Billiards 🎱 Podcasts

🎙️🎶 BILLIARDS MUSIC PODCAST | SEASON 3 PREMIERE

Season 3 of the Billiards Music Podcast starts with a 🎆 — and a poet.

Wa’Shana Ricks sits down with Billiards to talk poetry 🖊️, purpose 🌟, and building community through art. This episode is all grit, healing 💛, and Virginia pride 🖤💛 — the perfect way to celebrate 5️⃣ years of Billiards.

🎧 Stream now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

🎥 Full interview video coming soon to BilliardsVMSOA.com

This month, Billiards sat down with Cameron Jackson — our Season 2 closer for Billiards VMSOA Magazine and Billiards Music Podcast. From Northern Virginia's roots to California's creative energy, Cameron's journey is all grit, vision, and individuality. She reflects on growth, staying grounded, and moving with intention - proof that when you align purpose with passion, your art moves the world.

In this episode of 10 & 2, hosts Vania and Naire dive into the radical necessity of rest. From balancing busy jobs and artistic side hustles to the lessons hidden in recovery, they reflect on how true stability—creatively and personally—only comes when we slow down. The conversation moves from exhaustion to inspiration, showing how rest isn’t just a reward for work, but the foundation of meaningful work itself. Along the way, they share personal stories, call out toxic grind culture, and remind us that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is breathe, pause, and get off the floor.

This month, Billiards sat down with Jonathan Blake Cooper - a devoted worshiper, leader, and co-founder of Billiards, whose faith journey continues to inspire a generation.

In this interview, Jonathan opens up about identity, calling, and the sacred tension between joy and responsibility. As he prepares to host A Night in His Presence, his first public worship experience, he reflects on obedience, growth, and the importance of moving even when the path isn't clear. With presence and purpose, Jon is living proof that when faith is in

motion, transformation follows.

Event Details

📍 A Night in His Presence

📅 Saturday, August 16, 2025

📍 Gethsemane Community Fellowship Church

1317 E Brambleton Ave, Norfolk, VA 23504

⏰ 7:00 PM

🎟️ Free admission, but registration required. Link in bio and on www.billiardsvmssoa.com

Dress comfortably, modestly, and come ready to encounter God.

For those feeling led to sow into the night, donation details can be found on the event’s website.

⸻

Connect with Jon:

📱 @jonblakecooper

🌐 http://www.billiardsvmssoa.com

This month, Billiards sat down with Dr. Melaine Ferdinand-King — a thoughtful creative, cultural worker, and truth-teller shaping the intersections of art, identity, and imagination.

In this episode, Melaine opens up about personal shifts, the quiet power of self-reflection, and the creative responsibility of honoring Black interiority. Whether curating experiences or simply showing up whole, Melaine moves with vision and conviction.

Stream the full interview on our site at http://www.BilliardsVMSOA.com

Support Melaine’s work at @Melaine.mp3

This month, Billiards sat down with actor and cultural craftsman Nicholas Bennett, a rising voice from Virginia and recent MFA grad from the University of Florida. In this episode, Nicholas opens up about legacy, discipline, and what it means to stay grounded in your truth while building a life in the arts. Whether it’s Shakespeare or original storytelling, Nicholas moves with both tenderness and fire. Hosted by Vania Alonnie.

In this episode of The Billiards Roundtable, we gather six powerhouse femmes — VANIA ALONNIE, NAIRE POOLE, ANGELIQUE M. C’DINA, CHANTRELL LEWIS, KIARA PICHARDO, and ALECSYS PROCTOR-TURNER — for an unfiltered conversation about art, radical joy, softness, and staying grounded while moving boldly through an ever-shifting industry.

Together, they share hard-won lessons, confessions of burnout and resilience, and the quiet truths that keep them showing up — for themselves and their communities. From colors that match their current season to the advice they’d whisper to their younger selves, this talk is equal parts blueprint and blessing.

Pull up a seat, catch every gem, and let this fellowship remind you: this table is wide enough for you too.

This week on Billiards VMSOA

Magazine & Music Podcast, host and cordings artist Ryan Luc

Born in Norfolk and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia, Ryan shares how his upbringing shaped his artistry and storytelling.

Tune in as he discusses building a legacy

through

sound,

representing Virginia with heart, and creating music that resonates deeply with listeners.

This week on Billiards VMSOA Magazine & Music Podcast, host Vania sits down with bestselling author Lamar Giles. From co-founding We Need Diverse Books to penning page-turners like The Getaway, Lamar shares how growing up in Virginia shaped his voice, values, and vivid storytelling.

Tune in to hear how he’s shifting the literary landscape, repping the South Side, and proving that stories from our neighborhoods belong on every shelf.

On this episode of Billiards VMSOA Magazine & Music podcast, host Vania Alonnie sits down with Amir Driver — artist, entrepreneur, and founder of Made in Norfolk. From hitting stages as an independent artist to building one of the 757’s most recognizable brands, Driver shares how pride, consistency, and culture drive everything he does. Tune in for a real conversation about legacy, leadership, and loving where you’re from.