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Eat Local! The RVA Mag Guide to Supporting Restaurants During COVID-19

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The current situation may be tough on local business, but many restaurants in Richmond are opening up options for delivery and pickup orders to help get past the worst weeks of this pandemic. Here’s how you can help, while scoring delicious eats in the process!

While people are purchasing mass quantities of toilet paper, baby wipes, and frozen chicken, it can be tempting to lock yourself in your house and make meals with what you already have. But when you’re craving your favorite local dishes, restaurants in Richmond have a safe way to bring them to you: with pick-up and delivery, it’s still possible to enjoy the city’s best dining without the worry. Now more than ever, it’s time to support our local businesses however we can. 

We’ve gathered a list of Richmond restaurants that are open for business with new takeout and delivery options during the COVID-19 pandemic. Listings will be updated as more information becomes available. In addition to using these safe avenues to support local business, many locals are also purchasing gift cards to help restaurants through the closures. It’s a great way to show your support now — and still be able to go out to eat when life calms down. Many included have shortened their operating hours, so be sure to order within their updated time frames for pick-up and delivery. 

Check out your favorites here, and if you’re a local restaurant owner, reach out to us at [email protected] to have your spot added below. 

Last Updated 11 AM Tuesday, May 5. No longer being actively updated as of 6/1.

DELIVERY & CARRYOUT OPTIONS AVAILABLE
These establishments — listed in alphabetical order for easy searching — are continuing with, or even adding, carryout and delivery options. Specific details listed with each business.

8 1/2
Church Hill location open (one customer permitted inside at a time). delivery through Quickness. Fan location closed indefinitely.

821 Cafe
To-go orders and delivery available. Open Wednesday- Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday-Sunday 9am-2pm. Menus for ordering options available here.

Ardent Craft Ales 
Curbside pickup and delivery available. 

Assante’s Pizza
Open regular hours (11am-3am) for takeout and delivery.

Barcode
Open regular hours. Takeout available, delivery through Grubhub.

Barrel Thief Wine Shop 
Pickup and delivery both available. 

Beauvine
Everyday 11am – 1am Takeout, Curbside, Delivery. Offering bottle beer, wine, and more. Call 804 -592-5592 to order.

Belmont Pizza 
Pickup and delivery both available. 

Big Herm’s Kitchen
Open Mon-Fri 11am-6pm for takeout and delivery. Order by phone or through Chop Chop, QuicknessRVA, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and EatStreet. Catering orders available. People wishing to support the restaurant can also purchase gift certificates and merch including hoodies, skullcaps, and pajama day shirts.

Bingo Beer Co
Pickup and delivery both available. 12-8pm daily, offering three delivery zones (check them out here) within 12 miles of their location in Scott’s Addition. Order on their website or directly through the link here.

Bryant’s Cider
Open for takeout Fridays 6-8pm, and Saturday-Sunday 3-5pm. Curbside pickup available. Delivery available through website beginning April 1.

Burger Bach Carytown
Open Sunday-Thursday 12-8pm, Friday-Saturday 12-10pm. Delivery from the restaurant directly.

Burger Bach Midlothan, Short Pump, Charlottesville, Durham
12-8pm every day. Curbside carryout, online ordering, and delivery. DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats ordering available.

Buskey Cider 
Open Monday-Friday 3pm-7pm and Saturday-Sunday 12pm-7pm for to-go pickup and free delivery within 15 miles of cidery.

Buz & Ned’s 
Open 11:30am-2:30pm and again 4:30-8pm. Curbside pickup available at West Broad location, pickup from express window at Boulevard location. Delivery available from Grubhub and Postmates.

Cafe Zata
Takeout available, delivery options thru UberEats and Eat Street.

The Camel
Taking orders over the phone for takeout or curbside pickup. Delivery through GrubHub, UberEats, DoorDash and EatStreet. Full menu, growler fill ups, and packaged beer to-go available. New hours are from 3 – 10pm.

Capitol Waffle Shop
Open for takeout and delivery, Monday & Tuesday 9am-2pm, Wednesday through Sunday 9am-8pm.

Carytown Burgers & Fries
Open for takeout and delivery, including beer, at Carytown and Lakeside locations. Order through website.

Casa Del Barco 
Reopening downtown location Friday, March 27 for takeout and delivery. Open 12pm-9pm.

Casa Grande
Locations in Short Pump, on West Broad St near Parham Rd, and on Brook Rd near Virginia Center Commons, are currently open for takeout and delivery from 11am-10pm Mon-Thurs, 11am-11pm Fri-Sat, and 11am-9:30pm Sunday. Takeout orders can be placed through their website. Delivery available through DoorDash.

Casa Italiana
Open daily 11am-8pm for curbside pickup and delivery.

Cobra Cabana 
Pickup and delivery both available. 

Conch Republic Rocketts
Open for takeout from 11:30am-8:30pm, and for delivery from 11:30am-7:30pm. Employee delivery is available if you call the restaurant directly at (804)226-6242, or you can order through Uber Eats.

The Daily 
Open for carryout and delivery. Offering delivery through ChopChopRVA, from both Short Pump and Carytown locations. Hours generally 12-8pm but check Facebook for updates.

Diamond Billiards
Offering curbside delivery of our full menu Tuesday-Saturday from 11:00am-7:00pm. (804) 794-8787

En Su Boca
Open every day noon-midnight for takeout and delivery. Curbside pickup available. Offering bottle beer, wine, and House margarita mix. Call (804)359-0768 to order.

Garnett’s Cafe 
Takeout and delivery only. Order online at website.

The Grapevine
Open regular hours. Takeout and delivery available.

