The Lake Anne Plaza summer concert series is making a comeback after a five-year break.

Beginning on Wednesday, June 12, the community will host weekly music events every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. in the plaza until Aug. 12, per a press release. Before 2019, the concert series, known as “Sunset Concerts at Lake Anne Plaza,” had been held consistently for 20 years.

“We are delighted to bring a high-quality variety of musical styles to Lake Anne again,” Reston Community Center (RCC) Board Chair Beverly Cosham said in the release. “Lake Anne Plaza is where RCC’s summer concert series began. As we’ve branched out to some of Reston’s newest neighborhoods, it’s sweet to be back where we started in 2024.”

RCC has agreed to support Reston nonprofit events at Lake Anne Plaza by becoming an annual Community Sponsor.

This sponsorship will allow the the Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association (LARCA) to waive use fees for Reston nonprofits hosting events on the plaza. RCC will also have its concert series fees waived. Two sponsorships will be implemented this year: one for $12,000 covering plaza events in May and June, and another for $50,000 starting July 1, covering events until June 30, 2025.

“We are happy to host RCC-funded Reston area organized events on our property for the enjoyment of the greater Reston community, while at the same time ensuring the maintenance, cleaning, and insuring costs are not borne by the association,” President of LARCA George Hadjikyriakou said in the release. “We look forward to the continued partnership as it benefits everyone.”

The first event is scheduled for June 12, featuring a performance by the Mystic Warriors.

Tysons is the business hub of Northern Virginia, and there’s no business like show business.

Four Broadway shows will be coming to Capital One Hall as part of the 2024-2025 season of Broadway in Tysons.

The shows will be, both in order that they’re coming to Tysons and in worst-to-best order of quality: Shrek the Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away and Chicago.

Tickets will go on sale starting Monday, May 6 at 10 a.m.

This is the fourth year of Broadway in Tysons. One show from the current season, Little Women, will run from May 17-19.

According to the release, the schedule for the upcoming season is: Read More

This summer at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts just got busier.

After announcing an initial line-up in January, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts unveiled additional shows on Tuesday (March 19) that have been booked for its summer 2024 season at the Filene Center, the park’s main outdoor amphitheater, and the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods.

The Filene Center’s season typically kicks off with “Blast Off!,” a free fireworks show, around Memorial Day in May, though the exact date won’t be announced until April in coordination with the President’s Own U.S. Marine Band.

The newly expanded slate of concerts features a range of genres, from 1990s R&B — represented by TLC, En Vogue and Jody Watley on July 5 — to musical theater belted by Tony-winning Broadway star Ben Platt on June 23.

There will be some notable collaborations between Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates and Elvis Costello on July 25, The Who lead singer Roger Daltry and singer-songwriter KT Tunstall on June 12, and indie bands The Mountain Goats and The New Pornographers on Aug. 4.

The National Symphony Orchestra is teaming up with indie musician Beck (July 27) and rapper Nas, who will commemorate the 30th anniversary of his debut studio album “Illmatic” on July 21. It has added “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (July 24) to the list of movies getting a live score accompaniment, and audiences will be able to sing along to “The Sound of Music” on Aug. 16.

Other highlights include The Roots on Aug. 31, country singer Clint Black on July 3, rockers Cake (Aug. 2) and Blues Travelers (Aug. 23), and ’80s new wave band Crowded House, best known for “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” on Sept. 3.

Local musicians will also get a showcase, with rockers Virginia Coalition, emmet swimming and the Pat McGee Band coming together for “NOVA Nite” on Aug.7.

Over at the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, families will be treated to hour-long music, dance, theater, puppetry and magic performances on Tuesday through Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. from June 20 to Aug. 3.

Full schedules for both the Filene Center and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods can be found on Wolf Trap’s website. Tickets for the just-announced shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. next Friday, March 29.

A regional staple in the arts community is returning to Reston Town Center this May.

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art is organizing the Tephra ICA Arts Festival — formerly known as Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival — on May 18 and 19, bringing more than 200 artists from across the country to RTC.

“Tephra ICA Arts Festival has a long-standing reputation for excellence, yet every year we seek to hone and find ways of advancing its impact, audience reach, and onsite experience as a beloved community event,” festival director Hannah Barco told FFXnow.

This year, the festival will include thematic guided tours of artist booths and designated hours for artist demonstration.

Reston Town Center Association will also simultaneously launch its summer concert series — Reston Concerts on the Town — with a free public concert at the pavilion (1825 Discovery Street) on the night of May 18. Attendees will be able to take advantage of the association’s sip and stroll offering, which allow customers to drink alcoholic beverages from select restaurants within a pre-designated zone.

As in previous years, RCC will present a contemporary performance. This year’s selection is “Danielle Hatch’s All is in Motion, Is Growing, Is You,” a site-specific textile installation with an accompanying performance at the RTC Fountain Plaza. Both pieces draw on the founding of Reston, particularly the idea of the collection in the process of community building.

