AMERICANA & BLUES




more in music

Thundercat Has Entered the Chat

Next Saturday, October 17th, the weird, funky spaceship that carts Thundercat around will land in Richmond for his show at The National. As a massive fan, I will absolutely be there. His is the kind of unique sound that makes a concert a “happening.” A funk so deep...

My First Phish Show in 1994 to Photographing Them in Richmond

In 1994, while in NOVA for high school, a friend who had grown up in Vermont introduced me to a band named Phish around the release of their fifth album, Hoist, and I became obsessed. As a classical-metal-progressive rock music fan, I loved it. My first show was...

Old Grace Street is Richmond History. Let’s Recognize It.

Editor's note: We were sent this petition after publishing: VCU Demolition Blitz: More Richmond Erased HERE. As reported by The Richmonder last week, “The Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan, which sailed through City Council with a unanimous vote Sept. 28, is intended...

Richmond Has The Talent. Tilt Studio Puts It in the Same Room.

“Richmond has always had this DIY, collaborative spirit, and I think projects like this are a great expression of that. There's a lot of talent here, and when those different creative communities start crossing paths, I think the city gets more interesting.”  —...

It’s Still Our City Ep. 25 | Yavé Rust

RVA Mag and NODDERLY presents It’s Still Our City, a podcast hosted by Harrison Christy and with Clair Morgan as co-host and producer through NODDERLY. "Yavé Rust is a Richmond, VA-based music producer and audio engineer specializing in metal and punk. Originating...

GWAR Co-Founder Chuck Varga, aka Sexecutioner, Dies at 68

Chuck Varga, a founding member of GWAR and the artist and performer behind the band’s Sexecutioner passed away over the weekend following a battle with cancer. He was 68. Varga was part of GWAR from its earliest days, co-founding Slave Pit Studios in Richmond and...

This is Endling

The creative soul of Richmond has been flourishing for years. Within the past two, it’s made itself known through Endling, a creative collective of underground hip-hop artists who have one goal: to prevent the underground from dying. From originating in house shows to...

Richmond Loves Dolly Parton

I was gonna kill my husband in a cab in Peru, but “Islands in the Stream” came on the radio, and we stopped arguing and started singing. She could do that to you. You could totally be feeling some type of way, but if you put some Dolly Parton on, well, then you got a lil more smile. I did not kill my husband. I just divorced him, but whenever I...

Read More

Dolly Parton RIchmond story by Callie Watts_photo by Danni Flakes_RVA Magazine 2026-18

You Can Kiss Off! 45 Years of Violent Femmes

You can always kiss off into the air. Behind my back, I can see them stare. They hurt me bad, and I don’t mind. They hurt me bad, they do it all the time! Yeah, yeah. You just sang that in your head, didn’t you? I believe it is impossible not to. There’s an alchemy, a secret chord maybe, that makes a song an anthem. A magic that turns a single...

Read More

Violent-Femmes-Richmond-interview-by-Christian-Detres_RVA-Magazine-2026

Photos | Holy Roller Packs The Camel for Back-to-Back Shows

A sold-out night at The Camel is one thing. Doing it back-to-back is another. Holy Roller (read our last interview HERE)  has been quietly building toward this for a while now. A Richmond band rooted in good time rock with a bit of country twang, pulling from all over and blending harmony-driven songwriting with something a little looser and less...

Read More

Holy Roller at The Camel_photos by Joey Wharton_RVA Magazine 2026

Photos | Sierra Ferrell and Nikki Lane Bring Americana to Richmond

Sierra Ferrell took over Brown’s Island earlier this week, transforming Richmond’s riverfront into fantasy. Surrounded by oversized mushrooms, flowers, and a stage dressed like an Appalachian fever dream, Ferrell delivered a set that moved easily from honky-tonk stomp to hushed ballad. H The show drew one of the largest audiences of the Brown’s...

Read More

Sierra Ferrell_Nikki Lane_Richmond VA_photo by Joey Wharton_RVA Magazine 2025

The Head and The Heart Bring Aperture Home to Richmond

This Friday, The Head and The Heart will return to the stage in Richmond for the first time in awhile by headlining the new Allianz Riverfront Amphitheater with their biggest local show to date. While the band originally formed in Seattle, two of its founding members, drummer Tyler Williams and lead singer Jonathan Russell, now call Richmond...

Read More

The-Head-and-The-Heart_photo-by-Jasper-Graham_-Richmond-VA_RVA-Magazine-2025

Photos | Teddy Swims Packed out Virginia Credit Union LIVE! in Richmond

Singer-songwriter Teddy Swims performed to a near-capacity crowd at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! in Richmond on Monday night, delivering a high-energy set that showcased his wide vocal range and genre-blending style. The show is part of Swims’ current tour in support of his debut album I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy. Fans filled the outdoor...

Read More

Teddy Swims in Richmond VA_photo by Joey Wharton_RVA Magazine 2025

Play Music I Love, With People I Love, For People I Love

When Jeff Gorman of Illiterate Light steps on stage, it’s not hype you feel, it’s heat. Not the kind that grabs at you immediately, but the kind that builds steady, loud, and unflinching. Just two guys onstage with a sound that hits like a full band. Offstage is where the real story takes shape. In the van, at the merch table, over weak coffee...

Read More

Illiterate-Light-at-The-National-Richmond-VA_photo-by-Joey-Wharton_RVA-Magazine-2025

200 People, One Backyard, and a Whole Lot of Heart

Local Brandon Crowe has quietly built something special in Richmond’s underground scene, a Fourth of July tradition called Crowefest. No corporate sponsors, maybe a few local ones. No massive gates or fences, just the usual short backyard one. What you get is a stage, a lawn, and a handpicked lineup of local heavy-hitters and rising stars....

Read More

Crowe Fest 2025_photo by Joey Wharton_RVA Magazine 2025