Growlers To Go 
Boulevard location open afternoons, Thursday through Sunday. Short Pump location open afternoons, Tuesday through Sunday. Limited taps available. Offering curbside pickup. Delivery available 3-8pm every day; order through website.

GWARBar
Open for takeout and delivery 11am-10pm. Beer and wine available for pickup.

Helen’s 
Open for takeout and delivery Tuesday-Saturday 5-9pm. Limited menu available, updated weekly. Call (804)358-4370 to order.

Home Sweet Home
Pickup and delivery both available. Call 804-355-9000 to order pickup, and delivery orders can be placed through Uber Eats, GrubHub, DoorDash, and Chop Chop RVA.

Home Team Grill
Fan location: Takeout and delivery available through DoorDash and Grubhub. 12-7pm daily hours.
Twin Hickory location: Takeout with Curbside and delivery through Doordash. 11:30am-8pm daily hours.

India K’Raja
Takeout and delivery available.

Isley Brewing Company 
To-go orders, delivery within 10 miles of brewery. 

Izzy’s Kitchen
Open for pickup from 11am-3pm and 5-7:30pm. Curbside pickup available. Delivery available through Chop Chop RVA.

Julep’s New Southern Cuisine
Opening for takeout and delivery with updated menu starting Tuesday, March 24. Hours will be 11am-5pm Monday-Saturday. Delivery available within 10 mile radius.

La Bamba Mexican Restaurant
To-go orders available including beer. Use parking lot and call to notify staff of your arrival. Delivery available through EatStreet.

Latitude Seafood Co.
Both locations open for carryout and delivery. Stony Point location open from 12-8pm, Westchester Commons from 4-8pm. Delivery available directly or through ChowNow, Grubhub, and Doordash.

Legend Brewing Co.
Open 12-8pm daily with to-go craft beer and food specials. Curbside pickup available, free delivery to Manchester and Forest Hill areas. Menu on website; call (804)232-3446 to order.

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery 
Open Monday-Friday 2-7pm, Saturday-Sunday 12-7pm. Drive-thru curbside pickup, delivery, and shipping throughout Virginia and some other states (check website for info on shipping out of state).

The Local Eatery And Pub
Open for curbside pickup and delivery 12-7pm seven days a week. Limited menu viewable on facebook page. Call (804)358-1862 to place an order.

Luther Burger
Open for takeout and delivery. Curbside pickup available. Hours and menu subject to change, check Facebook for current info.

Maldini’s
Open regular hours; 11am-10pm Sunday-Thursday, 11am-11pm Friday-Saturday. Curbside takeout, family-style dining options available as well as regular menu. Delivery in-house or through Uber Eats, Doordash, and Slice.

Mama J’s Kitchen
Carryout and delivery available; call or order through website in advance for carryout. Delivery available through Doordash and Postmates.

McCormack’s Whisky Grill
Open daily from 11:30am-9pm for takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery. Limited menu — check Facebook for available options.

Mellow Mushroom 
All local locations open 11am-8pm for takeout and curbside pickup. Delivery orders available online only.

Mojo’s 
Pickup and delivery both available. Employee support fund at GoFundMe.

Nama
Open for carryout and delivery Tuesday-Sunday 4-9pm. Two deals available that donate 15 percent of proceeds to Richmond Animal League.

Piccola Italy
Takeout available strictly from takeout window on Harrison St. side of building. Delivery continues with usual hours and ordering process. Call 804-355-3111 to place all orders until further notice.

PikNik 
Open 3-9pm daily for takeout and delivery. To order, call (804)729-4693.

Pizza Express Westend
Open for curbside pickup and no-contact delivery, Sunday-Thursday 10:30am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 10:30am-11pm.

Postbellum
Open 4pm-9pm Wednesday-Sunday for takeout. Curbside service available. Limited menu available for delivery through Uber Eats and Doordash.

Rappahannock RVA 
Open 12-8pm daily for takeout and delivery. Call (804)545-0565 or order online through Grubhub.

Root Stock Provisions
Open for takeout Thursday-Sunday 8am-2pm. Delivery available through Uber Eats.

Roots Natural Kitchen
Open normal hours, for takeout only. Delivery available through third party delivery apps (Uber Eats, Doordash, Postmates).

SB’s Lakeside Love Shack
Delivery and takeout available.

Sedona Taphouse
Curbside pickup and delivery available. Bottled and canned beer, and wine served at 50% off to residents and businesses within a 5-mile radius of Glen Allen and Midlothian locations. $5 delivery fee. Family Meal Deal with two flat iron steaks, with two sides each and a bottle of wine for under $40. Monday-Thursday and Sunday 11am-8:30pm, Friday and Saturday 11am-10pm.

Soul Taco
Both locations, Jackson Ward and Shockoe Slip, open for takeout. Orders can be placed through their website, or by calling in. Delivery available through Quickness, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, and Grubhub. Cocktails and meal kits available; check their Instagram or Facebook for current info on types of kits and times available.

Station 2
Open 11am-midnight for takeout and delivery. Parking lot pickup available, delivery available through Uber Eats.

Sticky Rice
Open daily for takeout and delivery 11am-9pm. Curbside pickup available. Delivery available through Quickness.

Strangeways Brewing 
To-go beer orders only. Open 2-7 Monday through Friday, 12-7 Saturday, 2-6 Sunday. Curbside pickup available at both Dabney Rd and Scott’s Addition locations. Dabney Rd location also doing delivery Monday-Saturday. Order before 5pm for deliveries between 5 and 7pm that evening.

Sugar Shack Donuts 
Lombardy St and Parham Rd locations open for takeout and delivery 7am-2pm. Delivery via Grubhub and Uber Eats.

