at Nottoway Park (9601 Courthouse Road) in Vienna.

Nottoway Nights concerts will begin on July 6 and continue through Aug. 24, running from 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Last year, the Providence District office and FCPA tried out a Global Music & Dance series at the Graham Road Community Building, though the program isn’t returning this year.

The full Summer Entertainment Series schedule can be found on the park authority’s website.

Thrilled to share that in addition to Nottoway Nights in Vienna, we also bring you the Mosaic Live series at @mosaicdistrict! All shows are free, outdoors, and appeal to all ages. If you would like to volunteer for the event, email Providence@fairfaxcounty.gov to coordinate. pic.twitter.com/daudTFlnzv

— Dalia Palchik (@SupvPalchik) June 2, 2023

Lake Anne’s plaza will once again spring to life this summer with concerts.

Lake Anne Live! — an event series that kicked off last year — brings Thursday evening concerts to the plaza from June 15 through July 27.

The free concerts will feature music and dance from local musicians and dance instructors. Attendees will also have the chance to dance along the instructors, according to a release by the Lake Anne and Washington Plaza Merchant Association (LAWPA).

In a statement to FFXnow, the LAWPA team said they decided to continue the series this year due to popular demand.

“Because of the great response, especially to our dance nights, and because of repeated requests from our community and neighbors, we decided to have them again this year,” LAWPA said. “Our aim is to bring our community together for dancing, music, and laughter through the Summer.”

The line-up includes the following:

• June 15 (6-9 p.m.): Salsa Instruction and Dance with David Norton
• June 22, (6-9 p.m.): Swing Instruction and Dance with Gottaswing; pet adoptions by Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
• June 29 (7-9 p.m.): Bruce Corsino concert
• July 6 (6-9 p.m.): Bachata Instruction and Dance with David Norton
• July 13 (7-9 p.m.): To be announced on Lake Anne Plaza’s social media pages
• July 20 (7-9 p.m.): Concert with the Reston Community Orchestra
• July 27 (6-9 p.m.): Salsa and Bachata Instruction and Dance with David Norton

The plaza is located at 1609 Washington Plaza North. All concerts are free.

The Pimmit Hills neighborhood has officially reached the “let’s put on a show” stage of its battle against a planned Washington Gas pipeline.

Faced with escalating legal fees, residents have banded together to stage a “Protect Pimmit Hills Hoedown” benefit concert from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday (June 3) as a fundraiser for four of their neighbors who were sued by the utility company.

The concert will be held at Pimmit Barn (1845 Cherri Drive) with “limited” food available for sale from the food truck, The Big Cheese. Providing the music will be the Pimmit Hillbillies, a band that neighborhood residents formed for this occasion.

“We hope this concert helps reinforce our community spirit by getting neighbors out and meeting each other to join fight this project that affects us all,” resident guitarist Tom Gillespie said. “We will bond over great tunes, grilled cheese sandwiches, and chocolate chip cookies while we talk about our ongoing pipeline battle.”

Filed by Washington Gas on March 3, 2022, the lawsuit challenges a Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals ruling that a special exception permit and 2232 review are required for the natural gas pipeline, the last phase of the Strip 1 Tysons project to upgrade about five miles of pipe from Tyco Road to Pimmit Drive.

A bench trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court had been scheduled for April 25 and 26, but the judge postponed it to the first week of September after the Virginia Supreme Court voided the zoning ordinance that guided the BZA’s decision, according to Christina Chen Zinner, one of the Pimmit Hills residents involved in the case.

Though the ordinance known as zMOD was readopted on May 9, it remains unclear how the Supreme Court’s ruling affected zoning decisions made during the two years when the code was initially in effect.

Because of the trial delay, Zinner and her fellow defendants shared earlier this month that they need to raise an additional $20,000 to cover their legal costs, which have climbed to $45,000. With the help of a recent neighborhood pizza party, they’ve made progress on that goal, raising $38,700 through Gofundme.

The Pimmit Hillbillies hope to finish the job. The band emerged from a virtual meeting, where residents brainstormed fundraising ideas.

“Knowing that I like to sing and play guitar, and compose my own songs, [my wife Stephanie] challenged me during the meeting to compose a protest song to help us promote our Gofundme drive,” Gillespie recalled. “I feel so passionate about fighting this pipeline that the lyrics and notes just flowed out of me.” Read More

Though the solstice won’t arrive for another month, the spirit of summer is already alive at Tysons Corner Center.

