Virginia Arts Festival will light up stages throughout Hampton Roads in 2026 as it celebrates its 29th anniversary season, bringing acclaimed artists from around the world. Throughout southeastern Virginia, Virginia Arts Festival will fill the calendar from November 2025 through June 2026. Tickets for all performances are on sale now at vafest.org, 757-282-2822, and in person at Virginia Arts Festival box office (440 Bank Street in Norfolk).
November 2025 (Preseason events)
Attucks Jazz Club – Ken Peplowski, clarinet
Saturday, November 15, 7:30 PM
Attucks Theatre
Lynnhaven River Now, Musicians of Virginia Symphony Orchestra Benefit Concert
Saturday, November 15, 4:00 PM
Harrison Opera House
Luca Stricagnoli, guitar with Matt Thomas
Sunday, November 23, 3:00 PM
Attucks Theatre
December 2025 (Preseason Events)
VOCES8
Tuesday, December 16, 7:30 PM
Christ & St. Luke’s Church
VOCES8
Wednesday, December 17, 7:30 PM
St. Bede Catholic Church
VOCES8
Thursday, December 18, 7:30 PM
River Road Church, Baptist
January 2026 (Preseason Events)
The Acting Company – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Friday, January 16, 7:30 PM
Attucks Theatre
Attucks Jazz Club – Joel Frahm, saxophone
Saturday, January 17, 7:30 PM
Attucks Theatre
February 2026
Attucks Jazz Club – René Marie, vocals
Saturday, February 7, 7:30 PM
Attucks Theatre
Danish Radio Big Band with Cécile McLorin Salvant led by Miho Hazama
Sunday, February 22, 5:00 pm
Attucks Theatre
March 2026 (Season Events)
BalletX
Connie & Marc Jacobson Opening Night Celebration
Thursday, March 5, 7:30 PM
Chrysler Hall
Joshua Bell & Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Saturday, March 7, 7:30 PM
Ferguson Center for the Arts
Joshua Bell & Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Sunday, March 8, 3:00 PM
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Sérgio & Odair Assad
Thursday, March 12, 7:30 PM
Norfolk Academy
Attucks Jazz Club – Anaïs Reno, vocals
Saturday, March 14, 7:30 PM
Attucks Theatre
Dance Theatre of Harlem – Firebird
Friday, March 20, 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 21, 7:30 PM
Sunday, March 22, 3:00 PM
Chrysler Hall
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Tuesday, March 24, 7:30 PM
Ferguson Center for the Arts
All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Sunday, March 29, 7:30 PM
Attucks Theatre
Meow Meow
Monday, March 30, 7:30 PM
Tuesday, March 31, 7:30 PM
Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center
April 2026
Lucía
Tuesday, April 7, 7:30 PM
Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center
Peppa Pig: My First Concert
Sunday, April 12, 2:00 PM
Chrysler Hall
Borromeo String Quartet & Verona String Quartet
Monday, April 13, 7:30 PM
Kaufman Theater, Chrysler Museum of Art
Virginia International Tattoo
Thursday, April 16, 7:30 PM
Friday, April 17, 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 18, 7:30 PM
Sunday, April 19, 2:30 PM
Scope Arena
Dorrance Dance
Tuesday, April 21, 7:30 PM
Attucks Theatre
Dorrance Dance
Thursday, April 23, 7:30 PM
Ferguson Center for the Arts
One Night in Memphis
Friday, April 24, 7:30 PM
Perry Pavilion
Kayce Laine: Sound Bath
Saturday, April 25, 7:30 PM
Chrysler Hall
Celebrating Adolphus Hailstork’s 85th Birthday
with Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Thursday, April 30, 7:30 PM
L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center, Norfolk State University
May 2026
Attucks Jazz Orchestra
Saturday, May 9, 7:30 PM
Attucks Theatre
James Kealey, Organ
Sunday, May 10, 4:00 PM
Christ & St. Luke’s Church
Music of Queen – A Rock Symphony
with Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Friday, May 15, 7:30 PM
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Tony® Award winner Adrienne Warren
Saturday, May 16, 7:30 PM
Harrison Opera House
Christian McBride with Ursa Major
Sunday, May 17, 5:00 PM
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Coffee Concert: VAF Chamber | Olga Kern, piano
Thursday, May 21, 10:30 AM
Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center
Coffee Concert: VAF Chamber| Olga Kern, piano
Friday, May 22, 10:30 AM
Miller Studio Theatre, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Finding Peace at Potsdam with Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Friday, May 29, 7:30 PM
Chrysler Hall
Finding Peace at Potsdam with Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, May 30, 7:30 PM
Ferguson Center for the Arts
June 2026
Olga Kern and Orava String Quartet
Wednesday, June 3, 7:30 PM
Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center
Thursday, June 4, 7:30 PM
William & Mary Concert Hall
New York Voices
Thursday, June 4, 7:30 PM
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Coffee Concert: Orava String Quartet
Friday, June 5, 10:30 AM
St. John’s Episcopal Church
The Leila
Saturday, June 6, 7:30 PM
Perry Pavilion
Alexandre Da Costa, violin | Tommy Mesa, cello | Olga Kern, piano
Tuesday, June 9, 7:30 PM
Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center
Coffee Concert: Alexandre Da Costa, violin | Tommy Mesa, cello | Olga Kern, piano
Wednesday, June 10, 10:30 AM
William & Mary Concert Hall
Coffee Concert: Alexandre Da Costa, violin | Tommy Mesa, cello | Olga Kern, piano
Thursday, June 11, 10:30 AM
Towne University
A Solo Evening of Music with Chris Thile
Friday, June 12, 7:30 PM
Perry Pavilion
Top Gun: Maverick with Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, June 13, 7:30 PM
Chrysler Hall
Williamsburg Live – Save the dates!