Switch
Wine, beer, and merch only. Open Tuesday-Sunday 1-9pm for takeout. Delivery from 4-9pm.

TGI Fridays
Five local locations accepting orders for takeout and delivery. Hours and ordering info through website.

Toast
Carryout and delivery available. Curbside pickup available by request. Delivery handled through Uber Eats and Grubhub.

Triple Crossing Beer 
Offering to-go and delivery options for beers. 

Union Market 
Dining room and bar temporarily closed, but full menu available to-go. Can be ordered online from UberEats (delivery fees have been waived for independent restaurants), or call in for pick up or for delivery through Quickness RVA. If you’re in the delivery zone for Quickness RVA, they can also deliver items from the market, including essentials, snacks, beer and wine. The market side of the business will remain open for shopping needs. 

Upper Shirley Vineyards
This Charles City-based winery is offering delivery to Richmond Tuesday through Friday, and curbside pickup at the winery from 12-3pm. To order, email [email protected] For directions, check their website.

The Veil 
Open for takeout 1-7pm Monday-Friday and 12-6pm Saturday-Sunday. Delivery available ($40 minimum) by emailing [email protected] Orders placed by 12 noon will receive same day delivery by 6pm; orders after 12 noon will be delivered the next day.

Weezie’s Kitchen
Open for takeout and delivery. Brunch menu available daily, all day. Hours are 12am-10pm daily. Delivery available through Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Doordash.

CARRY-OUT RESTAURANTS
These places are operating mainly on a takeaway basis, some with limited hours and/or menus. If you are making a to-go order, check on order-ahead options — they’re a good time-saver when available. This list is long, so again, they’re in alphabetical order for easy scrollability.

Alewife 
To-go only. 

The Answer Brewpub 
12-5pm Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday. A list of items available for purchase is available on The Answer’s Instagram. 

Baked RVA
This food truck is on the corner of 10th and Leigh streets in front of Barnes & Noble Monday through Friday from 7am-11pm, offering takeout pastries and baked goods.

Barrio Taqueria & Tequila
Limited menu with pick-up only via online ordering. Delivery coming soon. They were closed all last week, so check Facebook for updates on whether they’ve reopened.

Belmont Butchery 
Pickup available. Limit 3 customers inside butchery at a time.

Black Hand Coffee Company 
Open for takeout. Brookland Park location from 7am-1pm, Patterson Ave location 8am-2pm. Offering mobile order pick-up on the Cloosiv app. The instructions for this are on their Instagram: “Simply download the Cloosiv app, enter your info, allow your location to be shared with the app and you’re good to go.” 

Blue Bee Cider 
Curbside pickup available. 

Brenner Pass 
Curbside pickup available. 

Can Can Brasserie 
To-go only options available. 

Center of the Universe Brewing
To-go sales only with adjusted taproom hours. Curbside pickup available, park alongside the front curb and proceed to the front door. Patrons will stay outside, and COTU team will deliver orders to the front. All tips received will benefit the front staff during closures. 10% off all case purchases and a buy $50 worth of COTU gift cards and get $10 free promotion. Growlers can be filled (only with the purchase of a new growler). Kegs are available, ordering via email at [email protected] for availability and pricing. Gift cards are available here.

Chez Foushee
Offering curbside pickup between 4 and 6 pm Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Preparing a set amount of food nightly; order by midnight the night before to avoid sellouts.

Chiocca’s
Open for takeout 12-8pm daily.

Commercial Taphouse
Open for takeout orders Friday through Sunday, and on Cinco De Mayo. Orders can be placed by phone beginning at 2pm and picked up at the restaurant between 5 and 8pm. See their Instagram for specific daily details.

Curbside Cafe
Full menu available for takeout 11am-10pm.

Diamond Billiards
Full menu available for curbside pickup Tuesday-Saturday 11am-7pm.

Dot’s Back Inn 
Open for takeout 11am-8pm daily. Limited menu available for curbside pickup.

Dutch and Company 
To-go orders available at website. Back door dogs available every Saturday.

Early Bird Biscuit Co
Takeout available at both locations.

Fallout
Open for takeout with curbside pickup, 6pm-midnight daily. No membership required. Call (804)343-3688 to order.

Final Gravity Brewing Co. 
To-go options available. 

Fine Creek Brewing Company 
To-go beers available for pickup. 

Galaxy Diner
Open for takeout 12-8pm. Working on setting up delivery — check back!

Garden Grove Brewing & Urban Winery 
Curbside pickup available. 

Gelati Celesti
Takeout is available with limited flavors posted on their website. Call order hotline at (804)200-0600 from 11am-8pm to place orders.

Hardywood 
Offering to-go orders of beers 2-7pm Tuesday through Friday, and 11am-4pm Saturday and Sunday. Place orders here.

Intermission Beer Company 
Curbside pickup available. 

Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Bar 
Open 11am-10pm for takeout and delivery only. Curbside pickup available. Order through website.

Joe’s Inn 
Takeout available for curbside pickup only. Call (804)355-2282 to order.

Laura Lee’s 
Open for takeout 12-8pm. Order online through website.

New York Deli 
Open 11am-7pm for takeout. Offering online ordering through the Toast Takeout app, or call 804-358-DELI. For extra support, check out the “New York Deli employee relief fund” on GoFundMe with 100% going directly to the staff, set up by Trent Hazelwood.

North End Juice Co
Open for carryout only. Food industry folks who’ve lost income are offered a 20 percent discount and a free wellness shot.

O’Tooles 
Takeout only at both locations, Forest Hill and Midlothian. 

Oak And Apple
Open for takeout Thursday-Sunday 5-10pm. Curbside pickup available.

