<p>I have heard that Williamsburg is a rather dull college town - which is fine for my tastes - but does the College bring in entertainment?</p>
<p>I am mostly interested in the concert scene. Is there anything like Vanderbilt's Rites of Spring, are major performers attracted to campus? If not, how far would you have to go to see a decent show (Richmond? DC?) and do many people travel to see artists?</p>
<p>Richmond is only 45 minutes away and there is a fair amount of stuff there depending on your taste). D.C. is only another 1.5 hours past Richmond with plenty of other options (once again, depending on your taste)/</p>
<p>There is a lot in Richmond. UVA attracts some big names sometimes (2 hours). DC, obviously. The Norva (? I think this is what it’s called… i’m not really into the music scene) is somewhere in the 757 area code. The Ted Constant Center at ODU gets some. bands. Bands are also brought to campus at W&M.</p>
<p>These bands are some that have been at W&M: Pat McGee Band, Sister Hazel, Arrested Development, Phantom Planet, Presidents of the U.S.A., Cake, Ben Folds, Guster, and The Roots. Ying Yang Twins were also there recently, as well as Gym Class Heros.</p>
<p>There is also “Fridays at 5” when the weather is nice, where a band place on the UC Terrace.</p>
<p>People definitely travel off campus (especially to richmond) to see concerts.</p>
<p>nothing at all :)</p>
<p>I’m not a student at W&M, but having family grow up there Richmond and D.C. are easy places to access. I mean my family would make day trips to D.C. and think nothing of it because it’s not a nuisance. </p>
<p>Also, sometimes there is music at Busch Gardens (theme park) but not anything good, really pitiful at best. There is also Watercountry USA (owned by Busch Gardens) to have fun at, but it opens in May and closes in September (I think). </p>
<p>You can check out Colonial Williamsburg just to explore. There’s shopping outlets 10 minutes from campus, and Virginia Beach isn’t that far way (sometimes concerts on the beach). New Port News is 30 minutes away and has Christopher Newport University, and they may have some nice bands there.</p>
<p>I know that I didn’t say a lot about music, but I hoped that I helped you a little bit. ;)</p>
<p>What kind of music are you into? The Norva in Norfolk hosts a lot of big name bands, as well as some not so big name bands. The Norva is about an hour away from W&M. There is also the Virginia Beach Amphitheater which hosts the really big names, for example I know Coldplay just played there a little over a week ago, and that is probably about an hour and half or so. Also, the Warp Tour is held every year at the amphitheater. I’m sure there is more of a local scene around the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area but I’m not into that scene so I’m not too aware of it. I’m sure Richmond has their share of venues and local scene as well. Additionally, I know Radford does this thing called Quad Fest every spring, which has a bunch of bands. I would think you should be able to find anything you’re looking for within an hour to maybe an hour and a half drive.</p>
<p>VA Beach (1-1.5 hrs) is about as good as it gets. The Fray, 311, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Warped Tour, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Nickelback, Papa Roach, and DMB all within the next 2 months. Nothing remotely comparable in terms of quantity or fame in Richmond or Norfolk… I think the biggest name playing at the Norva this summer is Gaelic Storm. That’s pretty typical of what you’ll see during the year too.</p>
<p>UCAB or whatever it’s called now tries to attract a few bigger names to campus like My Chemical Romance and Muse (two years ago), but those kind of events are few and far between.</p>
<p>Yeah, the name was changed to AMP - Alma Mater Productions. It seems they are able to get a top of the line band every couple years with at least one band that non-music people have heard of every year. Then there’s usually another good band in the opposite semester. Then they host a ton of local and regional bands. Then they do a lot with movies and other events like putting huge inflatables in the sunken gardens or (trying) to get hot air balloon rides (if its not too windy).</p>
<p>One of the main reasons that I chose not to enroll at William and Mary is because there is nothing to do in Williamsburg.</p>
<p>Notice how everyone is mentioning driving somewhere? </p>
<p>I don’t mean to hate on W&M - it can be the perfect place for a lot of people, but unless you really love strip malls, outlets, and tourist attractions, Williamsburg might be a little boring for you.</p>
<p>I guess the distance also means that any internships done off-campus occur during the summer?</p>
<p>There is the W&M in DC program where a few professors and a few students spend a semester in DC. Students are taught, usually in government related classes, by the professors in the DC Campus, but it gives the students opportunities to have a full time internships with the various government agencies during the regular semester. </p>
<p>And regarding sinitblanks’s comments; everything is accessible in the surrounding areas by the free-for-students city buses.</p>
<p>signitblank… no one is going to confuse Williamsburg with a city like Chicago.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure what you are getting at with this… you cannot carry a full time internship and a full load of classes. My perception of internships is 40 hours a week. The DC program does allow internships with a few classes.</p>
<p>The government department has some tie-ins with the Virginia State House in Richmond, where students intern up there for half the day a day or two a week, and get academic credit for it. I believe it’s a pretty popular program, though I don’t know how long it will be around. There’s only a few spots.</p>
<p>Javabytes, that is absolutely a false statement that big name bands don’t play at the Norva. Pepper, who is a widely known and popular band in their respective genre, just played and recorded for their new video at the Norva. I also know that Taking Back Sunday, a band with numerous big hits on the radio, has played there. I have only given two examples here, but if you need more I could easily ask friends, who are more into the music scene and have attended more shows, to rattle off many, many more bands that are even more well known then the examples given above. Many bands love to play shows there because it is a smaller, more personal venue unlike the Amphitheater. Only the biggest of the biggest in the music industry really play at the Amphitheater. I will admit, though, the line-up at the Norva for this summer does sucks and does not really contain any big name bands, but this, certainly, is not always the case.</p>
<p>I hardly think it’s false. The bigger/biggest names typically play down in VA Beach, and while the Norva has a particularly terrible lineup this summer, that statement holds true during the rest of the year too. That’s not to say the bands that do play at the Norva aren’t wonderful, or that the Norva doesn’t occasionally attract some bigger names, but the OP asked specifically about major performers and for that one should plan on <em>typically</em> traveling to VA Beach.</p>
<p>Oh, and there are quite a few non-profits and research institutes in Willaismburg, like GuideStar US which spun off GuideStar International, a major player in the global transparency. Many were founded or are run by W&M alumni and are always looking to work with students.</p>
<p>I guess we differ in opinion because our perception of what constitutes a big name band is different. I consider any band that is played on radio stations across the nation as a big name band. Yes, as I stated before though, I do agree that the absolute biggest name bands, who normally have long standing reputations, do play at the amphitheater. I guess it really comes down to what bands the op actually likes to listen to.</p>
<p>In regards to the internships - everyone I know who’s attended WM has gotten some really great internships.</p>