Those bands everyone is talking about and the beer you have always wanted to taste are finally coming together for the first Sound City Bands & Brews festival happening August 10-11. With 10 bands and over 50 craft and micro beers, summer might be almost over but the party is just getting started.
Those bands everyone is talking about and the beer you have always wanted to taste are finally coming together for the first Sound City Bands & Brews festival happening August 10-11. With 10 bands and over 50 craft and micro beers, summer might be almost over but the party is just getting started.
Headliners include The Breeders, an alternative rock group formed in 1990 by Pixies member Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. The Breeders’ first album Pod, was listed as number 3 of the top 50 albums Kurt Cobain found most influential to Nirvana’s sound. Kurt Cobain reportedly told Melody Maker, “The main reason I like [the Breeders] is for their songs, for the way they structure them, which is totally unique, very atmospheric”. After their album Last Splash was released in 1993, the group went on to open for Nirvana on their In Utero tour. Currently, the Breeders are on their LSXX tour with the reunited Last Spash lineup in conjunction with the 20th anniversary reissue of the album.
Closing out the show is indie-rock group Deerhunter from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 2001 by lead singer Bradford Cox and drummer/keyboardist Moses Archuleta, the band added two members to the group then suffered the loss of their bassist, Justin Bosworth in a skateboarding accident. After a few lineup changes, the band went on to open for The Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails in 2008 while recording their third album Microcastle. Following a three-year hiatus, Deerhunter returned to record Halcyon Digest which placed 3rd on Pitchfork’s 50 Greatest Albums of 2010 list. The band’s sixth studio album, Monomania was released May 7, 2013 and was self-described as “NOCTURNAL GARAGE” and “avant garde but only in context not form (original intent of avant garde (1912-59)/ before logic: FOG MACHINE/ LEATHER/NEON”, [whatever that means].
Responsible for bringing such rad acts to Richmond is former Virginia Commonwealth University student Andrew Holden and business associate, Scott Tripp. “There’s a lot of good music festivals that don’t have good beer and there’s a lot of beer festivals that don’t have good music, and we took it upon ourselves to merge the two,” said Tripp. With local bands such as Black Girls and The Trillions on the festival lineup, Tripp and Holden wanted to bring in outside acts that frequent Richmond less often. “We were looking for some music that Richmond hasn’t seen recently and some really cool acts,” explained Tripp.
With Richmond’s beer loving community in mind, Tripp and Holden partnered with Brown Distribution to bring the best local brew to festival attendees. Favorites include Hardywood Brewery, Star Hill and newcomers Midnight Brewery. “If you pre-buy your tickets, you also get 3 beers included,” mentioned Tripp. Guests should also bring an appetite, for gourmet food vendors will be on site and cooking early. “Our burgers are all certified angus beef and we’re [making] some great tacos and slow-roasting the meat,” said Tripp. “We’re taking some good festival and outdoor food and we’re just making it the best that we can.”
The Sound City Bands & Brews festival will take place August 10 and 11 at the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar right across from Brown’s Island. Gates open at 2:30 and the music starts at 3:30 with The James Badfellows. Single day tickets are available here for $30. Two day general admission tickets are on sale for $50 in advance and will be $65 at the door. VIP tickets are available on a single day basis for $65 or $120 for a two day pass and include covered seating, separate entrances, catered food, full pours of beers and surprise extras. More info can be found through Facebook.
