5 Things for Teens: Sports, theatre, performance, video games, and music

The ways of weekends in Richmond are swift, sometimes athletic, and musical and poetic. This weekend moves fast. Here are a few things to do to slow it down.

February 19, 2016; 11:56 AM • by Chris Bolling

1. The Top of Bravery: An Evening with Bert Williams

Bert Williams was one of the great Vaudeville performers at the turn of the century whose legacy lived longer than he did. The life, and story of Bert Williams will be played by Jeremy Morris, a Virginia Beach native. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Why should I learn about history outside of school? ” [insert some attitude-filled emoji here]. Well, my dear friend, the question should really be: Why not ?

Friday, February 19th • 7:00 to 10:00 PM
Robinson Theatre, 2903 Q Street
$10

2. VCU Rams vs. Richmond Spiders

“…And another one”–DJ Khaled. Big ups to VCU for beating Saint Louis last week. but can they get “another one” and “another one?” We shall see on Saturday. “Bless up boy, bless up”– also DJ Khaled. This win could be a major key to success for VCU, and also for you…when deciding what college you want to go to. Anyway, all quotes aside, it should be a good game,

Friday, February 19th • 7:00 to 10:00 PM
Stuart C. Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad Street
Tickets are the usual price of $25 (student discount may apply)

3. The Bitter Liberals w/ Special Guest Charles Arthur

The music scene in RVA is impressively diverse. We (as a city) have produced a ton of different rappers, musicians, singers, punk bands, DJs, etc. The Bitter Liberals are composed of four “well-seasoned” (their words, not mine) musicians whose collective talents remind me a bit of sitting in a rocking chair, on my front porch (my words not theirs). But don’t let their name nor my description stop you from seeing a group of guys perform. Disclaimer: Some of them may look like your distant uncle who lives in West Virginia. But there’s no correlation, I think.

Saturday, February 20th • 7:00 – 11:00 pm
Tin Pan Alley, 8982 Quioccasin Road
$15 in advance, $18 at the door

4. RIchmond Symphony presents Video Games Live

Confusing title? Let me explain. So you know the music that’s in Halo, Call of Duty, and a few other MMORPG’s? So those songs that turn into white noise when you’re three hours deep into a video game? Well get this, the Richmond Symphony will be performing some songs from the most popular video games of all time, as well as revealing special show production techniques, and visual elements in addition to pre- and post-show activities such as a costume contest and Guitar Hero competition. Oh man, what a time to be alive.

Saturday, February 20th • 8:00 – 10:00 PM
Altria Theatre, 6 N. Laurel Street
Ticket pricing will range from $20 to $70 (Subject to availability, so get ’em while you can)

5. Generation Dream

So do you guys know, the scene in every 80’s movie where the mom is recording her son perform with the family’s old VHS tape recorder? Well, this is that performance and instead of having VHS tape recorders, we can just use phones. Easier, right? But on a serious note, the point of these performances are for young people and adults to express their voices through poetry, song, music, dance, etc. in regards to social issues concerning their communities and to honor the legacy and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Sunday, February 21st • 3:00 to 6:00 PM
Huguenot High School 7945 Forest Hill Avenue
This is the free thing on the list, and I think it would be wise to partake in it