Driving to O’Connor Brewery on Saturday for the second annual LAVA Festival, I found myself overcome with a sense of nervous excitement about the event. Excitement of course because of live music from a good variety of acts, many I knew were going to be nothing short of brilliant on stage, but nervous because I truly didn’t know what to expect from the festival’s second installment.
Driving to O’Connor Brewery on Saturday for the second annual LAVA Festival, I found myself overcome with a sense of nervous excitement about the event. Excitement of course because of live music from a good variety of acts, many I knew were going to be nothing short of brilliant on stage, but nervous because I truly didn’t know what to expect from the festival’s second installment.
Last year’s inaugural event was an unforgettable experience with top-notch artists, unique attractions, and flawless organization. They promised the moon and delivered handsomely, and when news first hit of LAVA’s return affair, it seemed like they were doubling down on that promise. A second day was added, a much more diverse (and local) line-up was offered, and a few more attractions were added into the mix. All signs pointed to LAVA surpassing their debut event with ease and becoming the hottest ticket for Memorial Day Weekend.
But a month before the festival, news broke that LAVA would be cutting their Friday events, moving from Suffolk Executive Airport to O’Connor Brewery, eliminating most of the attractions, and removing four of the acts from the line-up, some of which were highlights like JR JR and Blitzen Trapper. There was no way to sugarcoat it — it didn’t look good and for someone still reeling from the demise of Richmond’s Fall Line Fest, I was pretty worried going into Saturday’s event. Honestly, my worries weren’t put to rest after arriving either. It was hard not to compare their new modest set-up with last year’s expansive layout and it was a little odd to discover there was an actual wedding reception going on inside the brewery, scheduled to end a full hour after LAVA began. There were legitimate reasons to be concerned about the day’s festivities, many of which were admittedly compounded by the absolutely sweltering weather, but getting caught up in the minutia of the day before the opening set even began proved to be an idiotic move. It’s a fact painfully obvious now as I think back on the amazing day spent at LAVA and the staggering performances that I was privileged enough to witness.
Norfolk artist LADADA set the pace of the festival with their opening set, full of musical intensity and irresistible melodies. As raucous as their new record Hi-Five gets at times, it pales in comparison to their live performance with the power trio stretching each composition to its utter limit thanks to hard rhythms and vibrant guitars. Frontman Josiah Schlater is a force to be reckoned with on stage, instantly erasing any memories of LADADA ever being recognized a lo-fi bedroom project.
Short, but stunning, LADADA offered up an incendiary start to LAVA’s love letter to the Virginia music scene. “Why not present what Virginia has to offer?” LAVA promoter Josh Coplon exclaimed when asked about the line-up on Saturday and it seems to have made for a winning formula with the next five Virginian acts all making LAVA a staggering event.
Richmond’s proudest export Lucy Dacus followed and responded to LADADA’s musical explosion with a tempestuous performance that was as much led by Dacus’ emotive presence as it was by Miles Huffman’s fervent cadence. Her brief set contained all of the songs that have made No Burden such an unavoidable hit — like the thundering “Troublemaker Doppelganger” and Dacus’ signature declaration “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore” — as well as the non-album track “Pillar Of Truth,” a moving piece that continues to be a highlight of her live repertoire.
Guitarist Jacob Blizzard was as crafty as ever on the guitar with his intricate contributions washing over the crowd and the rhythm section of visiting bassist Robbie King (of The Trillions) and Huffman provided a concrete foundation for Dacus to construct her emotional monoliths. Throughout the set, Dacus’ endearing personality was on full display as she cradled her guitar at times and even offered best wishes to the recently betrothed. Every last quality that has made Lucy Dacus the hottest artist in Richmond the last six months helped make this set truly memorable, many traits showing definitive signs of improvement that certainly comes from the hectic road life since No Burden‘s release.
LAVA bounced back to the Norfolk presence on the main stage after Dacus with a lively set from colorful retro-rockers Major And The Monbacks. The sextet, augmented by the always entertaining Monback Horn Trio, were as aurally spectacular as ever on stage showcasing why they were tapped to make another appearance at LAVA after their memorable set last year.
Much of the set was music that longtime fans of The Monbacks would remember, but the band also previewed some of what’s to come on their upcoming sophomore album, produced by Matthew E. White himself and recorded at Montrose here in Richmond. The thought of White behind the helms of these retro-rockers is more than enough reason for everyone to keep tabs on this exciting group moving forward, although the crowd at LAVA was surely going to do that anyway after this performance.
It was around this time that the sun began to take its toll on the crowd leading many to find solace inside the now-opened brewery as the wedding reception concluded. It was a let-down to miss out on some of The Monbacks’ set, but heat-retreating fans got a pleasant surprise inside courtesy of a wedding band coming back for more on stage. “We’re hijacking this festival,” declared Matt Eckstine, frontman of Savannah band The Accomplices. They jumped at the chance to revitalize a crowd physically exhausted from the heat and it was a much-needed respite that also significantly bolstered LAVA’s diversity and spontaneity. “It ended up being picture perfect,” Josh Coplon stated hours later. “Planning a wedding is stressful and planning a festival is stressful so both together are ridiculous. So many moving pieces and it was great to see them all come together and provide some unforgettable moments for the crowd and wedding party.”
Richmond favorite Natalie Prass came up next with a great sequel to her loose performance at Friday Cheers from the night before. Making her Virginia Beach origins well-known to the crowd, Prass was in all her glory with an energy that seemed to flourish in spite of the sun’s unrelenting onslaught, offering the crowd every reason to brave the sun for the entirety of her set. And it was completely worth it.