Thursday, June 25, 7:30 PM
Friday, June 26, 7:30 PM
Saturday, June 27, 7:30 PM
Sunday, June 28, 7:30 PM
New Events Added for 2026
More to experience, more to enjoy! Virginia Arts Festival has added more iconic musical artists from classical, jazz, roots rock and Broadway to its 2026 season, making this one of its most robust seasons ever. Featuring broad and diverse programming of music, dance and theater, with an emphasis on artistic excellence and audience engagement, Virginia Arts Festival has become a major arts destination for fans from across the U.S. and around the world.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 30 at 10 am and will be available at vafest.org, by phone at 757-282-2822, or in person at the Virginia Arts Festival Box Office (440 Bank Street in Norfolk).
Joining an already spectacular line-up are these just-announced performances:
Norfolk’s Diehn of Music: Celebrating F. Ludwig Diehn
One man’s lifelong love of music fueled a composing career and endowed programs that would nurture artists for generations to come. F. Ludwig Diehn, 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. March 11 in Chandler Recital Hall, Old Dominion University, Virginia Arts Festival celebrates Diehn’s life and music in a sparkling performance of his works featuring some of the region’s finest musicians.
Love, George & Ira: A Gershwin Celebration
Rob Fisher, music director and conductor
Famed Broadway music director and the Festival’s 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 “Embraceable You,” “Summertime,” “Love is Here to Stay,” and “Rhapsody in Blue” a favorite for audiences and orchestras. Rob Fisher curated the Carnegie Hall Gershwin Centennial celebrations of Ira’s in 1996 and George’s in 1998. The Gershwin brothers’ timeless songs explore the joys and disappointments of love, brought vividly to life by Ross Lekites (Brigadoon, Frozen) and Patti Murin (Frozen, Wicked). 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. Saturday, March 28 at 8pm in the Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center, Norfolk
Lee Greenwood
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, “God Bless the USA,” reached the Top Five on the country charts three times — an unprecedented achievement — and rose to the Billboard Hot 100 following September 11, 2001. Honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s National Patriot’s Award, Greenwood has also entertained U.S. troops on more than 30 USO Tours He performs here on May 3 in the Festival’s Perry Pavilion in Norfolk.
The Lone Bellow
It’s a sound like no other: born in the South, transplanted to Brooklyn, cooked in a Kentucky farmhouse and distilled in a Muscle Shoals studio—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 a “arguably the most talented trio working in Americana music today” (Americana Highways).
Michael Mayo, vocalist
In its 4-star review of his debut album, Jazziz raved, “Michael Mayo has developed his own lush, neo-soul sound that adroitly showcases his clear tenor.” This L.A.-based artist has captivated audiences worldwide with heavenly harmonizing, hard-hitting beatboxing, and heartfelt crooning—now he brings his signature style to the Perry Pavilion May 26.
Palmyra
They met at James Madison University, and now they’re attracting critical acclaim with roots/folk songs that fans can’t get enough of: compulsive and immediate anthems to be sung or shouted out loud. “If it’s possible to fall head over heels for a band, then Palmyra is [that] band. Beautiful, full of gorgeous harmony” (Red Line Roots). Fans can plan for May 27 to hear this band in the Festival’s Perry Pavilion. Co-presented with North Shore Point Downtown.
Cowboy Junkies
In the ‘80s, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something beautiful and reflective—and that audience has followed this iconic roots band through four decades of moving, masterful music. Their “virtuosic blend of folk and rock textures” (No Depression) fills the Perry Pavilion June 7. Co-presented with North Shore Point Downtown.
