Booking

Music & Performing Arts

You won’t find a more enlightening — and inspirational — environment than the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts! From gallery talks and tours to art classes, seminars, teacher programs, and family fun, the museum offers a variety of learning experiences for every age and every interest.

Specials

VMFA Members enjoy discounts on many of our classes and programs. Click here for more information.

Jazz Cafe

Dominion Energy Jazz Café | Sam Rucker

Join us every Wednesday for in-person performances by some of the area’s best jazz musicians.

Virginia native Sam Rucker has developed a saxophone sound that is powered by deep, spiritual purpose, leaving a unique fingerprint on the canvas of modern jazz. Rucker has four studio albums and multiple placements on the Billboard Top 30 Smooth Jazz radio chart. As he likes to say, “It's music you can feel. Feel the flavor!"

Know Before You Go

  • Seating is limited and provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Early arrival is strongly recommended.
  • Saving seats for others is discouraged.
  • Seats can no longer be saved once the performance begins.
  • Please do not move the chairs and tables.
  • No outside chairs or gallery stools are permitted.
  • No outside alcohol is permitted.
  • Harassing, discriminatory, or threatening behavior is strictly prohibited.

Maintaining a free, safe, and accessible experience for all is our priority. Come and enjoy the music!

Dominion Energy Jazz Café is presented in partnership with the Richmond Jazz Society.

This event is part of our Dominion Energy Jazz Café program series.

Dominion Energy Jazz Café | Carlehr Swanson

Join us every Wednesday for in-person performances by some of the area’s best jazz musicians.

Jazz Café welcomes Richmond native—and Miss Virginia 2024—Carlehr Swanson! She will the timeless music of Alicia Keys to life for Jazz Café, blending soulful vocals and piano artistry in a performance that celebrates passion, creativity, and connection through song. Featuring Noah Pierre on guitar, Stephen Arnold on bass, Kofi Shepsu on drums, and vocalists Triniti Cunningham, Frankie James, and Olivia Stith. This performance is in conjunction with VMFA’s opening events for the exhibition Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.

Know Before You Go

  • Seating is limited and provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Early arrival is strongly recommended.
  • Saving seats for others is discouraged.
  • Seats can no longer be saved once the performance begins.
  • Please do not move the chairs and tables.
  • No outside chairs or gallery stools are permitted.
  • No outside alcohol is permitted.
  • Harassing, discriminatory, or threatening behavior is strictly prohibited.

Maintaining a free, safe, and accessible experience for all is our priority. Come and enjoy the music!

Dominion Energy Jazz Café is presented in partnership with the Richmond Jazz Society.  

This event is part of our Dominion Energy Jazz Café program series.

Dominion Energy Jazz Café | Robert Stith

Join us every Wednesday for in-person performances by some of the area’s best jazz musicians.

As we get ready for the holiday season, Jazz Café offers “Soul Thanksgiving” featuring songwriter, producer, and soulful singer Rodney Stith, whose powerful, urban, Southern sound brings back the vibes of classic rhythm and blues. With a persona that's authentic, Stith's delivery is straight from the heart, and his music has been called “a bridge between the all-time greats and a new generation of soul singers”.  R-E-S-P-E-C-T! In the words of Betty Carter: "Jazz ain't nothing but soul."

Know Before You Go

  • Seating is limited and provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Early arrival is strongly recommended.
  • Saving seats for others is discouraged.
  • Seats can no longer be saved once the performance begins.
  • Please do not move the chairs and tables.
  • No outside chairs or gallery stools are permitted.
  • No outside alcohol is permitted.
  • Harassing, discriminatory, or threatening behavior is strictly prohibited.

Maintaining a free, safe, and accessible experience for all is our priority. Come and enjoy the music!

Dominion Energy Jazz Café is presented in partnership with the Richmond Jazz Society.  

This event is part of our Dominion Energy Jazz Café program series.

Kids & Families

Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival & VMFA Present: Family Powwow

Join us for a Family Powwow featuring family activities, artist demonstrations, and performances by celebrated dancers from multiple Native American nations. This event is hosted in conjunction with the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival, which aims to raise awareness about Native American language, cultures, and societies through great films that share Native American perspectives.

The Family Powwow is free; no registration is required. 

Please Note: Tickets are required for the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival. See the full schedule and purchase tickets at www.pocahontasreframed.com.

Adults

After 5 Fridays | First Friday

After 5 Fridays is the perfect way to kick off the weekend. Relax with a beverage, visit the galleries for an art escape, and take part in the evening’s featured attraction.  

In connection with the Giants exhibition, this First Friday program features the return of the esteemed Reveille Ringers UMC and Virginia Commonwealth University's Black Awakening Choir's VMFA debut! The Reveille Ringers Handbell Choir will perform at 6 and 7 pm. The Black Awakening Choir will perform at 7:30 pm.   

  
This event is part of our After 5 Fridays program series. 

View the Full Schedule

REWIND<

This musical concert will feature Ellen Fullman performing on her iconic Long String Instrument. She will be accompanied by the New York–based JACK Quartet. As the closing program for the exhibition Robert Rauschenberg: Cardbirds, Fullman’s performance will debut a VMFA-commissioned composition celebrating Rauschenberg’s practice as a groundbreaking artist who experimented with movement and material.

This event, as part of the REWIND<<Fast/Forward series, is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations required. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

This composition and the exhibition, on the advent of Rauschenberg's centennial celebration, are supported by a grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

After 5 Fridays | Dance After Work: Hip-Hop Line Dancing

After 5 Fridays is the perfect way to kick off the weekend. Relax with a beverage, visit the galleries for an art escape, and take part in the evening’s featured attraction.  

New year, new moves! Join us in the Cochrane Atrium and get your hip-hop line dancing on with Kemel Patton—a perfect vibe for the Giants exhibition. 

This event is part of our After 5 Fridays program series.

This event is part of our After 5 Fridays program series.