“The noise community here in Richmond is one of the most active yet most under represented local scenes,” said Gary Stevens, organizer of the fourth annual
“The noise community here in Richmond is one of the most active yet most under represented local scenes,” said Gary Stevens, organizer of the fourth annual RVA Noise Fest, in an email interview. “We feel it’s important to give venue to all these wonderfully strange artists to come.”

Like Stevens said, Richmond has a surprisingly large noise scene, something Noise Fest IV hopes to highlight with its 36+ local acts and free entry.

Noise Fest is a showcase of underground music curated by the RVA NOISE collective with a focus on noise music, experimental sound, and outside electronics.

This Saturday, May 2nd, the festival will take over Strange Matter starting at 3 pm for nearly 12 hours of free performances.

“Now in it’s fourth year, we continue to host a wide array of artists working in the realms of harsh noise, power electronics, sound collage, post-techno, ambient soundscapes, drone, freek jazz, improv and otherwise challenging and unconventional music and performance styles,” said Stevens. “This year we highlight the rich and diverse underground music culture of Richmond, VA that has been bubbling up through the cracks over the last few years.”

The intention of this year’s festival, according to Stevens, is “to spread awareness of how lively the local noise scene is and to have a good time sharing that work.”

Noise is the closest thing to purely underground music currently being performed here, perennially existing just below the mainstream, and having an influence which trickles easily into other genres.

“In a contemporary context I believe noise is an underground of the underground. A free form media for expression that defies easy classification. Noise as a genre is a very broad term and it’s importance is highly subjective,” said Stevens. “Academics may consider it a high art while basement venue dwellers believe noise is a more extreme D.I.Y punk aesthetic. No matter how it’s perceived I’d say that noise is important in the way that it’s continually challenged and innovated music ideas over the years.”

Attendees of Noise Fest IV can expect, as always, an all day marathon of back to back abbreviated performances “ranging from chaotic harsh noise to blissful soundscapes.”

If you’ve never been to a noise show before then you’re missing out. They’re loud, abrasive, transient, incredible, and largely indescribable. For a taste of what you can expect check out this video of Mutwawa— who will also be performing this year–tearing it up onstage two years ago.

Noise music’s versatility and ability to grow and adapt always been its biggest strength, according to Stevens, something no other genre has been able to accomplish quite as successfully.

“Noise is constantly changing. It’s an amorphous energy by nature and that makes it hard to quantify,” said Stevens. “More and more projects are popping up all over the place and I’m seeing many ideas sprouted in the noise scene are becoming a part of other forms of music.”

The doors for RVA Noise Fest IV open at 3 pm this Saturday at Strange Matter with performances starting at 4 pm and running until 1 am. There is no cover and therefore no excuse to miss what is sure to be one of the best RVA based festivals of the season.

Checkout the line-up below:

Doors 3PM Sounds 4PM
$0.00!!!

04:00 – B.S.K.
04:15 – Alpha Decay
04:30 – France Gall Entity
04:45 – Le Bron

05:00 – Blue Nine
05:15 – Lacanthrope
05:30 – S.A.R.S.
05:45 – War Anus

06:00 – 10-56
06:15 – Thieves Of Shiloh
06:30 – Negative Space
06:45 – The New Loft

07:00 – Toner War
07:15 – Cecelia
07:30 – Ting Ting Jahe
07:45 – ENE

08:00 – Yoga Demon
08:15 – Creeping
08:30 – Fake Object
08:45 – Dyrt

09:00 – Flood Beast
09:15 – Crack Bytch
09:30 – Brown Piss
09:45 – Broadcastatic

10:00 – Golden Retriever
10:15 – Richard Ripper
10:30 – Daggering
10:45 – Cristal

11:00 – Subklinik
11:15 – Yohimbe
11:30 – Flesh Control
11:45 – Scant + I.G.M.

12:00 – SB & C
12:15 – Predation
12:30 – Coteries
12:45 – Mutwawa

*Line up/Schedule subject to change