Perch RVA
Open 12-8pm. Take-out meals available with wine; order via Toast or by phone at (804)669-3344. Menus will be posted daily. 

Peter Chang
Takeout only. 

Proper Pie 
Takeout only. Limit of 5 customers in store at a time. 

The Red Door Restaurant
Open 11am-5pm Monday-Friday for, as their email to us put it, “to-go and double parking.”

River City Roll 
Open for takeout with curbside pickup 12-7pm daily.

The Roosevelt 
Open for takeout — order online from noon to 8pm at Upserve. Check Facebook for current menu and hours.

Rostov’s Coffee & Tea
Pick-up services from front and back doors, customers can call ahead to order (preferred payment via credit card over the phone when ordering). Walk-up ordering available. Pounds of coffee and bags of tea for sale, no brewed beverages during this time. “Joe-to-Go” available (8 cups of brewed coffee) if ordered when calling ahead, and cold brew concentrate pick-ups are available as well. All pens, credit card terminals, door handles, flat surfaces and more are sterilized regularly.

Sabai 
5pm-10:30pm. Offering take-out services only, curb-side pick-up is also available if preferred. 

Secco Wine Bar 
Online ordering and curbside delivery. “Secco Supper To-Go” includes two appetizers, two share plates, one dessert and one bottle of wine, tax and gratuity for $78.48. Menu and wine list available on Facebook. Offering pickup on cheese/charcuterie boards and will add more a la carte and retail wine options for pickup. 

Sidewalk Cafe
Offering curbside pickup of to-go orders from 11am – 6pm.

Southbound 
Takeout only. 

Social 52 
Takeout only. 

Starr Hill Richmond Beer Hall & Rooftop 
To-go beers available from the brewery. 

Stoplight Gelato and Cafe
Takeout only. 

Superstars Pizza
Open 11am-7pm daily for curbside pickup. Order at this link.

Tazza Kitchen 
Curbside takeout and drive-through pick-ups. 

The Treat Shop 
Curbside takeout available Monday-Saturday 9am – 7pm. All menu items except donuts will be available.

Väsen Brewing Company 
To-go only beer orders; crowler fills available. 

Wooden Spoon Cafe
Open for curbside pickup Monday-Friday 11am-6pm, and during Saturday brunch hours 11am-2pm.

WPA Bakery 
Takeout orders only. 

DIRECT DELIVERY 
These places are doing delivery only, either through particular apps or directly by the staff. We’ll give specifics in the listings (once again, alphabetical to aid in your search), as well as info on hour reductions.

Adarra 
Wine delivery available. Deliveries made Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons. Email [email protected] to order.

Everyday Gourmet
This local catering company that also offers a weekly meal delivery service called WellFed. During social distancing, they’ll be doing contactless delivery through all of Richmond and their local communities including (but not limited to) Midlothian, Glen Allen, Mechanicsville, Ashland, Chesterfield, Goochland, Manakin Sabot. Low delivery fees (capped at $10 at the furthest distance). Delivering Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Offers bulk, family-sized selections, a breakfast menu, and freezer-friendly meals, along with special meals for the various diets of people in the area.

King Of Pops
King Of Pops are doing deliveries; an employee will bring pops to your door. Order by noon for same day delivery. Orders can be placed at kingofpopsstore.com

CLOSED


The following restaurants have closed their doors — most temporarily, a few permanently. This means total loss of income for these establishments — and all of their employees. Keep in mind that if/when these places return, they are going to need your help in a big way. We will list reopen dates when available.

23rd and Main 
Closed until further notice. 

3 Monkeys 
Closed indefinitely. 

3rd Street Diner 
Closed until further notice.

Bandito’s 
Closed temporarily. 

Bamboo 
Closed until further notice.

Boogaloos 
Closed until further notice.

Brunch 
Closed until further notice.

Capital One Cafe 
All locations closed temporarily. ATMs in vestibules are still open, ATMs located within cafe are closed.

Cary St. Cafe 
Closed until further notice. 

Citizen
Permanently closed.

Citizen Burger Bar 
Not to be confused with Citizen, above. Closed temporarily.

Crossroads RVA 
Closed indefinitely. Donate to Staff Relief Fund at GoFundMe.

Dogtown Brewing 
Closed indefinitely. 

Don’t Look Back 
Both locations temporarily closed.  Support the staff by joining the Don’t Look Back Club, which donates all profits directly to the staff during closures. Perks from DLB Club last an entire year after re-opening, with discounts and special items for all members.

F.W. Sullivan’s 
Closed for the foreseeable future. 

Fuzzy Cactus 
Closed for the foreseeable future. Events and shows cancelled through April.

Ipanema Cafe 
Closed temporarily — “on hiatus” in their words. 

The Jasper 
Closed for the foreseeable future. 

Kabana 
Closed temporarily. 

Lady N’awlins 
Closed temporarily. 

Little Nickel 
Closed temporarily. 

L’Opossum 
Closed indefinitely. Support fund for employees available on GoFundMe.

Lulu’s 
Closed until further notice.  

Lunch & Supper 
Closed temporarily.

Mekong Restaurant 
Closed temporarily. 

Millie’s Diner 
Closed until further notice. 

Penny Lane Pub 
Closed for “at least two weeks.” Check back at the beginning of April for updates.

Perly’s 
Closed temporarily. 

Pop’s Market on Grace 
Closed temporarily. 

Tio Pablo 
Closed until further notice. 

Do you need to update any of these listings, or add one from your restaurant? Email us: [email protected] We will update listings as soon as possible.

