This is the weekend the fall music calendar has been pointing at. Five real shows in four days, spanning pop-punk, metal, piano-rock royalty, New Orleans brass, and whatever The Residents are. Here's the rundown.
Wednesday: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Sandler Center, Virginia Beach, 8pm. Troy Andrews brings the full New Orleans street-parade treatment to Town Center tomorrow night, with Abraham Alexander opening. If you've never seen a trombone lead a funk band like a prizefighter, fix that.
Saturday: The Story So Far (tour kickoff)
The Dome, Virginia Beach, 7:30pm. The pop-punk veterans kick off their entire North American tour right here, with The Starting Line and Ultra Q in support. Opening night of a tour in your town is a specific kind of energy — the band's fresh, the setlist's a mystery, and the room knows it. From about $53.
Saturday: Five Finger Death Punch + Cody Jinks
Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater, Virginia Beach. The only October show at the amp, and it's a sledgehammer double bill: metal's most reliable road dogs plus country's most outlaw-adjacent headliner. Tailgate accordingly.
Saturday: Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers
Ferguson Center, Newport News. The Williamsburg native comes home. Hornsby's live shows are where the songs stretch out and get strange in the best way — a piano master with a jam-band heart and a songwriter's discipline.
Sunday: The Residents
Elevation 27, Virginia Beach. Fifty-plus years in, still anonymous, still eyeballs, still the weirdest night on any calendar they touch. With Rushadicus. Go in curious, come out converted or confused — both are correct.
The verdict
If you only do one: Saturday at The Dome is the tour-kickoff electricity. If you do two: add Trombone Shorty tomorrow and make it a whole thing. See you out there.
Quick answers
What concerts are in Hampton Roads this weekend?
The Story So Far (Sat, The Dome), Five Finger Death Punch (Sat, the amphitheater), Bruce Hornsby (Sat, Ferguson Center), Trombone Shorty (Wed, Sandler Center), and The Residents (Sun, Elevation 27).
What time does The Story So Far play at The Dome?
Saturday, October 17 at 7:30pm at The Dome, 400 20th St, Virginia Beach — it's the kickoff of their North American tour.
Where can I see live brass/funk this week?
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue play the Sandler Center in Virginia Beach on Wednesday, October 14 at 8pm.
Brackish On Stage · Every Friday · Trombone Shorty Wed 10/14 · Story So Far, 5FDP, Hornsby Sat 10/17 · The Residents Sun 10/18.