Ten years ago, Richmond drummer, bandleader, and all-around musical utility player Kelli Strawbridge released Kings, a collaborative soul and funk record built alongside producer and keyboardist DJ Harrison of Butcher Brown. The album arrived at a moment when independent musicians were still figuring out how to navigate the rapidly changing world of digital music. Streaming existed, but the tools artists now take for granted were still years away.
Now Strawbridge is giving the project a second life.
Next Friday, Kings returns in a newly expanded edition featuring previously unreleased and brand new material, arriving just ahead of the band’s first live performance since 2018 at Cassidy Snider and The Wranglers‘s annual Juneteenth celebration at The Camel.
For Strawbridge, the decision was driven by unfinished business. “I want to re-release this,” he said. “I want to do it better and correctly.”
Originally released in March 2015, Kings was Strawbridge’s first major original project under his own name. While many Richmond music fans knew him from years behind the drum kit with groups ranging from Big Payback to Hotel X and countless session appearances, Kings offered something different. It placed Strawbridge in the role of songwriter, collaborator, and frontman.
Looking back, he believes the record never fully found its footing in the crowded and often confusing landscape of early streaming platforms. “It was very difficult to find the record on streaming,” Strawbridge said. “I wanted to put it back out there.”
The rerelease includes several songs that never made it onto the original album and gives Strawbridge an opportunity to present the project in a way that wasn’t possible a decade ago. Modern streaming services now allow detailed credits, artist profiles, video integration, and promotional tools that simply did not exist in the same form when the album first appeared.
“There are artist portals and all that kind of stuff now,” he said. “All of that makes it so much easier for people to discover the record.”
In many ways, the rerelease arrives at a fitting moment in Strawbridge’s career.
Over the last decade he has expanded far beyond his reputation as one of Richmond’s most versatile drummers. He has released music through his tan.gent project, explored recording and production on his own, developed The Hustle Season Podcast, collaborated with artists across multiple genres, and spent years building a deeper understanding of the creative process from every angle.
Asked what he’s learned since first releasing Kings, Strawbridge’s answer focused less on music and more on people.
“A lot of stuff gets caught up in your own head,” he said. “It’s always good to get outside yourself and get feedback.”
The lesson extends beyond songwriting. As someone who has spent years working inside bands, recording projects, and even podcasting, Strawbridge says collaboration has become one of the most important skills he’s developed.
“You always have to meet people where they are,” he said. “That’s the best way you’re going to be able to keep things going.”
The upcoming Camel performance will offer audiences their first chance in seven years to hear the material live. Strawbridge says roughly half of the original lineup will return, including DJ Harrison, along with longtime collaborators Armando and Reggie Pace of NO BS! Brass. The expanded release will also feature appearances from notable guests, including Nigel Hall of Lettuce.
For fans of Richmond’s deep bench of soul, funk, jazz, and hip-hop musicians, the show feels less like a reunion and more like the continuation of a story that never quite reached its ending.
Main photo by R. Anthony Harris
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