After drawing a crowd earlier this month with its first-ever Taste of Tysons, the mall has lined up a variety of free Summer on the Plaza events and activities, including returns of its outdoor family movie nights and a concert series.

The movies will screen from 7-9 p.m. on one Friday each month, starting next week:

• May 26 — Moana
• June 30 — E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
• July 28 — Boss Baby: The Family Business
• Aug. 18 — Matilda

Complimentary popcorn and soft drinks are provided at the screenings.

Similarly taking place from 7-9 p.m., the concert series will launch in June with singer Jarreau Williams, an Alexandria native. In a change of pace from last year’s retro series, the 2023 program is intended to celebrate different genres:

• June 17 — Jarreau Williams (R&B)
• July 15 — Keeton (pop)
• Aug. 19 — Delta Spur (country and classic rock)

For those who can’t wait until June to groove to some live music, The Boro (8350 Broad Street) is hosting a May concert series with the Tysons Community Alliance. The last show, featuring the jazzy Julian Berkowitz Quartet, is coming this Saturday (May 20) from 1-3 p.m.

Throughout the summer, Tysons Corner Center will also have regular art, game, music and fitness activities on the Plaza.

From a press release:

Art Wednesdays
May 3-Aug. 23
5 p.m.
The Plaza

The first four Wednesdays starting May 3 watch live graffiti art come to life. The Lorton Workhouse and Live Art International introduces alternating art concepts for participants to take a drawing class, take home personalized airbrushed swag and more. All materials will be provided.

Wellness Sundays
May 7 – August 20
Class times: 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and noon
The Plaza

Every Sunday experience a new workout and learn about local plants and flowers for Wellness Sundays. Join for Fabletics and The Lorton Workhouse for rotating classes in Pilates, belly dancing, and Boot Camp class and creating your own take-home flower arrangement with Old Dominion Flower Company.

Game Night Thursdays
May 11 – August 31
6 p.m.
The Plaza

Starting May 11th, DC Fray will host a free game night every other Thursday. Game concepts will rotate between Cornhole, Roller Skating, Ping Pong, Bingo, RC Racing and Pickleball. Prizes will be awarded!

Music & Dance Fridays
May 5 – August 11
Classes: 6 p.m. or 6:45 p.m.

Join Silvia and La Musica the first two Fridays of each month starting May 5 through August 11 for salsa lessons and a musical workshop. For beginners, Salsa lessons start at 6pm and bachata lessons begin at 6:45 PM. The La Musica: World of Encanto music workshop for kids will feature musical genres from successful Disney films: Coco, Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros and Encanto for karaoke session with live percussion instruments.

In the beginning, there were the Brute Red Trash Cans.

The simple, plastic buckets were among the first instruments utilized by the Vienna Jammers, along with PVC pipes, bits of metal and other construction materials lying around Vienna Elementary School.

Fast forward about 17 years, and the student percussion group is getting ready to perform on actual marimbas, hand drums and more with Madonna’s former DJ at Capital One Hall in Tysons for the Big Jam, an annual fundraiser and year-end concert.

Set for 6 p.m. this Saturday (May 13), this year’s concert will celebrate the Jammers’ 10th anniversary as a nonprofit and feature a guest appearance by Eric Jao, also known as DJ Enferno, a Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology alum who has also worked with Shakira and Rihanna.

“It’s gonna be a big blowout. We’ve got lots of cool things planned,” Vienna Jammers Executive Director David Reynolds Jr. said, hinting at team-ups with the Legacy Dance Institute and a marimba-playing robot designed by one of the Jammers’ older students.

Though the performance venues have gotten bigger, and the instruments more polished, the Vienna Jammers haven’t lost touch with the scrappy, experimental spirit that fueled its creation.

During the 2005-2006 school year, Reynolds was working as a music teacher at Vienna Elementary when James Madison High School junior Dave Cohen — known by the group as “Dr. DC” — approached him and proposed starting a percussion ensemble for kids as a community service project.

The Jammers began as an after-school activity with about 20 fifth and sixth-graders playing instruments available in the school, from Orff xylophones to the aforementioned trash cans and construction materials.

Reynolds says the initial focus on “found sounds” and non-traditional instruments came partly out of necessity and partly as a nod to the international group STOMP, which closed out a 29-year run in New York City in January.

