Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you a playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.
This week’s playlist comes to us from our old pal S. Preston Duncan. Now, if you’ve been reading RVA Mag for a while, you’ve surely seen Duncan’s many contributions to the magazine over the years, both as a writer and an editor. But now he’s set off on his own, and he’s about to release a combination poetry book and “experimental spoken word music” EP entitled The Sound In This Time Of Being. The work defies easy description, bringing together a written collection of poetic works based on Duncan’s time as a “death doula” and featuring a sewn-thread binding with a six-song EP of spoken, non-rhyming poetry over music that’s best described as an adventurous mix of folk-Americana influences and electronic hip hop beats.
As the EP isn’t quite out yet, Duncan’s Weekend Playlist doesn’t contain any tracks from it, but you can hear one in advance of the EP’s release here. You should check it out, and also make plans to be at Gallery 5 next Wednesday, February 12, when Duncan will celebrate the release of The Sound In This Time Of Being with an evening of spoken word performance that will also include appearances by local poets Ryan Kent, Mara Eve Robbins, and Jamil D. Jasey. Find more info on that event here.
And until next Wednesday rolls around, spend your weekend taking a deep dive into the eclectic sensibilities of S. Preston Duncan. The Weekend Playlist he’s assembled especially for you features everything from old-time country and blues to modern punk and hip hop, bringing in plenty of local artists along the way. It’s a great mix that’ll have you nodding your head all weekend.
Find your voice, Virginia.
Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

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