Norfolk’s Roberta Lea, a rising star in country, features Virginia Beach in new music video

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — “Leave behind that 9 to 5. Pour the drinks and let’s get lit. It’s time for another girl trip,” sings Norfolk native and rising country star Roberta Lea in her seriously catchy getaway anthem “Girl Trip.”

The single is from her 2023 breakthrough album “Too Much of a Woman,” recorded at Virginia Beach’s Soul Haven Studios and supported by Brandi Carlile, Allison Russell and Maggie Rogers.

And it’s getting new life thanks to a new music video filmed at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Lea checks into the Moxy hotel at 12th Street, catches some rays on the boardwalk and dances the night away with friends.

The song fuses in elements of hip-hop and R&B, a blend that goes back to the roots of country music. You see it today in smash hits like Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album and in Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song.” (Shaboozey, aka Collins Obinna Chibueze, is from Northern Virginia).

It’s something Lea’s talked about in the past, telling Hampton Roads’ Veer Magazine: ““Country music and R&B were essentially the same exact thing. But if you were a white artist playing this guitar, they would call it hillbilly music. And if you are a Black artist playing the exact same guitar and using that same song style, they will call your genre race records. And then they branched off and became country music and R&B. ”

Lea grew up in Norfolk and taught Spanish in Norfolk Public Schools before taking the leap on a music career in 2021 during the COVID pandemic.

She was named one of the “12 artists to watch in 2022” by Nashville Scene’s Country Almanac, and in 2023, she was named to CMT’s 2023 Next Women of Country class, along with “Tennessee Orange” singer Megan Moroney and Virginia Beach’s Alana Springsteen.

Lea, who’s drawn inspiration from everyone from Tina Turner and Bill Withers to Shania Twain and Patsy Cline, said she’s hoping to change the narrative around Black artists in country music, who’ve traditionally been sidelined in the industry.

A couple years ago, she helped form a collective called The Black Opry, a group dedicated to creating safe and supporting spaces for black artists and country fans. That in turn led to the creation of the touring group, Black Opry Revue.

Going forward, Lea hopes she can put Virginia on the map for upcoming Black female country singers, similar to what country stars Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer did in Texas and Maryland, respectively.

You can check out Lea’s music on Spotify and YouTube, and find any upcoming tour dates on her website. She’s playing in Richmond on Wednesday at the Broadberry.

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