“The beauty of the marimba for me and percussion is that I can teach a simple part to one group and then teach another simple part to another group, and then you put those two groups together and it sounds like a very complex piece of music,” Reynolds said. “…It sounds like professional quality stuff, but it’s being created by kids, and so I think that kind of adds to the allure of it.” Read More

A Fairfax-based developer is hoping to build a 4,000-seat concert hall and a 163-room hotel in Old Town Fairfax.

The application — first reported by Washington Business Journal — is Ox Hill Companies’ second crack at building an arts and entertainment venue in the City of Fairfax.

Fairfax City’s Planning Commission will discuss the pre-application for the project at a meeting today (Monday) at 7 p.m. Called The Ox, the project would be located at 4020 University Drive, 4029 Chain Bridge Road, 4031 Chain Bridge Road and 4057 Chain Bridge Road.

“The performing arts center, which will be managed by an internationally-known arts and entertainment operator, will attract musical acts and other performing artists to the city,” Walsh Colucci land use agent Robert Brant wrote in the April 20 application. “It will inject activity into the downtowns and transform Old Town Fairfax into an entertainment destination.”

In its first proposal, the company wanted to build a mixed-use project on nearly two acres of Main Street. But the project shifted to a mixed-use residential condominium building due to the pandemic and size constraints, WBJ reported.

With the new concept, nearly 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail or restaurant uses are also proposed on the nearly 4-acre site. A four-level garage with 454 parking spaces is also proposed.

The applicant also plants to construct an east-west public street, with an extension of South Street from Chain Bridge Road to University Drive.

Most of the buildings on the site would be demolished, except for a two-story bank at 4029 Chain Bridge Road.

“The applicant is eager to work with the city and the community on this exciting proposal, which presents an opportunity to implement several key objectives of the comprehensive plan,” the application states.

A local classical composer is preparing to blast off for the world premiere of his newest symphony.

The suite “Cosmic Cycles, A Space Symphony” will be performed for the first time by the National Philharmonic at Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Road) in Tysons at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday (May 11).

Composer Henry Dehlinger, who was born in San Francisco but now lives in Oakton, was commissioned to develop the piece for the orchestra as part of an ongoing collaboration with NASA for the 2022-2023 concert season, according to a press release.

A second performance is scheduled for May 13 at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda.

“Cosmic Cycles is a dream project because it bridges the gap between art and science,” Dehlinger said. “Together with two of D.C.’s biggest stars — NASA and NatPhil — we’re taking the audience on an exploration of the universe through an immersive experience that combines symphonic music and visual storytelling.”

Known for choral music and jazz arrangements as well as symphonic works, Dehlinger previously worked with NASA on “Return to the Moon,” a brass fanfare that debuted with the March 12, 2022 rollout of the main Artemis I launch vehicle for the agency’s new lunar program.

The National Philharmonic has also collaborated with NASA in the past, most recently when it played Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” in February 2022 at Capital One Hall and Strathmore. The music was accompanied by images of planets taken by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

“Capital One Hall is a great venue with an oversized screen that really lends itself to a visual and aural presentation that is designed to project the awesomeness of space and the universe,” said National Philharmonic Director Piotr Gajewski, who will conduct both concerts.

For “Cosmic Cycles,” the process was flipped: Dehlinger composed the music in response to images provided by NASA.

“Henry Dehlinger has been a long-time collaborator with NatPhil and his style of music with sweeping melodies and brilliant orchestrations is perfect, I thought, for the images that NASA was putting forward,” Gajewski said. “When I saw the images, I immediately thought of Henry.”

Gajewski counts Dehlinger as a close friend, per the press release. This will be the third time that the philharmonic has premiered one of Dehlinger’s pieces.

Here’s more on “Cosmic Cycles” from the National Philharmonic:

Cosmic Cycles, A Space Symphony is a seven-movement symphonic suite that draws inspiration from images captured by NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes and visualizations created by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Each movement carries a programmatic title, alluding to the images, illustrations, and videos which informed the composer’s writing process: 1. The Sun; 2. Earth, Our Home; 3. Earth as Art; 4. The Moon; 5. Planetary Fantasia; 6. The Travelers; and 7. Echoes of the Big Bang. In the upcoming performances, these symphonic poems will be paired with HD projections of the visuals.

The concert will be preceded by a lecture and question-and-answer session with a NASA astronaut, along with educational “Ask a Scientist” booths and a kiosk with a touchable lunar rock. At Capital One Hall, those activities will begin at 6:45 p.m., and the booths and kiosk will also be open during intermission.

Tickets are available online through Capital One Hall’s website. Prices start at $19, but all kids get free admission.