Yerba Mate: The Quiet Rise Of An Energy Drink With Ancient Roots

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From convenience stores to hip local restaurants, a caffeinated South American infusion is taking over Richmond’s taste buds. If you don’t know what yerba mate is all about, now’s the time to find out.

Yerba mate has been around for hundreds of years, but it’s only in the very recent past that the greatness of this heavily caffeinated South American tea has reached popular awareness here in Richmond.

In our fast-moving modern society, a lot of us reach for caffeinated drinks to keep going. But when you stop by the 7-11 looking for a quick boost on a weekday afternoon, the typical options aren’t always that appealing. Diet sodas usually don’t strike the right flavor balance, while regular sodas are full of heavy, sugary corn syrup. Energy drinks are highly acidic, and their frequent use of mysterious chemicals can be off-putting. Coffee has an appealing flavor for many people, but its diuretic side effects offer a significant downside.

But in many convenience stores around Richmond, you can find a bright alternative alongside the Tazo teas — a drink known as yerba mate. It initially appealed to me as a non-carbonated tea variety that featured 160 mg of caffeine per can, and at first sip, I was hooked. It drinks smooth like a tea, doesn’t hurt my stomach like coffee, and offers every bit the kick of a Red Bull. For caffeine addicts, it seems almost too good to be true.

PHOTO: via Guayakí Yerba Mate 

While Americans might only have encountered Yerba mate in recent years through the canned and bottled versions created and sold by California beverage company Guayaki, Yerba mate (pronounced “mah-tay”) is actually a plant with origins in the central region of South America, centered in what is now Paraguay. The drink made from it, known generically as mate, is made by infusing the leaves of the yerba mate plant in water — much like the way tea is made. The resulting drink is packed with vitamins and minerals, and contains more antioxidants than green tea. Yerba mate is rich in phenolic compounds that decrease the damaging effects of cholesterol, and it has even been shown in studies to help kill off colon cancer cells.

Richmond is a city that loves its food, and when it comes to intriguing new flavors, our citizens keep their ears to the streets. Therefore, it didn’t take long for a drink with a fast-growing cult following to start showing up in Richmond’s hip dining establishments. Jackson Ward eatery Cobra Cabana’s bar menu features a Yerba mate cocktail called “Honky In Kingston.”

“Originally before they had energy drinks, this was your more organic vodka Red Bull,” says Cobra Cabana co-owner Herbie Abernathy. Of their hot take on the drink, Abernathy tells us, “My business partner lives up in new York, and he makes these with a recipe that came straight from Berlin. This recipe comes from Club Mate — its a brand that they’ve been using over there for years. And what they do in bars and clubs is they drink the top off the bottle. Two big gulps or sips, then they pour overtop any spirit you want — mostly vodka.”

For Cobra Cabana, keeping a steady supply of White Label Yerba Mate soda, a Brooklyn-based yerba mate beverage, is of paramount importance. “They don’t sell this everywhere,” said Abernathy, holding up a bottle of Club Mate. “For a long time, Josh, my partner, would drive up to Brooklyn, fill up his truck with them, and bring them back. Until last year, the only places you could get this drink in the United States were here in Richmond at Cobra Cabana, down in Miami, or in Brooklyn.”

For Abernathy, the caffeinated kick of yerba mate was a big part of the appeal. “I needed an alternative to coffee,” he said. “It’s way better than an energy drink, and it will fucking jazz you up. This drink is really popular amongst the DJ and club scene in Europe, and even though I don’t really party anymore, I drink this a lot if I have a whole day’s worth of shit to do.”

White Label Yerba Mate at Cobra Cabana, via Cobra Cabana/Facebook

Meanwhile, outside downtown, yerba mate has been making inroads into campus life at the city’s more suburban colleges. At the University of Richmond, student ambassadors pass cans out on campus, and campus clubs can request free supplies of Yerba mate for their meetings. “Yerba mate’s been a huge thing pretty much ever since I started at the University of Richmond,” says U of R sophomore Kaitlin Edwardson. ” They sell out at the convenience store all the time because so many people always buy them. It’s like oxygen on this campus; it’s so bizarre. They sell Red Bull and Monster [Energy Drink] here, but everyone is always carrying around Yerba. People basically need them to function.” 

It’s not just a U of R thing, either; 7-11s around the city struggle to stay stocked with the beverage, and are constantly out of mint flavors in particular. At a time when some people are looking for ways to reduce their consumption of artificial flavors and chemical-based substances, Yerba mate provides a healthier approach to revitalization and energy re-uptake.

Maybe that’s a big part of the appeal, or maybe it’s just that it’s delicious. The mint flavor is a good place to start, but the revel berry seems to be the real crowd favorite. If you haven’t tried yerba mate yet, our advice is to grab one and find out for yourself why this drink is quietly becoming a Richmond staple.

Top Photo by Jorge Zapata on Unsplash

RVA ON TAP: Hallobeer, Booz Crawls, & Punk’in Carver Parties

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What’s happening, craft beer lovers of RVA?! Welcome to this week’s RVA On Tap, RVA Magazine’s weekly column for all your craft beer-related events, releases, festivals, and all the booze news your hearts desire.

If you missed the last column, you can check that out here. Our kegs are overflowing this week with beer releases and festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town, so hold on to your mugs.

This week, you’ll have so many choices for events that you won’t be able to attend enough in one day. Hardywood Park Craft Brewery is kicking off HALLOWEEK with their Haunted Food Truck Court tomorrow night, Hallobeer is going down at The Answer Brewpub, Cobra Cabana is hosting Stone Brewing Richmond for a Punk’in Carver party, the Scott’s Addition Booz Crawl is back, and Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery is hosting a costume party — and that’s only the beginning.

