ROCK & INDIE




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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...

Night Idea Has Been Here the Whole Time.

Richmond has no shortage of bands that arrive and then disappear. Night Idea has taken the opposite approach. They’ve been around for 16 years, and keep getting better. I sat down with Joey Anderson, Reggie Pace and Reyna Pannell ahead of Night Idea’s appearance at Iron Blossom Music Festival this weekend to catch up on where the band is now and...

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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...

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Photos | Djo & Pond at Allianz Amphitheater

Djo, the musical project of actor and musician Joe Keery, made his Richmond debut at Allianz Amphitheater on Friday night, drawing a packed crowd for one of the summer's most anticipated indie shows. Best known to many as Steve Harrington from Stranger Things, Keery has carved out a hugely successful music career with Djo, blending psychedelic...

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Deau Eyes Returns With New Album ‘To Grow Instead’

Four years is an eternity in today’s music industry, especially when algorithms reward content, not creativity. When streaming services punish silence, at the expense of artistic evolution.  In this disconnect, some artists race against trends, abandoning the search for truth in their music. Other artists dig in, recognizing that our...

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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, including Dogwood Dell, Hollywood Cemetery, and Pony Pasture in the James River...

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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...

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Shannon and Narducy Take R.E.M. Back on the Road

About 10 years ago, actor Michael Shannon and veteran band member Jason Narducy threw an impromptu covers set in Chicago. The two quickly bonded over a shared love of alternative rock and found themselves doing yearly shows where they would play entire albums. They covered Bob Dylan, T-Rex, and The Modern Lovers. They would play these one off...

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