CULTURE




more in culture

WRIR 97.3FM Marks Two Decades with a Richmond Mini-Fest

Richmond Independent Radio (WRIR-LP 97.3 FM) is hitting the big 2-0, and this is not just some tired “anniversary” event, it’s a vibe. Since 2005, WRIR has been the soundtrack of Richmond’s wild, ever-evolving cultural landscape. As the largest low-power FM station in...

Sound Check! Remi Wolf! The Ar-Kaics! Oh Devil! & More!

All eyes are on Saturday. The streets are buzzing with crowds rushing into clubs across the city—come join the raucous and be part of the energy. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at griffin@rvamag.com. Remi Wolf, Dana...

The Big Dipper Summit | Where Business and Culture Actually Collide

The Big Dipper Innovation Summit kicked off today, and if you’re not here yet, well, you’re already behind. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill business event—it’s where culture and business smash together in ways that actually mean something. Skeptical? We get it. But...

Sound Check! Sportsbar! Doll Baby! Fan Club! & More!

Lotta punk on the menu, but I tossed in a jazz album so it’s all okay. We’ve got some really cool touring bands coming into town right now. I’m especially excited to see Tokyo’s finest at Cobra—let’s give ’em a good taste of RVA so they’ll tell their friends. If we...

Municipal Waste | 25 Years of No Mercy

When you think of Richmond’s heavy music scene, four names immediately come to mind: Lamb of God, GWAR, Avail, and Municipal Waste. These are the bands that have bled into the city’s veins and shaped the sound of this place over the last several decades. And this past...

Sister Rosetta Tharpe is The Godmother of Rock N Roll

Richmond has a way of letting history slip through the cracks. Some stories get enshrined, others get forgotten, and too often, the ones that matter most fall into the latter category. Sister Rosetta Tharpe is one of those names that any one who loves music history should know, yet somehow, she’s often missing from the city’s narrative. That’s...

Read More

Sister-Rosetta-Tharpe_RVA-Magazine-2025

Sound Check! Weedeater! CS Cleaners! Kill Lincoln & More!

David Bowie said it best: “Let’s dance.” I tried to get something fun, something chill, and something maniacal—because sometimes a man has got to skank, and sometimes a man has got to get a concussion in the pit. If you’ve got any tips, send them my way. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at...

Read More

Kill Lincoln_photo by Rae Mystic_RVA Magazine 2025

It’s Still Our City | Ep. 5 Destructo Disk

"Destructo Disk, an alternative punk band originally from Winchester, VA, has quickly become a Richmond staple. It’s wild to think they’ve only been tearing it up here for a few years—they’ve covered serious ground in no time. If you haven’t checked them out yet, do yourself a favor. Their live shows are pure energy, and they know how to bring...

Read More

It's Still Our City_Ep. 5 Destructo Disk_RVA Magazine 2025

The Richmond 34 Sat Down. What Are We Standing Up For?

Sixty-five years ago, a group of brave young Black Richmonders walked into a department store, sat down at a lunch counter, and refused to leave. That’s what they did. That’s what got them arrested. They just sat in a segregated space where their presence alone was considered a crime.  https://vimeo.com/9827740?share=copy That moment—the...

Read More

Richmond-34-protest_courtesy-of-Virginia-History-Museum_RVA-Magazine-2025

Detroit 67 Is Ablaze at the Firehouse

I’ve given up on trying to write reviews of plays I see at the Firehouse Theatre immediately after leaving the show. Maybe I’m slow, but there is always so much to process that “sleeping on it” is the only way I’m going to unpack the turmoil they’ve left me with as I walk out the door.Detroit '67, currently showing, is no exception. The Firehouse...

Read More

Sound Check! Golden Fest! Nysa! Mengers! & More!

These shows got me amped. Join me and catch the wind in the sails and take off into a musical tomorrow across a sea of uncertainty. If you’ve got any tips, send them my way. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at griffin@rvamag.com. The CamelFriday, March 14th, 2025Golden Fest | A Benefit For Justin...

Read More

Justin-Golden_photo-Dylan-at-Dead-Air_RVA-Magazine-2025

VHS Club | Escape from New York

Given our current political predicament, no line in cinema feels more relevant than when Bob Hauk, the police commissioner in Escape from New York, says to Snake Plissken, “The president’s gone missing.” To which Plissken coolly responds, “President of what?”  Released in 1981 and directed by John Carpenter, Escape from New York, is arguably...

Read More

Escape-from-New-York-by-Landon-Shroder_RVA-Magazin