PHOTO: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

It’s the mooooost wonderful tiiiiiime of the year! Halloween is right around the corner, which means HALLOWEEK is back at RVA Magazine. Hardywood Park Craft Brewery is releasing a beer as the official beer of the week, Farmhouse Pumpkin. In the spirit of the season, HALLOWEEK means all the awesome beer, shows, events, and haunted houses you can take in one week. It’s kicking off with our pals and co-hosts at Hardywood, starting fresh tomorrow night with the Haunted Food Truck Court at Hardywood. They’ll be dropping a “ghoulish” new brew, hosting food trucks with Halloween-inspired menus, “devilish” selfie stations, and — of course — costumes galore!

PHOTO: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

Come dressed in your best and grab goodies from the Richmond Zombie Walk, plus get tips on how to make the best costumes of all from Aisthesis Productions (the hands behind the scariest costumes around, and the recent locally-produced horror movie Last Call). As Aisthesis says, “Less Bore, More Gore.”

Hardywood’s also releasing their Quydrawine in bottles this Friday, honoring the beloved Quy Pham of The Answer Brewpub. This barrel-blended ale was brewed with inspiration from Quy, with his positivity and generosity that will stay in the hearts of his loved ones forever. Quydrawine is a bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout blended with a hyper-hopped fresh American barleywine — which means it’s packed with big, burly, bold flavors “that will Kong even the strongest of late night warriors.”

In more Hardywood news, Trickery (pictured first) is coming back out this Saturday at the brewery. Another Imperial Stout, this milk stout hits in at 13.5% ABV with ten months under its belt in apple brandy barrels. It has flavors of blackstrap molasses — yum! — with warm caramel and chocolate-covered cherries, to bring out the fall love in us all.

PHOTO: The Answer Brewpub

Speaking of events honoring Quy, The Answer Brewpub is hosting their extra-awesome 13th Annual Hallobeer on Monday, with Mekong Xpress playing the music of Elvis all night long.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Quy’s family, and in addition to tunes by The King himself throughout the evening, The Answer will be putting out some special drink releases. They’ll also have a Street Fighter tournament for those who are interested, plus costume contests with prizes if you want to come out in your best-dressed Halloween costumes (or Elvis getups, according to The Answer) to celebrate Halloween and Diablo.

PHOTO: Cobra Cabana & Stone Brewing Collab

Two of my favorite places in one event!! Stone Brewing Richmond is partnering up with Cobra Cabana for the Punk’in Carver Party — nice puns, y’all — with pumpkin carving in Richmond’s Carver neighborhood. With the best beer at the best spot, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Local pumpkins from Gallmeyer Farms will be on deck, and carving tools will be provided (but in true punk fashion, your crusty old pocket knife will also work just fine). Stone’s bringing out their special release, Ghost Hammer IPA, for the occasion to go along with the regular beers on the patio, so if you’re too cheap for craft beer this week, a $3 Lone Star will do. And for the witchier of us, Madame Onça will be out doing Tarot Card readings!

They’ll also have DJ Al Hitchcock out “spinning spooky tunes” through the evening, and fundraising efforts will benefit the Halloween Parade.

PHOTO: Scott’s Addition Booz Crawl

Boozy neighborhood friends rejoice: the Scott’s Addition Booz Crawl is back, and it’s happening all day this Saturday. If you’re an adult who is bummed by the no-trick-or-treating-without-kids rules of society, then this is good news for you.

The Booz Crawl lets you bounce around “trick-or-treating” through the neighborhood to try all the beer, ciders, meads, and whiskeys of the neighborhood. If you pick up Booz Crawl cards at the spots on the list, you can even win a $25 gift card individually to each location from getting three unique stamps at the breweries and being entered to win.

Participating breweries include (in alphabetical order) Ardent Craft Ales, Bingo Beer Co., Black Heath Meadery, Blue Bee Cider, Buskey Cider, Courthouse Creek Cider, Isley Brewing Company, Reservoir Distillery, Strangeways, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, Vasen Brewing Company, and The Veil Brewing Co.

PHOTO: Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery

It’s costume time on the farm! Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery is hosting a Halloween Costume Party this Saturday complete with bonfires to bring fall’s best activities all together. There’s nothing like the smell of a fire pit or hanging out on a farm when it first gets chilly outside, and I couldn’t be happier this time of year.

If you’re down for the drive, head out to Goochland for one of my most favorite spots in the area. They’ll have live music rolling all evening with Mobius Strip, plus eats from the Firesides food truck, and probably the best part of all, always lots of dogs. I meet the cutest dogs when I’m out there, and if you haven’t seen their farm, it’s truly something special to find this close to the city. Lickinghole Creek is a gem, and this is the best season to spend some time with them.

PHOTO: Isley Brewing Company

Happy birthday, Isley! I just love this brewery, and I’m stoked to see them complete another trip around the sun.

Isley Brewing Co. is celebrating their 6th birthday this Saturday with tons of limited releases, live music, giveaways, games, and food trucks to accompany the Scott’s Addition Booz Crawl. They’ll be giving away VIP cards to the 6th and 66th guests at the brewery for *four free drinks per day!!* at Isley for the entire month of November. If that isn’t something to get stoked about, I don’t know what is.

Beer releases and returns throughout the week leading up to the event include: Cookies & Cream Porter, Irish Cream Porter, Fastidious Father Banana Peanut Butter Porter, Booze Mother Bourbon Barrel Aged Peanut Butter Porter, Stunt Dubbel Pumpkin Belgian Double, and their Mixed Berry Gose.

