Virginia Arts Festival
Light in the Eastern Sky
A day of music and workshops curated by Aoife O'Donovan featuring Aoife O'Donovan & Eric Jacobsen Yasmin Williams The Wildmans
SATURDAY, JUNE 1 PERRY PAVILION

JUST ANNOUNCED! DETAILS ON WORKSHOPS WITH THE ARTISTS,
VENDOR MARKET, FOOD TRUCKS, AND MORE!

GRAMMY® Award-winning artist Aoife O'Donovan brings a spectacular day of music to the Virginia Arts Festival, including performances by multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Yasmin Williams; The Wildmans, the Floyd, Virginia-based band steeped in Appalachian music tradition; and closing out the performances, Aoife herself will be joined on stage by her husband, cellist Eric Jacobsen, music director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
The day begins with workshops with the artists in downtown Norfolk venues—a rare opportunity for area or visiting musicians to learn alongside these seasoned veterans, or just to listen in as artists jam and inspire each other. From 1 to 1:45pm at Grace O’Malley’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, the “Old Time Music Review” workshop features O’Donovan and The Wildmans; and from 4 to 4:45, O’Donovan joins with Yasmin Williams at the Virginia Arts Festival’s Robin Hixon Theater, Clay and Jay Barr Education Center for performances and discussion of melodic and harmonic inspiration.

The main concert event will take the stage at the Festival’s Perry Pavilion at 6:30pm (gates open at 5:30pm).

“The root of all music is the sharing of inspiration and experience, passing along the gift from artist to artist, generation to generation,” said O’Donovan. “We’re delighted to bring this special day of music and joy to Norfolk, and we’re looking forward to some truly inspired collaborations.”

The Virginia Arts Festival’s Perry Pavilion is located at the corner of East Charlotte Street and Bank Street in downtown Norfolk, Virginia—steps from Norfolk’s busy dining corridor and the workshop venues. This side street in downtown Norfolk will come alive with shopping, food and fun, the perfect beginning for a day of music. Local food trucks will provide foodie fare, and patrons can picnic in the Virginia Arts Festival’s courtyard. Nearby parking in the Bank Street Garage makes it an easy park-and-stroll event.

About the Artists
Aoife O'Donovan has been a collaborator throughout her career, starting with Crooked Still, a nontraditional bluegrass group, and on through to her GRAMMY-winning trio, I'm With Her. She is the featured vocalist on The Goat Rodeo Sessions, the GRAMMY-winning multi-genre group with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile. She has appeared as a featured vocalist with over a dozen symphony orchestras, written for Alison Krauss, performed with jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas, and spent a decade as a regular contributor to the radio variety shows "Live From Here" and "A Prairie Home Companion."

Deemed “a vocalist of unerring instinct” by the New York Times, O’Donovan has released three critically-acclaimed and boundary-blurring solo albums: Fossils, In the Magic Hour and 2022’s boldly orchestrated and literarily crafted Age Of Apathy. The album received 3 Grammy nominations (including Best Folk Album) and includes the song “B61” - awarded Folk Alliance International’s Song Of The Year. 2024 brings the release of her 4th studio album All My Friends. Inspired by the letters and speeches of suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt (who founded the League of Women’s Voters), the album questions how much has really changed for American women a century after gaining the right to vote. Amidst a lush soundscape of brass, orchestra, girls' choir and her own compelling vocals, she explores the nations evolution through her compassionate songwriting and voice.
She has also collaborated with Eric Jacobsen, the Virginia Symphony's music director, both in music with his former group, Brooklyn Rider, and in life—they are married and have a daughter.

It's a natural evolution, then, that O'Donovan would curate something new in the Virginia Arts Festival's Perry Pavilion on June 1 with Light in the Eastern Sky. To this day of music at the Virginia Arts Festival, O’Donovan has invited Virginia-born artists who are also pushing musical boundaries. Yasmin Williams, hailed by The New York Times, as “one of the country’s most imaginative young solo guitarists," brings a unique sound; in a rave review of Williams’ latest album Urban Driftwood, Pitchfork wrote "She has a gift for penning melodies that feel as catchy as pop songs, but her approach to the instrument also allows her to confound expectations."

From Floyd, Virginia, the brother and sister-led group The Wildmans grew up jamming around campfires and winning one pickin' and fiddlin' competition after another. They represent the new generation of bluegrass, combining old school roots with formal musical education; each attended the Berklee College of Music.
Closing the show will be O'Donovan and Jacobsen. Each has had their own collaborative adventures with other genre-jumping artists; their own collaboration began when they met at a Brooklyn Fourth of July party. Known to many as the Music Director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Jacobsen is also artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous New York City-based chamber orchestra. The ensemble, founded with his brother,
violinist Colin Jacobsen, grew out of late-night music reading parties with friends, good food and drink, and conversation.

Light in the Eastern Sky
A day of music and workshops curated by Aoife O'Donovan featuring Aoife O'Donovan & Eric Jacobsen Yasmin Williams The Wildmans
SATURDAY JUNE 1
PERRY PAVILION, 451 BANK ST., NORFOLK VA
Co-presented by Virginia Arts Festival, North Shore Point Downtown, and LAVA Presents

The Day’s Events:
1-1:45 pm - “Old Time Music Review” Workshop and Jam Session with Aoife O’Donovan and The Wildmans
Participants are encouraged to bring instruments. Grace O’Malley’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, 211 Granby St., Norfolk
Free to attend.

4-4:45 pm - “Invading Dreams” Workshop with Yasmin Williams and Aoife O’Donovan
Live performances and discussion of melodic and harmonic inspiration
Virginia Arts Festival Robin Hixon Theater, 440 Bank St., Norfolk
Free, but registration is required. Visit vafest.org to register.

5:30 pm - Perry Pavilion Gates Open, Artist Market and Food Trucks Open

Artisan and craft vendors include:
-Studio Shift (@studioshift) - on-site screen printing
-Peanut City Candle. Co (@peanutcitycandleco) - candles
-Cactus Moon Trading (@cactus_moon_trading) – beaded earrings
-Wubys Wings (wubys.wings) – sterling spoon rings made on-site
-Bright Street Ceramics (@brightstreetceramics) – pottery
-Rurals 4 Life (@rurals4life) -freeze-dried fruits, veggies, candy

Food trucks include:
-La Cucina di Sophia – fresh, homemade Italian made fast! Featuring chicken parmigiana sliders, deep fried pizza, prosciutto flatbreads and more.
-Saté Kitchen – Offerings that infuse Southern, Asian, and New England influences on their food – this truck features mac & cheese eggrolls, brisket wontons, hot chicken sammies, and more!

6:30 pm Perry Pavilion performances begin

Performance tickets are $25 - $55, available online at vafest.org, by phone at 757-282-2822, or at the Festival Ticket Office, 440 Bank St, Norfolk (Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm).