Yet the fact that an artist like Ronnie Baker Brooks or The Campbell Brothers are scheduled to perform at the theatre, as part of an ongoing seasonal blues series, is wholly relevant, as it denotes a return of sorts, for the theatre, to a level of  relevance that echoes back to its heyday throughout the early twentieth century.

I think of this much while chatting with Mr. Brooks over the phone. It’s a Saturday and he’s off driving somewhere, while back at home in Chicago. Ronnie is 40-something, which is still considered pretty young in blues circles, and he’s the son of Chicago blues legend Lonnie Brooks, who carved out an illustrious career as a “voodoo blues” icon dating back to the 1950s. It was while the younger Brooks was a featured guitarist and singer in his dad’s popular touring band back in the 1990s when he first got to perform here in Hampton Roads.  Yet this is his very first solo performance here, since officially going-it-alone in early 1999.  Once told of the Attucks history, he was both honored and intrigued to be playing a gig there.

“For me to have the opportunity to play at the Attucks Theatre, knowing that now…is really inspiring for me. I know what those guys have done to make a way for myself and other young artists…They laid the groundwork for American music.”

Of course the guys that Brooks is referencing are African-American artists like Nat King Cole, Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington.  They and many other twentieth century era legends performed at the Attucks Theatre, notably during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation, of which Norfolk was an obvious and enthusiastic participant in.

Ronnie has performed at other historic venues as well, some key to the history of early African-American involvement in the arts.  He notes that Chicago had its own Regal Theater, which interestingly enough like the Attucks, opened back in the 1920s “jazz age,” and featured many notable black entertainers including Count Basie and Lena Horne.  Many of these venues were sometimes affectionately and other times derogatorily, referred to as being part of “the Chitin’ circuit,” as these were sometimes the only places where black artists, even those with household names, were allowed to perform.

The Attucks itself was most often referred to as the “Apollo Theatre of the South,” and during a period beginning in the 1920s and lasting through its reincarnation as a movie house called the Booker T, into the early 1950s, the theatre remained a source of understandable pride for Norfolk’s black community.  The theatre, after all, was designed by Harvey N. Johnson, a young African-American architect, which was a rarity back then. The theatre’s name is also notable as it commemorates Crispus Attucks, a black man who reportedly became the first American patriot to lose his life in the famous Boston Massacre of 1770. 

So I, along with many other native born southeastern Virginians, who knew all of  the folklore attached to the theatre, as well as the neighborhood in which it resided in, were excited about its re-opening back in 2004, following a years long restoration campaign. Yet early on, the Attucks clearly struggled to stand out amongst other local venues and establish its own identity as a currently relevant, world class performance venue. Its struggle in search of success was covered over the years, by prominent features within the pages of our local daily, The Virginian-Pilot, much to the chagrin of those involved with its attempted re-emergence.

In recent years though, the Attucks has earned a reputation as a venue of choice for the more discriminating arts and culture patron. That chick or dude understands the appeal of an indie folk or rock show, as well as the still entertaining ferocity of a kick-ass blues show.  Though perhaps few in local numbers, that patron clearly appreciates the current day Discovery Music series, now rather remarkably in its eighth season.  They also dig other annual events held at the Attucks, such as the locally produced Mid-Atlantic Black film festival, which will have its fourth annual showcase of both local and international independent cinema, in October. Scott Warren books the performers for the Attucks and notably started the Discovery music series a few years back.  He believes – bias notwithstanding – that the theatre is indeed experiencing a renaissance of sorts.

“It is certainly our intent to bring this historic theatre into the present without ignoring its honored past.  While the venue now showcases music of all genres and welcomes the diversity of the community, its history cannot be ignored and, indeed, must continue to be built upon.”

Discovery Music Blues Series upcoming acts: Ronnie Baker Brooks (March 7), Shakura S’Aida (March 27) and The Campbell Brothers (April 16). For more information: www.sevenvenues.com