WITH VIRGINIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SATURDAY, MAY 22, AT 7:30PM ATLANTIC UNION BANK PAVILION, PORTSMOUTH
Words and Images courtesy of the Virginia Arts Festival.
In a spring season loaded with performances of all kinds, this just-announced Virginia Arts Festival concert promises to be a spectacular return to live music, with a tribute to one of the most inventive and prolific rock superstars of all time, David Bowie. With Broadway star Tony Vincent (Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, American Idiot) on lead vocals and guitar, backed by a rock band, background singers, and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and framed by a mind-blowing light show, Windborne’s Music of David Bowie delivers a full night of Bowie’s greatest hits.
A Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, David Bowie redefined rock from his bold emergence as Ziggy Stardust throughout his shape-shifting career, scoring hits again and again with anthems for a generation, including “All the Young Dudes,” “Fame,” “Young Americans,” “Modern Love,” “Under Pressure,” and many more. Songwriter, composer, brilliant performer, actor, and artist, Bowie both created and defined trends, from music to fashion to film and stage. His influence on music could be felt even after his death; he was awarded five Grammy Awards for his posthumously released album Blackstar.
Windborne, the concert creator, is known for its large-scale recreations of rock superstar experiences, including Music of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Queen, Michael Jackson, The Who, U2, Whitney Houston, The Rolling Stones, and more. Windborne is led by classically trained arranger/conductor Brent Havens, who has written music for orchestras, feature films and virtually every kind of television, from made-for-TV movies to ESPN.
Tickets for the Saturday, May 22 performance at Portsmouth’s Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion are on sale now at vafest.org or by phone at (757) 282-2822. Virginia Arts Festival follows all CDC and state guidelines for Covid safety measures; for more information visit the Festival website at vafest.org.
About the Virginia Arts Festival Since 1997, the Virginia Arts Festival has transformed the cultural scene in southeastern Virginia, presenting great performers from around the world to local audiences and making this historic, recreation-rich region a cultural destination for visitors from across the United States and around the world. The Festival has presented numerous U.S. and regional premieres, and regularly commissions new works of music, dance, and theater from some of today's most influential composers, choreographers, and playwrights. The Festival's arts education programs reach tens of thousands of area schoolchildren each year through student matinees, in-school performances, artists' residencies, masterclasses and demonstrations.