ROCK & INDIE




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The Best of RVA Magazine 2025

As we close out the year, here’s a look at some of the most impactful stories we published in 2025. Over the past year, we covered Richmond as a living system under pressure, focusing on the people, culture, and policies that shape daily life and determine who gets...

How Locals Mike Shea and Jonathan Facka Made ‘The Light’

Editor's Note: This story that begins, as too many do, with a clown in someone’s DMs and ends with a camera duct-taped to a toy train. The first thing to know is that Mike Shea tried to make a normal introduction. In his mind, it was a filmmaker reaching out to a...

Fly Anakin Lands at No. 3 on Pitchfork’s Best Rap Songs of 2025.

Was giving DJ Harrison’s new album a listen preparing the interview. I’m sitting with the tracks, getting a feel for the album’s pulse, when “Seek God” comes on. Fly Anakin steps into the beat with that effortless Richmond control that comes from years of sharpening...

‘Trashed Panda’ Now Fronts Ads and Supports Local Wildlife

Only in Virginia could a raccoon get day-drunk in an ABC store and wake up a statewide celebrity by Monday. After a masked intruder broke into the Ashland ABC on Nov. 30, tore through shelves, smashed bottles, and ultimately passed out facedown in the bathroom, the...

A Night At Strange Matter… I Mean Fuzzy Cactus

Here’s the scoop from the doorman at the Fuzzy Cactus last Friday — the opening local act, Gull, is not one to be missed, and the doorman, who is also a furniture designer/maker and a VCU grad named TJ Krivankec, was surprised that so many had missed it. The turnout was intimate on Brookland Park Blvd. last Saturday night. I arrived late, on a...

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fuzzy cactus by Kieran Cleary

Its Just Rock N’ Roll, An interview With Deli Kings

The Village Cafe at 6 PM on Saturday nights is not, not known for its quiet atmosphere. Regardless, I had made the decision to interview the band Deli Kings at that place and time, and guns must be stuck to. I showed up 10 minutes early, and the place was packed. As I waited outside, the first to arrive was Deli Kings' singer, Nick Morrison,...

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Deli Kings by Joey Wharton

The Return of DayDream Fest! What to Expect This Year

In a city teeming with musical talent, it's only right that the festival scene should reflect this incredible diversity. This year, the DayDream Fest 2023 at Main Line Brewery on May 28th - 29th takes center stage once again, promising an intoxicating blend of genres and a DIY, grassroots spirit that sets it apart from its contemporaries. The...

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daydream fest 2023

Your Guide To ‘Something In The Water’ Festival This Weekend!

As the eagerly-awaited Something In The Water Festival triumphantly returns to Virginia Beach this weekend, attendees can look forward to a smorgasbord of high-energy music, interactive activities, and culinary delights. From April 28th to April 30th, the Oceanfront, stretching from 4th to 15th streets, will morph into a vibrant paradise for...

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Something In The Water 2023 by Pharrell