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Review | SAFETY! Swings Big But Falls Just Short

WARNING: This review contains baseball metaphors.  Cadence Theatre’s Pipeline New Works Program is at the plate again, with its last batter, Witchduck, staring at home from third base. It is literally the first swing ever for the new musical, SAFETY!, at Firehouse...

Salon de Résistance | Dangerous Films

Join us for Salon de Résistance: Dangerous Films on Thursday, July 30th at Black Iris. We'll be watching clips from films selected by two of Virginia’s most accomplished filmmakers: writer-director Derrick Borte (The Get Out, Unhinged, London Town, The Joneses) and...

Good Day RVA is Back and Bringing Friends Along

For four nights this weekend, bands from different generations of Richmond's music scene are taking over Get Tight Lounge. Called Tonal Recall, the series is part reunion show, part showcase and part excuse for a bunch of old friends to get back in the same room. ...

Fried Chicken and Soccer? Somehow It Makes Perfect Sense

"Richmond has your back... maybe."  That about sums it up, doesn't it? It's the slogan behind KCPFC, a new football-inspired project from Kwame Hayford, the guy behind Kwam's Chicken Project, and Richmond designer Ignatius Friend. The collection blends soccer culture...

Before Anyone Was Watching

I went to Virginia MOCA expecting to hear Andy Howell talk about skateboarding. Instead, I left thinking about community and how people find each other. Howell's installation opens Seamless, the museum's new exhibition exploring the overlap between art and design. At...

The Light That Never Went Out 

There is a spotlight still mounted in the rafters of 528 N. 2nd Street. It has been there since 1914. It has outlasted segregation, fire, the highway that cut Jackson Ward in two, and decades of silence. On the nights when the Hippodrome Theater fills up, that light...

Municipal Waste | 25 Years of No Mercy

When you think of Richmond’s heavy music scene, four names immediately come to mind: Lamb of God, GWAR, Avail, and Municipal Waste. These are the bands that have bled into the city’s veins and shaped the sound of this place over the last several decades. And this past weekend, Municipal Waste took a well-deserved victory lap to celebrate 25 years...

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Sound Check! No BS Brass! Teen Mortage! Dhemo! & More!

It’s a great week to be a Richmonder. I tried to cover a little bit of everything here—something to calm the storm, something to shake it up more—and as always, if you’ve got something, let me know. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at griffin@rvamag.com. The CameLTuesday, April 8th, 2025Teen...

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No Bs Brass_RVA Magazine 2025

Styles P Shines, But So Do We

The room was charged the moment the doors opened. Richmond showed up ready—you could feel it in the air, like the bassline of a song you know by heart. And at the center of it all stood The Ghost himself: Styles P. Live at Ember Music Hall. A masterclass in presence, precision, and passion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMjqkhcJzoA He didn’t...

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Style P at Ember Music Hall photo by Will Keck_RVA Magazine 2025

Sound Check! Gusher! Homey! The Hurricane Party & More!

The freedom of weather approaches finally, and soon, so soon, we will have outdoor shows. For now, we got some fun indoor swinging nights ahead of us. If you’ve got any tips, send them my way. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at griffin@rvamag.com. Cobra CabanaTuesday, April 1st, 2025Gusher,...

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Powerful Moments Outshine the Structure in ‘Sanctuary City’

I flew in under the wire to catch 5th Wall Theatre’s final performance of Martyna Majok’s Sanctuary City at Richmond Triangle Players' impressive stage in Scott’s Addition. This play is a curious hybrid, a bifurcated cryptid if you will, as its first and second acts are paced in startling opposition to each other. The play begins in time-lapse...

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Sister Rosetta Tharpe is The Godmother of Rock N Roll

Richmond has a way of letting history slip through the cracks. Some stories get enshrined, others get forgotten, and too often, the ones that matter most fall into the latter category. Sister Rosetta Tharpe is one of those names that any one who loves music history should know, yet somehow, she’s often missing from the city’s narrative. That’s...

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