Editor’s Note: This piece was written by a student at Randolph-Macon College as part of a feature writing course. Thank you to the students and to Professor Seth Clabough, Ph.D., for organizing the project.
Gavin Lawton remembers the exact moment he decided music was not just a hobby, but a path.
“I was ten years old,” he says confidently. “I got into, I guess you could categorize them as the greats. I got into Elvis and Michael Jackson, and I loved the way they captured the audience, the way they sang, the way they danced, and their songwriting.” He smiles at the memory. “I was like, ‘Hey, Mom,’ we were just in the car, ‘I want to do this.’”
For his sister Love Lawton, the realization came less like a lightning bolt and more like a slow burn.
“Kind of always,” she says of wanting to be a musician.
Together with drummer Gabriel Gillean, the siblings make up Victus, a local band pushing toward what they hope will be a breakthrough. They are realistic about what that means. If there is one thing they have learned so far, it is that the music industry does not hand out guarantees.
“Right off rip, there are so many people better than you,” Gavin says. “There always will be, and that’s just something you have to accept.” He pauses, then adds, “Most people aren’t looking for new music. That’s reality.”
“Not everyone’s going to like what you do or how you do it,” Love says. “So you just kind of have to do your own thing and discover what works for you.”
Behind every artist who “makes it” is a long stretch of persistence that rarely makes the highlight reel. Almost every kid dreams of becoming a music star at some point. Fewer decide to organize their lives around that dream. Fewer still stick with it.
In Richmond, though, the dream can feel a little closer to reach. The city’s live music circuit offers stages, small but meaningful crowds, and the kind of community that can help young bands sharpen their sound.
“We’ve performed at Porchella,” Gavin says, referring to the Bellevue-based front porch festival that began in 2020 as a way to support local music during the pandemic. “We’ve performed at Broadway—”
“—the Broadberry,” Love corrects, laughing.
Broadway may be the ultimate destination, and both siblings have some musical theater experience, but playing The Broadberry is nothing to shrug at. The opportunity came through Mako Music School, where they spent time developing their craft.
“We’ve also played backyard, basement shows,” Gavin adds.
Getting to the point where a band is ready to perform live is its own grind. Forming the band in the first place can be even harder.
“Literally since I was 15 years old, every person I met that said they play an instrument, I tried to get their contact information,” Gavin says. “I was pushy. And I was very much verbal about, ‘Hey, I play music too. We should play together. I’m trying to start a band.’”
“Which is good,” Love says, “because then you scare off the people that don’t want to actually do it.”
What follows are jam sessions. Sometimes that is as far as it goes. Some musicians just want a casual outlet, not the commitment of rehearsals and live gigs. Then comes the chemistry test: personalities, work ethic, shared goals, and the basic logistics of who plays what.
“You can’t be in a band with five guitarists who all want to sing,” Gavin says. “You can’t be in a band with three drummers.”
Right now, Love holds down bass, Gavin plays guitar, and Gabriel Gillean handles drums. Vocally, they share the spotlight.
“We’re both kind of lead singers,” Love says.
“Like a John and Paul thing,” Gavin adds, referencing Lennon and McCartney.
Victus plans to record and release three songs by June. Two are already in progress.
“One of them is very ready,” Gavin says.
“The other one’s like 50 percent,” Love adds. “It has a good foundation.”
Promotion will lean heavily on social media.
“We plan on being very consistent through social media,” Gavin says. “I’m a firm believer that in the music scene that’s just how it is nowadays, especially for an indie artist.” They will also chase gigs wherever they can and consider reaching out to local record labels.
“Our music style is very much going to stand out compared to most of the local bands in Richmond,” Gavin says.
“Hopefully in a good way,” Love jokes.
“At the least in a different way,” he responds.
According to the siblings, punk is currently one of the dominant sounds in Richmond. Victus aims to carve out its own lane by blending genres.
“We tend to blend genres,” Gavin says. “Funk, rock and roll, R&B, with indie-ish kind of sounds, alt.”
The work behind that blend is steady and time-consuming. Gavin estimates the band rehearses together five to ten hours a week, with another ten to fifteen hours of individual practice layered on top. All of it happens alongside day jobs.
“I’ve also busked,” Gavin says. He has played in Carytown, guitar in hand, hoping for spare change. “I got some change,” he says with a shrug.
“Money is hard to make in music,” Love says. “Especially when you’re a young adult in college.”
Both are currently pursuing an Associate of Fine Arts in Music at Brightpoint Community College.
For anyone thinking about following the same path, Gavin offers a clear-eyed warning.
“Be ready to fail more than you succeed,” he says. “To work hard for no payout. But if you work hard enough, there will be.”
“Know that it’s really what you want to do,” Love adds. “Because it’s hard. But it doesn’t really affect people like me and Gavin, because it’s what we love to do.”
So why chase it at all?
“I love it,” Love says simply. “How people respond to it feels really good. The good kind of outweighs the bad. For me, I’ve made people cry with my singing before, which just kind of makes me want to keep going. I mean, I feel like that’s a really cool thing to be able to do. So why not do something with it?”
Gavin feels it too, especially in front of a crowd.
“The feeling of interacting with the audience,” he says. “They feed off your energy and you feed off their energy.” He pauses. “I like the idea of being a community and bringing people together. And that’s something I think is very important about music. It can bring all sorts of different people together.”
For Victus, the payoff is not just streams or ticket sales. It is that moment on stage when the exchange of energy feels real, when a small Richmond room starts to feel bigger than itself. That is the dream they are chasing.
Photo by Flavio Vallone
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