For eats, they’ll have The Return of the Mac food truck with gourmet macaroni and cheese, and The Lab Confectionery local bakery specializing in stroopwafels, Unicorn Cake, and freshly-baked goods. With live music, open mics, and pumpkin carving, there’s more than enough for everyone to have a blast throughout the day.

PHOTO: Väsen Brewing Company

Releasing tonight, Väsen Brewing Company has partnered up with Blue Sky Fund to drop their collab beer: Wanderlust 10. This Wanderlust recipe will give 10 percent of proceeds back to the Blue Sky Fund in honor of the #HikeForKids campaign, and this malty, dark chocolate-flavored beer doesn’t disappoint.

You’ll catch flavors of vanilla, German beechwood, and smoked malt together with the dessert flavors and cocoa nibs, plus real vanilla beans and a hint of smoke from the beechwood malts. As the brewery says, this beer “will have you pining for a crisp fall hike followed by an evening spent around the campfire” — and they have the first part covered!

They’re hosting a group hike this Saturday and enjoying this beer together afterward at the post-hike party at the brewery.

PHOTO: Three Notch’d RVA Collab House

This Friday at Three Notch’d RVA Collab House, head over for First Tap Friday, where the brewery is releasing their Throwing Back Blueberries Imperial Gose.

The beer is coming out along with Three Notch’d collab partners Throwing Back Sunday, an emo throwback cover band that’s also headlining the Nightmare on Emo Street Big Ass Halloween Party (another part of RVA Magazine’s HALLOWEEK!) at The Broadberry later Friday night.

PHOTO: Castleburg Brewery and Taproom

It’s Halloween at Castleburg Brewery and Taproom, as well! They’re hosting their 4th annual Halloween Party this Saturday with Cashmere Jungle Lords.

Unlike a lot of costume contest parties, this one will have more than one winner. Castleburg’s giving away cash prizes to contestants in all three categories of Scariest, Best Overall, and Best Couples costumes. Along with prizes, the brewery is hosting tons of great beer along with surf rock playing throughout the night. 

That’s it for this week’s RVA On Tap! As your weekly columnist, I’m here to take all your beer releases, event info, ideas and questions. If you’re a brewer, send me your release info at [email protected], and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!

Shake Some Action: Weekend Playlist by Cobra Cabana

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you an A-plus can’t-miss playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This time around, our playlist comes from Cobra Cabana, the much-loved restaurant and bar on Marshall St in Carver. They’ll be rocking hard all day tomorrow with a one-year anniversary party sure to be the highlight of your weekend. As much of a staple as this place has become in its first year of existence, it’s hard to believe it’s been in our lives for such a short time. Here’s to many more years of awesomeness!

Saturday’s party, a free affair, begins around 3 PM and will last into the night. It will feature performances by legendary rap superstar Kool Keith and stoner rock veterans Weedeater, both of whom show up on the playlist Cobra Cabana put together as a sneak preview for RVA Mag’s readers. There are a ton of incredible sounds on the playlist, from Euro-pop and essential disco to No Wave, hardcore punk, and classic country — plus a whole lot more. Put it on now and you’ll blast it all weekend — except when you’re actually at Cobra Cabana, of course.

Dig in, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: October 16 – October 22

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, October 19, 3 PM
Cobra Cabana’s One Year Cobranniversary, feat. Kool Keith, Weedeater @ Cobra Cabana – Free!
It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since Cobra Cabana opened over in Carver. They’ve wasted no time making themselves an integral part of the Richmond scene, from their delicious and politically-informed menu to organizing motorcycle rallies and hosting outdoor rock n’ roll parties. They’ll be hosting another outstanding party this Saturday afternoon, and whether you’re there every week or haven’t made it in yet at all, you’re going to want to be there.

This one-year celebration is branching out from the hard-rockin’ theme of the last big show at Cobra Cabana, giving it a huge dose of hip hop talent with a headlining set from Kool Keith himself. This legend of rap has been rocking mics and dropping bizarre and fascinating rhymes for over three decades now, getting his start with Ultramagnetic MCs in the late 80s and hitting a creative peak in the late 90s with Sex Style, Dr. Octagonecologyst, and First Come First Served… all of which were released under different names. Keith’s still incredibly prolific to this day, and returned to his Dr. Octagon alter ego last year for the excellent Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation, before following that up with this year’s equally great but far more straightforward KEITH.

All of which is to say that this groundbreaking hip hop veteran hasn’t lost a single step even after three decades, and you’ll need to see the fire he can bring to Cobra Cabana this Saturday. And speaking of fire, expect North Carolina metalheads extraordinaire Weedeater to spark up some serious stoner grooves when they hit the stage. It’s been a few years since their last LP, Goliathan, entered the world, but having recently recruited Dixie’s former Buzzoven bandmate Ramzi Ateyeh to take over the drum kit, they’re revitalized and back to full power. Expect to be bowled over — in slow motion, of course. As celebrations go, this one’s gonna be hellacious.

Wednesday, October 16, 6 PM
The Number 12 Looks Like You, God Mother, Pound, .gif From God, Genosha @ The Canal Club – $16 (order tickets HERE)
What a time to be alive. I never thought I’d see the day when there’d be a revival of the kind of metallic, chaotic, sassy noisecore that I was super-stoked about in my late 20s. I guess this is growing up, huh? No complaints here — especially not when it means the return of New Jersey maniacs The Number 12 Looks Like You, who carved a swath through the mid-2000s metalcore scene with wild slabs of frenetic guitar fuckery and constant tempo changes, such as 2003’s Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses and 2008’s Here At The End Of All Things. I’m certainly glad to get more of that.

