Thanksgiving’s approaching, and if you’re looking to step away from the pressures of being at home with the extended family to listen to some high octane music, we can help you out. This week on SOUND CHECK we’ve got North Carolinian Caitlin Krisko coming up to Richmond Music Hall this weekend to show off her unique vocal talents, Holy Roller rocks The Broadberry with a number of local favorites, and Zach Bensons keeps pumping out his electro pop hits.. We’ve got it all of you and more on this week’s SOUND CHECK.
Are you a band with new music, or a listener with suggestions, then reach out to Bones@RVAmag.com
Out of town acts to see
CAITLIN KRISKO & THE BROADCAST
Friday November 17th @ Richmond Music Hall
Doors: 7:00 pm
Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, Caitlin Krisko is a wonder. Krisko rocks with a powerhouse of a voice that is also capable of incredible gymnastics; hitting high notes while simultaneously landing virtuosic runs that would make even the most nimble singer scoff turn this group int a sight to behold and candy for the ears. Last time Krisko was in town she played Get Tight Lounge, but this time around she has jumped up in venue size to play Richmond Music Hall downtown. If you’ve got your Friday night free and are looking for something to rock your late fall evening, then this is the show for you. Check the Broadcast out at their Instagram.
local & Regional acts to see
HOLY ROLLER
Saturday November 18th @ The Broadberry
Doors: 7:00 pm
It’s a stacked night y’all. Not only are one of my personal local favorites Holy Roller on the bill of this incredible Saturday evening, but Kind Hearted Strangers will be popping in as well with an opening from hotshots Celler Dwellers. All these groups are on the up and up with Holy Roller riding their rebranding all the way to a promised new album, Kind Hearted Strangers are making the rounds having opened for The Vegabonds at Friday Cheers earlier this year, and Celler Dwellers have been popping off on streaming platforms garnering tens thousands of monthly listeners and over a million streams on Spotify. It will be an eclectic night full of high Richmond energy that you will absolutely not want to miss. Check Holy Roller out on their Instagram.
AUDACITY BRASS BAND
Saturday November 18th @ Ember Music Hall
Doors: 6:00 pm
Richmond is no stranger to brass bands, and these veterans have been defining the brass band scene since 2016 with the release of their first album. Making it’s first appearance on this column is Ember Music Hall, the new venue on the block, who are dipping their toes in the local scene as well as touring acts with everything from EDM nights to punk tribute bands. Some of you may know that the band took a huge hit earlier this year when they lost a phenomenal player and a valued member of the community after trombonist Colleen Trempe passed after complications from lymphoma. The group has preserved despite the tragedy, yet we can not forget what we lost when Richmond lost Colleen, and seeing her band might just be one way to keep her memory alive.
local & regional releases
ZACH BENSON
“take a hint!!!!” (single)
Richmond’s ever rising pop star keeps pumping out the hits, and Zach Benson shows no signs of slowing down. Embodying an unapologetic queer persona Zach Benson puts on dynamic live performances that translate into his jump-around tracks which just keep coming. “take a hint!!!!” employs a youthful and nostalgic lyrical dialectic speaking of kissing in bedrooms in high school over a bed of electro pop waves crashing over and over again across his never ending catchy hooks.
What I’m listening to
THE CIRCLING SUN
Spirits (Album)
Ya like jazz? Well, how about instrumental progressive jazz from New Zealand? No way! Me too! How I came across this somewhat obscure act from New Zealand is a mystery lost to the ether, but The Circling Sun are here and I love it. With this being their debut long-form release on Spotify, there is little else to go on in terms of where they have come from, and where they will go, but this group have a commanding sound that is simultaneously easily listening, yet thoroughly stimulating. The band tends to keep it fairly tonal, or at least modal, in terms of their key centers, yet their dynamism knows no bounds in their subject matter as they weave and wind through feel changes and vibes moving from the utterly trance-like to the bebop-esque. As their are no vocals (or at least no lyrics) this proves to be an excellent album to work to — as I am doing now — or a trippy vibe setter for an evening of laid back communion.
My favorite tracks from Spirits:
- “Bones”
- “Jewel”
Top photo of Kaitlin Krisko by Laurence Harvey