Volunteers can sign up online. Sponsorship slots are also available.

The man behind “Uptown Girls” will get an early birthday party this week in Tysons, Fairfax County’s aspiring downtown.

The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra is set to return to Capital One Hall on Friday (March 8) for “The Music of Billy Joel,” a tribute to the “Piano Man” that will pair the classical group with Broadway star Michael Cavanaugh.

Preceding Billy Joel’s 75th birthday, which will come in May, the concert continues a new series by the FSO and Capital One Center that began last month with a recreation of the 1964 show that introduced the Beatles to the U.S.

“We are so thrilled for another exciting performance with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and cannot wait to welcome the incredible Michael Cavanaugh to the stage at Capital One Hall,” Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said in a press release. “The music of Billy Joel has been the soundtrack for generations of music fans, and we can’t wait for this special performance in Tysons!”

A singer and pianist, Cavanaugh was nominated for a Tony and a Grammy in 2003 for portraying Billy Joel in the musical “Movin’ Out.” He got handpicked for the role by Joel, who saw and joined him on stage during a show that Cavanaugh had in Las Vegas in 2001, according to his website.

After “Movin’ Out” closed in 2005, Cavanaugh began touring across the country to perform renditions of Billy Joel’s songbook. His collaborations with classical orchestras started with the Indianapolis Symphony in 2008.

In a recent interview for WTOP, Cavanaugh described the New York-born singer-songwriter’s music as “eclectic” and “emotional.”

Some of that variety will be on display at the Capital One Hall concert, which will include hits like “Piano Man,” “Just the Way You Are,” “New York State of Mind” and more.

FSO Executive Director Jonathan Kerr said the orchestra “can’t wait” to return to Capital One Hall with another “unique” collaboration “between great artists and the symphonic world.”

“We’re not simply performing music you love; we’re crafting a cultural time machine that transports you back to pivotal moments in music history,” he said in the press release.

The pop-meets-classical series will conclude with a visit to Tysons by the Indigo Girls on May 11 at 8 p.m.

Tickets to the Billy Joel tribute concert start at $35 and are still available through the Capital One Hall and Fairfax Symphony Orchestra websites. The show will start at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7 p.m.

This weekend, the Tysons concert venue (7750 Capital One Tower Road) will also host shows by the Virginia Chamber Orchestra and the Fairfax Jubil-Aires, a Clifton-based choir.

(Updated on 9:05 a.m. on 2/28/2024) The first-ever Battle of the Bands by Friday Night Live! in Herndon is underway.

The last of three preliminary rounds is set for March 9. Winners from each preliminary round — including two others that took place on Feb. 10 and this past Saturday (Feb. 24) — will compete in a final round on April 20. A wild card will also be selected.

The battle is set to take place at Ned Devine’s Irish Gastro Pub and Restaurant, which is located at 2465 Centreville Road in Herndon.

A portion of the $5 entry fee will be donated to several community organizations: The Closet, Herndon Community Television, Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park, and Arts Herndon.

The winner will be crowned with an opening slot for one of this year’s Friday Night Live! concerts on the Town Green and a future gig at Ned Devine’s.

The contest was organized by Friday Night Live! in response to demand from bands that wished to take part in the town’s popular summer music series.

“Friday Night Live! has a strong lineup of returning acts and each season we add new discoveries that our scouts have found throughout the year,” Friday Night Live! Chair Laura Poindexter said. “But we are approached by approximately 100 other bands each year to play our event. That’s why we created the Battle of the Bands, a chance for some of these local bands to showcase their talent to our team and to spread the word about Friday Night Live!’s upcoming 30th season.”

This summer, Friday Night Live! is set to celebrate 30 years with a new, to-be-announced roster of local acts on the East Coast. The season  will include 17 free concerts from May through August and draw over 35,000 patrons, according to a recent update sent to the program’s email list.

The event is produced by the Dulles Chamber Regional Chamber of Commerce through the work of the Friday Night Live! organizing committee.

The final preliminary Battle of the Bands round features bands Berlin Calling, Decibel Therapy, Tell Me More!, The Randos, and Twisted Flags.

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) Annandale High School’s orchestra director is on her way to Los Angeles for the upcoming Grammy Awards.

Annie Ray, who teaches music and leads the orchestra program at the school, is the winner of the 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award, CBS Mornings announced today.

Given out by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum, the award honors music teachers who make a “significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education” in schools. It can go to public and private school teachers of students in preschool through college.

Ray’s family, students and colleagues erupted in cheers when her name was announced during a watch party in Annandale High School’s auditorium, according to Fairfax County Public Schools.

