CULTURE




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A Richmond Beginning, a Typographic Legacy: Teddy Blanks In Focus

In the Richmond of 2005, Teddy Blanks was everywhere—playing packed shows with Ross Harman as the pop duo The Gaskets, writing sharp film reviews and interviews for the early issues of RVA Magazine, and even acting in a short film that, for me, still holds personal...

Guerrilla Filmmaking as Art and Ethos

After a night spent on the coziest sofa in all of Appalachia, we headed up early to the top of a university parking deck, parked beneath a sign that read “No Parking / No Loitering,” and lined up the shot—my director and me, just the two of us that morning to grab a...

It’s Still Our City | Ep. 7 Tony Harris, RVA Mag

"A long, long time ago, I was in a Richmond, Virginia–based band called The Jefferson Plane Crash. We were writing an album, and our practice space was the old, infamous Compound. I distinctly remember walking into the restroom to hit the head, and I noticed a...

VHS Club | Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

“Everything seemed the same, but it wasn’t. It was a nightmare.”  By 1978, the American Dream was officially dead. The counterculture of the ’60s and early ’70s had been absorbed into the mainstream, packaged and sold through a matrix of unlimited consumerism and...

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?...

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,...

Revolution on Display. Protest on the Sidewalk. Welcome to Richmond.

Last weekend in Church Hill, Richmond did something that only Richmond can do — it let history walk and talk right in front of us. Inside St. John’s Church, the scene was familiar. A reenactor delivered Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech to an...

Sound Check! Deau Eyes! Destructo Disk! Grocer! & More!

Maybe it is a facade but the weather is nice and life is returning to the streets of Richmond. The parks are full, the lines for ice cream are long, and hopefully the venues are packed. Check out one of these shows, enjoy the weather, and pretend you are in a movie.If you’ve got any tips, send them my way. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply...

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Deau-Eyes_RVA-Magazine 2025

The Death of Ipanema, or Richmond Shrugs Again

Ipanema is gone. You probably saw it on Reddit, sandwiched between a blurry photo of a pothole and a debate about whether the city’s latest apartment complex looks more like a dentist’s office or a minimum-security prison. The regulars lamented. The former regulars nodded knowingly. A few people squinted and asked, Wait, that place was still...

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Ipanema Close_Salty Oldman_photo by Jody Adams_RVA Magazine 2025

Photos | Chandler’s Going Away Show at The Broadberry

Few artists in Richmond’s hip-hop scene have made as much noise in recent years as Chandler Matkins. From viral moments to sold-out shows, his rise has been marked by constant evolution and increasing recognition. His recent Going Away Show at The Broadberry was a showcase of homegrown talent, featuring performances from Lunch $pecial, O-Z, TMA,...

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Chandler Going Away Show at Broadberry_RVA Magazine 2025

It’s Still Our City | Ep. 4 TRAPCRY 🏳️‍🌈

"A key figure in Richmond’s ongoing music renaissance, TRAPCRY is absolutely killing it. If you’re not already familiar, it’s time to change that. His music is captivating, fun, and truly unique. I first saw him perform while working security at one of his shows, and I was completely blindsided—at a loss for words because I couldn’t stop smiling....

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Its-Still-Our-City_RVA Magazine 2025

Richmond Music of Right Now 2025 Poll Results!

This marks the third year of our annual poll, and for the first time it really feels like a passing of the torch. Richmond’s next wave of musicians is taking center stage. That shift likely has something to do with who showed up to vote. The majority of this year’s voters were under 25, and they’re actively shaping the city’s music scene with new...

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