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 The Tree Productions born from the belief that Richmond deserves its own global stage.
“Warren and I have been showing our work all over the world. Between him touring with Prison Religion globally and curating installations and festivals in Denmark, and my film work landing primarily in New York and Europe, we never really get a chance to build in town. When we finally met, we were both looking for an opportunity to do something big and creative at home. Combine forces, contact lists, and just go hard on something bigger than the sum of its parts,” Detres said.
Jones had been traveling with his band through Europe and working with festivals overseas, often helping younger Black DJs from Richmond land their first passports and first shows abroad. But he knew that couldn’t be enough.
“So much gets stolen from the South,” he said. “L.A. steals our artists. New York steals our artists. Europe steals our artists. Everybody leaves. If we could just stay here, if there was a platform big enough, maybe people wouldn’t have to go.”
👉 RVA Mag is a proud sponsor of Southern Gothic. Use code “RVAMAG” to grab a $60 ticket HERE.
The First Chapter
Their original plan was bold: a 15–20,000 person event to rival South by Southwest. But the reality of city red tape, logistics, and politics, forced them to think differently. Instead, they landed on something smaller, stranger, and more personal: a 1,500-person festival at the Powers BMX Bike Shop, running from 2 PM until 4 AM on Saturday, October 25, 2025.
“Our first ideas were to do this massive, massive 20,000-person festival,” Detres said. “Predictably, the city got in our way. Not intentionally, but that’s Richmond. So what makes this inaugural rollout exciting is that it will not happen again like this. This is essentially a proof of concept – exclusive, limited, and on our terms.”
Jones agreed: “DIY can’t just stay in house shows. Let’s up the caliber. Let’s make something people look at and say: I can do this better, and then go do it.”
Why Southern Gothic?
The festival’s name came from Jones’s love of Toni Morrison and the Southern tradition of beauty rooted in ruin. “This place is decrepit, but in that there’s beauty,” he explained. “There’s ghosts everywhere. Anytime I bring somebody from overseas, they’re blown away by Richmond. It’s always past, present, future — eating itself, pushing us forward. I just felt like Southern Gothic captured that.”
Detres put it more bluntly: “Richmond isn’t a mini Austin or a mini Brooklyn. It’s Richmond. Richmond is Richmond, and nowhere else can be Richmond but Richmond. That’s some brass balls for a city this size, but when you put your neck out far enough to be dangerous, good things happen here.”
The Lineup
The bill reads like a cross-section of Southern grit, underground rebellion, and electronic chaos:
“La Chat is legacy — one of the biggest to ever come out of Memphis, her career tied to strife and fight,” Jones said. “Father gave us the blueprint for a DIY rap label in the SoundCloud era and inspired a whole wave of artists alongside other Atlanta creatives like iLoveMakonnen and Zach Fox. BbyMutha is pushing the Southern witchy Tennessee sound worldwide. Rabit and Halcyon Veil have been pushing electronic and experimental music globally since 2015, even opening up doors for Prison Religion. And then there are local artists like Lucid and Fucknochief, who are not only amazing DJs but also central figures within the Richmond scene. It’s about honoring the people who built this and putting Richmond in the conversation.”
Detres added: “This isn’t influencers. These are the people your favorite bands listen to. All of them are loud, all of them are hype, all of them will deliver — but it’s not one type of music. Horrorcore rap, queer rave, experimental club, glitch hardcore. We want it all in one space.”
La Chat
Aka Chastity Darnestine Daniels rose to prominence in the early 2000s via her work with Hypnotize Minds and Three 6 Mafia. Her appearance on Project Pat’s “Chickenhead” was a breakout, and she released her debut album Murder She Spoke in 2001. She continued dropping albums and mixtapes over the years, and in 2014 she teamed up with Gangsta Boo for the Witch EP.
BbyMutha
Hails from Chattanooga, TN and began her career on SoundCloud. Her 2017 track “Rules” went viral and helped propel her forward; her full-length album Muthaland came out in 2020, followed by sleep paralysis in 2024. Her music often reflects themes of sexuality, motherhood, identity, and resistance with an unapologetic edge.
Father
Centel Orlando Mangum, known as Father, is an Atlanta-based rapper, producer, and founder of Awful Records. Originally from Mississippi, he relocated to Atlanta around age 10. His breakout came with SoundCloud releases circa 2013 and the single “Look at Wrist” in 2014. He released mixtapes and albums including Young Hot Ebony (2014), Who’s Gonna Get Fucked First? (2015), I’m a Piece of Shit (2016), and Young Hot Ebony 2 (2022), with Patricide arriving in July 2025.
Deli Girls
A Brooklyn-based duo fronted by Dan Orlowski (vocals), with rotating producers such as Rae Kelly (until 2022). They formed around 2013 and operate at the intersection of digital hardcore, punk, rave, and queercore, delivering politically charged, high-energy performances. Their 2019 release I Don’t Know How to Be Happy earned them spots on year-end lists. In 2020, BOSS received acclaim, and they released a self-titled LP in 2023, dedicated to the late Brytani Caipa of the ‘fundraving’ collective Melting Point.
Rabit
Eric C. Burton, known as Rabit, is a Houston-born experimental electronic producer specializing in grime, chopped-and-screwed, and post-industrial styles. He’s released critically acclaimed albums like Communion (2015), Les Fleurs Du Mal(2017), and What Dreams May Come (2022). He founded the label Halcyon Veil in 2015 and has worked with artists such as Björk (contributing to the track “Losss” on her Utopia album) and Elysia Crampton.
And more: Bae Bae, Emma DJ, Fucknochief, Lucid, Ozo, River Moon, Restrictor Plate, Xybersex — names you might not know yet, but that’s half the point.
+++ Day Two: Film & Reflection
The festival continues into Sunday, October 26, when the Institute for Contemporary Art hosts The Other Queen of Memphis, a film by Luna Mahoux about La Chat. The screening runs from 2 PM to 4 PM, followed by a Q&A with both Mahoux and La Chat herself.
Looking Ahead
Neither of them sees this as a one-off. “Within five years, I’d like Southern Gothic to be a thing that lasts for two, three weeks,” Detres said. “Replace the dying carcass of South by Southwest. Build a brand around Richmond that’s sustainable, welcoming, and big enough for artists to stay here instead of leaving.”
Jones echoed the same promise: “The goal is always to elevate Richmond. Bring in labels, bring in real A&R. Show them the talent here. Let younger artists know: you don’t have to leave to be seen. We’ll put you on that stage.”
Why It Matters
Southern Gothic isn’t meant to be safe or polished; it’s about what happens when global experimental culture collides with Southern grit. For Jones and Detres, it feels like a resurrection of Richmond’s underground and, just maybe, the start of something much bigger.
“This is the house show that goes to the next stage,” Jones said. “It’s Richmond on display, but it’s also a challenge: step up.”
Detres put it simply: “I want this to be the kind of thing people look back on years from now and say, I was there.”
Main photo of Prison Religion by Ekaterina Lukoshkova
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