By Eliza Berkon, Winn Duvall, Stefanie Gans, Beth Kellmurray and Lynn Norusis
This week, Northern Virginia Magazine editors are looking forward to music from The Little Mermaid performed at Wolf Trap and art shows at the Fairfax Art League and Reston Community Center, plus what we’re listening to now.
Immersing myself under the sea
June 29-July 2
For the next installment of my endless-concert summer, I will be lazing in the grass and sipping some sauv blanc while kicking back to the quasi-Caribbean sounds of The Little Mermaid this Saturday afternoon at Wolf Trap. OK minus the wine and kicking back part; I’ll most likely be chasing after my 2-year-old son while my daughter jumps up and down with unbridled excitement, eyes glued to the stage. –EB // Wolf Trap: 1551 Trap Road, Vienna
Streaming The Storm
June 30
This Friday, my Spotify will be dedicated to The Storm, the first full-length album from bluesy singer-songwriter ZZ Ward since 2012’s Til The Casket Drops. Admittedly it’s a little less exciting because she’s released five new songs (three of which I’ve already overplayed) since March, but the full album will be on heavy rotation at least through the weekend. –WD
Cheryl Wilson abstract expressionist solo show Remembering Alice opening reception
July 1, 6-9 p.m.
One time I was finishing lunch at Mosaic and before I popped into Last Call to check out shoes, I turned into Gallery 57. I didn’t know there was a semi-pop-up gallery in the town center, and the works were all so gorgeous and interesting and bright and moody, and clearly, I don’t have an art critic’s jargon. Anyway, I met Cheryl Wilson there and told her that instead of buying a pair of sandals, I’d buy one of her pieces. She’ll debut a new exhibit about her mom that she says “captures the essence of this beautiful woman’s life suffering with Alzheimer’s.” The show is on view until July 30. –SG // Fairfax Art League’s Wing (Village) Gallery: 3950 University Drive, Fairfax
Mounted inspiration
Through July 3
Art takes up a big space in my life and my surroundings. I am always on the lookout for pieces that inspire me, and to find them, I often head to local galleries. This week, I will try to get to the Reston Community Center exhibit Road Trip to find a piece by a local photographer from the Reston Photographic Society to hang on my office wall. What better incentive to work hard and be productive than a piece of art right in your eye line that captures a beautiful space to escape to? –LN // Reston Community Center: 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston
Podcasts for the road
I’m spending the Fourth with family in Michigan, which requires a 10-hour drive. (Yes, I know, that’s a lot of hours in a very small Honda Fit with a grumpy orange cat in the backseat.) I take these trips as an opportunity to catch up on (or stockpile) recent episodes of my favorite podcasts. For me, that means The Watch, a pop culture podcast from The Ringer that recently put out a couple of episodes about the best movies of the 21st century (so far) inspired by this New York Times list; Song Exploder, a podcast that breaks down songs to their parts and mechanics; and The Weeds, a policy podcast from Vox. But I also make a point to try a podcast I haven’t listened to yet, so for this trip to the mitten, I’ll listen to Homecoming, a six-part scripted series pitched as a psychological thriller with actors Catherine Keener, Oscar Isaac, David Schwimmer, David Cross and Amy Sedaris. I missed it when it debuted at the end of last year. –BK
Find out more of what’s going on in NoVA this week at our events calendar.
