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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...

Lucy Dacus’ New Music Video is a Love Letter to Richmond

Richmond native and multiple Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus released the self-directed music video for her latest single "Planting Tomatoes" and every frame was filmed here at home. The video moves through some of the city's most recognizable places,...

Fourth of July 2026 in Richmond: Fireworks, Festivals, and More

The best Fourth of July celebration in Richmond probably isn't the one with the biggest fireworks. It's the one where someone forgot the hot dog buns, the cooler is running low on ice, kids are chasing each other through sprinklers, and somebody insists they know a...

IllumiNATION Tells America’s Story on a Monumental Scale

Editor’s Note: RVA Magazine is partnering with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on coverage related to America’s 250th anniversary, including Richmond SailFest and IllumiNation. It's hard to impress people with just a building. Yet standing in front of the...

OP-ED | Drake’s Issue with Identity, An Iceman’s Melting

The Drake we once knew is gone. What began as one of the most prophetic artists to hit the rap and hip-hop scene over the past two decades has again reached another breaking point with the release of three new albums on Friday, May 15th. Iceman, Drake’s mainline promotional project, was released alongside bonus albums Habibti and Maid of Honour....

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The Interview | Mad Skillz

UPDATE February 2nd, 2026: Mad Skillz has won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album. You can read about that HERE. In honor of that win here is our interview with him back in December. ------------- "A life lived through music, is a life well lived." - Mad Skillz  Mad Skillz is a journey. Nine hip-hop albums. Two poetry albums. Three Grammy...

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Photo | Nettspend x Vans Keep It Local at Laurel Skatepark

Richmond's Nettspend and Vans turned Laurel Skatepark into a canned food drive that was part skate scene, part community pull-up, built around a simple ask: bring something that helps someone else eat. For readers who may not know him yet, Nettspend is one of Richmond’s most visible breakout artists of the last few years. You can read about him...

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Weekend Frequency Vol. 23 | The Southern Gothic Fest Playlist

Richmond gets it. More than any other city in Virginia. That’s why we created Weekend Frequency, a reader-curated playlist built for the city, by the city. Each week, a different voice from Richmond’s creative community shares the sounds that move them, shaping the soundtrack of our weekends together. This week’s playlist comes...

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Southern Gothic: The Global Underground Hits Richmond

Richmond has always produced world-class talent and just as often, watched it leave. That cycle was exactly what Warren Jones, performer and co-founder of Prison Religion, and Christian Detres, filmmaker and longtime RVA Magazine contributor, set out to change. Their answer is Southern Gothic, a new festival by Black Ether, Halcyon Veil and See...

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Why Alexander Mack Might Be the Next Big Thing Out of Richmond

Unsigned but far from unseen, Richmond’s own Alexander Mack is pulling over 35,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, with standout tracks like “Young Man” crossing 1.3 million streams. On YouTube, his video for “Cucumber Cool” has racked up over 367,000 views in just a few months. No label. No co-sign. Just well-produced, thoughtful music, rooted in...

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