“It’s been a whirlwind experience!” Ray said in a press release. “I’m so thankful to all the people who have poured love into me to allow me to make music. I am honored to have been selected from a remarkable group of educators.”

As the award winner, Ray will get a $10,000 honorarium and a matching grant to support her school’s music program. She was chosen from 10 finalists and more than 2,000 nominees.

Recognized by FCPS just last year as its Region 2 Outstanding Secondary School Teacher, Ray’s three-year tenure at Annandale High has already included the creation of a Crescendo Orchestra for students with severe developmental or intellectual disabilities and an FCPS Parent Orchestra where parents learn to play the same instrument as their kids.

The parent orchestra attracts over 150 parents every year, according to FCPS, which describes Ray as a “passionate advocate for universal access to quality music education.”

“Annie is known for her passion, skill, and belief that every student can achieve greatness,” Annandale High School Principal Shawn DeRose said to FCPS. “Her impact and dedication has made a positive difference in the school community. She truly is an inspiration, and we are so proud of her.”

Before joining Annandale High, Ray taught at Glasgow Middle School in Lincolnia and Annandale Terrace Elementary School.

In an interview with CBS News correspondent Jamie Waxman, Ray said playing in Annandale’s symphony orchestra teaches students confidence and gives them the willingness to make a wrong note. Students describe her as a leader “who doesn’t lead” but instead talks to and encourages them.

The show surprised Ray with a congratulations video from British singer-songwriter Jacob Collier, whose song “Little Blue” became a source of solace after a close friend of hers died.

Ray will officially receive the Music Educator Award at the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony, which will air at 8 p.m. this Sunday (Feb. 4) on CBS.

This summer, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts will see the returns of John Legend and the Out & About Festival, along with some brand-new faces.

The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, the nonprofit that supports and programs the park, announced an initial lineup for the Filene Center’s summer season yesterday (Tuesday) that features both pop and classical shows.

Tickets for all the confirmed shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Feb. 16, though Wolf Trap members who donate $80 or more to the foundation can access presales right now.

In addition to a variety of concerts, Wolf Trap will introduce an expanded concessions building this summer with improved accessibility, including an elevator that will provide a stairs-free connection between the park’s upper and lower levels for the first time. The Meadow Commons project has been under construction since September and is expected to be finished this spring.

“[The Meadow Commons is] the embodiment of our community’s commitment and support to enhance the visitor experience through elevated concessions, improved accessibility, and more,” Wolf Trap Foundation President and CEO Arvind Manocha said. “With this upgrade, we’re dedicated to ensuring that all visitors can savor the magic of a performance at Wolf Trap.”

The Filene Center, the park’s 7,000-seat amphitheater, typically kicks off summer in late May around Memorial Day, but this year, the first performance on the schedule so far is the opera “Seven Deadly Sins” on Saturday, June 1. Kurt Weill’s “sung ballet” will be performed by up-and-coming orchestral musicians and opera singers in a collaboration between the National Orchestral Institute + Festival and Wolf Trap Opera.

The popular music slate starts on June 2 with The Beach Boys, led by original band member Mike Love. They will be followed on June 4-6 by John Legend, who visited last year and will sing songs like “All of Me” and Oscar winner “Glory” with the Wolf Trap Orchestra this year.

Other pop highlights will include:

• June 8: soul singers Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight
• June 9: rock/blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr.
• June 18-19: Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and country singer Alison Krauss, whose June 18 show is a makeup for one that got postponed last year
• June 20: alt-rock band Wilco
• June 22: Out & About Festival, a showcase of LGBTQ artists that launched with Brandi Carlile in 2023. This year’s edition is headlined by Alabama Shakes lead singer Brittany Howard.
• June 29: Broadway in the Park with Arlington’s Signature Theatre
• July 20: author Neil Gaiman will take the audience “on a literary journey”
• Aug. 1: Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me
• Aug. 10: Kidz Bop Live
• Aug. 17-18: Boyz II Men
• Aug. 25: rockers Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge
• Sept. 11: country singer Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• Sept. 12, 14 and 15: James Taylor & His All Star Band
• Sept. 13: actors Kristen Chenoweth and Alan Cumming, singing Broadway hits

On the classical side, Wolf Trap Opera will stage productions of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” (June 21, 23, 29 and 27), Puccini’s “La bohème” (July 19) and the Pulitzer-Prize-winning “Silent Night” by Kevin Puts (Aug. 9, 11, 15 and 17). The Mozart opera will be in The Barns at Wolf Trap, while the others will be at the Filene Center.

The National Symphony Orchestra is also set to perform live scores for screenings of the original “Star Wars” (July 13) and “Ghostbusters” (July 26).

The orchestra will also celebrate the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” on July 12 by conductor Ruth Reinhardt and Wolf Trap Opera artists. The program will include Samuel Taylor-Coleridge’s “Violin Concerto” performed by violinist Njioma Grevious.