The impish singer weaved her way from song to song, swaying behind a guitar at times and bouncing around guitarist Alan Parker at others. Taking his cue from Prass, Parker himself was as energetic and playful on the guitar as Prass on the mic, with plenty of musically tangled interludes that had both the crowd and the LAVA artists themselves in awe at times. He may have stolen glances for some brief moments, but everyone in the vicinity couldn’t help but have their attention fixated solely on Prass and her singular voice. Songs like “It Is You” and “Bird Of Prey” lifted the crowd to another place, one both charming and exhilarating, and the sheer magnitude of the composition “My Baby Don’t Understand Me” will be resounding in literally any incarnation it takes. The entire set was simply ethereal and by the conclusion of the set closing “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” cover, it was clear something uncanny had truly taken place. By the end of the night, it would be clear that Natalie Prass was the brightest star of LAVA’s exciting musical constellation.
The music of Spacebomb continued to flow after Prass as the crowd at LAVA got to witness the musical genius of Matthew E. White. Also originally from the area and now residing in Richmond, White’s set continued that VA music scene love letter, letting us know that our humble state can go toe to toe with any musical headliner you could offer up.
Here, it matched up in a more reserved manner, with fully fleshed out compositions that sounded as vibrant and rich on stage as they do on White’s records. As towering as White can be in real life, it’s his crafty mind that makes him a truly imposing performer, one that acquires your respect and admiration from the get go and never lets go. In the background of the set, guitarist Alan Parker continued his inhuman exhibition of guitar tricks, but the focus still remained on the songs themselves and letting them take you in whatever direction White’s brilliance dictated. In roughly two hours, it was shockingly clear why Spacebomb has become a glorious feather in Richmond’s musical cap.
The always animated No BS! Brass followed with an insanely sonorous set to close out the local portion of LAVA Fest. With the heat finally dwindling, the group put on a performance that generously replenished the energy of a crowd desperately in need of a boost, if they were to make it through three more acts.
Creative, bombastic, dexterous, striking — any word could be used to describe this entertaining set from an act that’s long been Richmond’s rightful crown jewel. No BS! have a brand of music that is just inescapable to everyone within ear shot, one that compels you to move to the music no matter what the circumstance. Abyssal tones like on “3 AM Bounce” hit hard but also pave the way for effervescent covers like “Take On Me” to offer up pure moments of joy. It didn’t matter that the band was practically performing on top of each other on the modest side stage — this was No BS! in all their majesty, putting the final touches on that now lengthy love letter.
Following No BS! was celebrated soul singer Charles Bradley, the first of the three nationally touring acts on LAVA’s robust line-up. Bradley’s brand of stormy and meteoric soul music instantly won over the LAVA crowd, with his impetuous antics only adding to the overall performance. In between belting out ascendary melodies, Bradley exploited every method to make sure the crowd’s attention didn’t falter, whether he was gyrating his hips or marching across the stage with a mic stand in tow. “Blink and you’ll miss it” was the creed here as he rattled through his interpretations of songs like Black Sabbath’s “Changes” and his own signature songs like “Victim Of Love,” all with a captivating allure that made it seem like the best performance of his career. It may have taken Bradley sixty years to reach superstardom, but it was clear by this set that he wasn’t letting go of it any time soon.
As the sun approached the horizon, the music at LAVA jumped at the opportunity to take an about-face. From LADADA to Bradley, there was a common thread connecting each performer to the next, but it all came to the end when Baltimore artist Dan Deacon took the stage.
After some few technical difficulties — which led to an epic opening rant relayed to the crowd via auto-tune — it was time for Deacon to unleash his celebrated live performance on the crowd, one that’s made him an in-demand artist for well over a decade. Featuring dance circles, strobing lights, and a madman on stage, it was impossible not to lose yourself in the moment even if it was clearly the musical black sheep of the day. That’s a fact Deacon himself was well aware of and even took advantage of for a few moments. “I bet this never happens to Charles Bradley,” he mused while troubleshooting an inoperable microphone and at another point, he even called out the following act, Minus The Bear, to the delight of everyone. Yeah, most came for rock music, but Deacon did more than enough to prove that it’s just not a music festival without an electronica throw down.
Determined to show Deacon up, Minus The Bear took the stage last to close out LAVA in a memorable and grand fashion. After nearly eight hours of intoxicating and exhausting music, the band was able to ignite the crowd and send out the festival in the highest manner possible as they traversed their discography with all the poise and talent you’d expect of an elite festival headliner. Guitarist and singer Jake Snider was utterly ferocious at the forefront of the music, with guitarist Dave Knudson dutifully head-banging in the background and the rhythm section constantly pushing each musical labyrinth forward.
With surprises and misdirections abound, the band did anything but play it safe as they ensured the crowd’s last memory of LAVA Fest would be one of complete amazement. And it truly was. Minus The Bear rose to the challenge of following all the great acts before them and rounded out the incredibly eclectic event with a display of what rock music truly can be without confines — and they did so all to an excited crowd hanging on every note.
When it was all said and done, it was clear that LAVA Fest had succeeded in a smaller capacity without all the frills. Somehow, they provided exactly what they aimed to do in the first year: a premier one-day festival with amazing acts putting on unforgettable performances. While the headliners were fantastic in their own right, it was clear the music of Virginia made this a remarkable event with each unique local artist demanding every attendee pay just a little bit closer to the spectacular music being made in this state. Still, praise and congratulations need to be showered on those behind the scenes at LAVA Fest. They overcame every single obstacle 2016 had to offer and delivered a Memorial Day weekend event for the ages, one that will hopefully continue for years to come.
Mark your calendars for 2017. You won’t want to miss what LAVA does next.