Wolf Trap’s 2024 Kay Shouse Great Performance, which is designated annually to honor the park’s founder, will be an evening with the Washington Ballet on Sept. 5.

The full schedule can be found on Wolf Trap’s website.

The Year of the Rabbit is about to give way to the Year of the Dragon.

To welcome the Lunar New Year, which will officially begin on Feb. 10, the McLean Community Center is inviting the public to a free Year of the Dragon Festival and a show by the New York-based Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company on Sunday, Feb. 4.

The festival will take place from noon to 4 p.m. at the community center (1234 Ingleside Avenue) and feature local musicians, dancers and artisans as well as food samples. In a press release, MCC teases that attendees should keep their eyes peeled for an appearance by a dragon.

The festival will be followed at 4 p.m. by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance performance in The Alden, the community center’s performing arts theater. Currently available online, tickets for the roughly 90-minute show cost $30 for general admission, $25 for seniors and students, and $20 for MCC tax district residents.

Here’s more on the company from MCC:

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a professional touring company founded by the visionary choreographer Nai-Ni Chen. Her company’s legacy blends contemporary American and traditional Chinese folk dance styles, creating a unique and captivating experience that reflects the inspiring hope and energy of an immigrant’s journey.

This performance will feature dance, a live musical performance on traditional Chinese instruments as well as lauded company repertoire:

• “Lion in the City,” a collaborative work by Hip-Hop legend Rokafella and Kwikstep with the company’s Director of New and Contemporary Dance, Peiju Chien-Pott.
• “Dragon Path,” a new work by emerging choreographer Aloe Ao Liu.
• “Mongolian Festival,” a new work created by resident choreographer Lawrence Jin.

“This festival is great for those who have never celebrated the Lunar New Year before as well as those who have grown up with this tradition,” The Alden Director of Youth Theatre Programs Danielle Van Hook said. “We love having additional cultural experiences prior to performances to provide a more complete picture of the cultures that art comes from.”

Spanning the 15 days between a new moon and full moon, the Lunar New Year is generally celebrated in late January or early February in China and other Asian countries with a significant Chinese population, like South Korea and Vietnam. Specific traditions vary between cultures, but they often involve family gatherings, food and musical performances.

Northern Virginia’s Vietnamese community kicked off festivities early this past weekend with the La Vang Lunar New Year Festival, which was expected to draw over 20,000 attendees to the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, according to the Washington Post.

Other scheduled events in Fairfax County include a Feb. 3 celebration at Tysons Corner Center, organized by the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, and the 21st annual Lunar New Year Celebration at Fair Oaks Mall, which will unfold over two days on Feb. 17-18.

The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and Capital One Hall in Tysons will throw back to 1964 next month — specifically to the D.C. concert that helped introduce The Beatles to America.

The Merrifield-based classical orchestra has partnered with Classical Mystery Tour, a Beatles tribute band, for a Beatles 60th Anniversary Tribute concert that will take over Capital One Hall on Feb. 10, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Recreating the Fab Four’s Feb. 11, 1964 show at the Washington Coliseum, the concert will kick off a new series that the Fairfax Symphony has planned for this year at Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Road), extending a partnership that dates back to the performing arts venue’s launch in 2021.

“Our partnership with Capital One Center is like a finely tuned ensemble,” Fairfax Symphony Executive Director Jonathan Kerr said in a press release. “Together, we’re able to curate an immersive series of concerts that resonate with audiences. We’re excited to ‘perform’ in such a harmonious partnership that enriches the community!”

Envisioned as a showcase for “generation-defining music,” the series will continue on March 8 at 8 p.m. with the Music of Billy Joel. For that concert, which is timed to the 45th anniversary of Joel’s album “52nd Street” and his upcoming 75th birthday, the orchestra will be joined by musician Michael Cavanaugh, a Tony and Grammy nominee for his starring role in the Billy Joel jukebox musical “Movin’ Out.”

The series will conclude — at least for this season — with a collaboration with the Indigo Girls on May 11 at 8 p.m. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, who make up the folk rock duo, have been performing arrangements of their music with symphonies around the country since 2012.

Supported by a partnership with ArtsFairfax, which vets community groups seeking to use the Tysons venue, Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith says the concert series is intended to blend “popular music artists spanning multiple decades, with melodious, symphonic accompaniment.”

“Capital One Center is thrilled to partner with the Fairfax Symphony to bring three, very different and dynamic collaborations to life,” Griffith said. “…Together with the FSO, we’re creating unique concert experiences to serve our diverse Fairfax County and broader region, all made possible by the special public-private partnership between Capital One, Fairfax County and ArtsFairfax.”

The next show coming to Capital One Hall will be standup comedian Fortune Feimster, who is returning for two shows at 7 and 9:30 p.m. this Saturday (Jan. 20).