And this year brings an answer to the fervent desires of all their fans, as the band released their first LP in over a decade, Wild Gods, last month. They’re slightly less frantic on this new LP than in previous work, but their mindblowing mixture of mathcore, jazz, and screamo remains alive and well, and it’s sure to have you vacillating between spastic twitching and frantic headbangs throughout their Canal Club set this evening. They’re joined by two talented fellow touring groups, Sweden chaotic metallers God Mother and Seattle instrumental tech-grind duo Pound, along with two excellent local acts, .gif From God and Genosha, both of which you definitely need to be familiar with if heavy, chaotic craziness is your thing. This starts early, so head straight over after work — you don’t want to miss any of it.

Thursday, October 17, 8 PM
Gorrak, Gull, Faucet @ Bingo Beer Co – Free!
A show at Bingo Beer certainly brings back a lot of memories. Specifically of driving by the old bingo hall that this local craft brewing company has moved into and wondering if someone could book a punk rock show there. A lot of people tried, no one ever succeeded, but now, decades and an owner change later, music has finally come to the old bingo hall. And I for one think that’s pretty fucking cool.

It might be hard to label this show “punk rock” in any conventional, musical sense of the word, but the fact that it features three DIY bands that are very much in the open-minded “it’s how you think, not how you sound” tradition of punk, pushes it in that direction nonetheless. Gorrak is a powerful, borderline-metallic jazz duo who are celebrating the release of a new self-titled LP loaded with complex, exciting sax-drum riffage. Fans of local powerhouses like Dumb Waiter and Paint Store are definitely going to want to get on board the Gorrak train. It helps that tried-and-true solo experimentalist Gull is on this show as well — we all know what we’re getting from Gull, and we all know that it rules. I know nothing about brand new locals Faucet, but really, by now haven’t you got more than enough reasons to finally see a show at the bingo hall? I think you do.

Friday, October 18, 6:30 PM
Narrow Head, Slump @ Plan 9 Records – $5 donation
We may all associate record store appearances by bands with massive meet-and-greets at midnight the night their new album comes out, but sometimes record store shows are something completely different — a way to bring young bands with great new albums to the curious music fans of a new town. This is one of those in-stores, and as such, it’s sure to combine the informal atmosphere of a basement show with the inviting surroundings of your favorite place to lose an afternoon flipping through the used vinyl racks.

Texas group Narrow Head are the stars of this particular Plan 9 show, and they come to Richmond to bring us all the word about their latest EP, Coursing Through, released last month on Advanced Perspective Records. This two-song, 10-minute EP is a great showcase for what Narrow Head are sure to bring to Richmond this Friday night — big fuzzy waves of guitar, powerful drums, and an excellent undercurrent of minor-chord melody just below the surface. If your idea of shoegaze is more early Dino Jr than later Slowdive, these guys are sure to thrill you. They’ll be joined by Richmond hardcore-sludge maniacs Slump, who just might get a little gazey themselves at quieter moments, right before hitting you over the head with another massive banger. The whole thing should be over in about two hours, but time always flies when you’re having fun.

Saturday, October 19, 8 PM
Will Hoge, Elizabeth Cook @ The Tin Pan – $32.50 (order tickets HERE)
Saturday night at The Tin Pan will bring us a double shot of modern country stars who are far from conventional Nashville-radio pap. The double-shot starts out with Will Hoge, who has been dubbed “The Tennessee Troublemaker” by Mojo Nixon himself. Hoge got the name due to his outspoken political views, which not only got an airing on last year’s My American Dream — a rockin’ country LP sure to appeal to fans of both Jason Isbell and Gary Clark Jr. — but also showed up on t-shirts he sold on tour, featuring slogans like “Will Trade Racists For Refugees.” Will Hoge is the kind of guy country music needs more of, and here in Richmond, it’ll be great to get a big dose of what he has to offer this Saturday night.

It’ll also be great to get a visit from Elizabeth Cook, a longtime Grand Ole Opry performer who has a long-running Sirius XM show on the Outlaw Country channel and has shown her debt to classic country spitfires like Loretta Lynn with memorable singles like “Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman.” In 2016, she released her first album in six years, Exodus Of Venus, coming out the other side of a difficult period involving divorce, rehab, and mental illness with a powerful statement of strength. The album’s tough country sound makes her a good pairing with Will Hoge’s similar approach, and really, if you’re trying to hear the best country music has to offer in 2019, you can’t find a much better show to go to than this one. I know it ain’t cheap, but scrounge up the cash and get there. You’ll be glad you did.

Sunday, October 20, 9 PM
VE, Weird Tears, Minimum Balance @ Bandito’s – Free!
The free local triple threat at Bandito’s is always a Sunday night standby, and it’s that way for a reason. For one thing, Bandito’s is the Richmond live music scene’s best-kept secret — the room sounds great. For another thing, these shows never cost anything to get into. For another, there’s some amazing food available at Bandito’s, so you can (and should) always start your evening off with some tacos. And of course, the bands they book are always dope, whether they’re touring legends of punk or the best our own scene has to offer.

This night is of the latter variety, and VE, which used to stand for Various Eggs and doesn’t appear to stand for anything anymore, are at the top of the heap. It’s been a long time since they released some new original music, but their moody indie-lounge sound, which evokes both Leonard Cohen and Mark Eitzel, remains intact, and will surely cast a formidable atmosphere over the side room at Bandito’s. Weird Tears will bring their own unique, mournful power-pop approach to the evening, which is sure to be a highlight, and Minimum Balance rounds things out with some driving, spunky alt-rock sounds that are sure to delight all comers. This one is well worth your time.

Tuesday, October 22, 6 PM
Trash Boat, House & Home, Sleave, Hold Close, Nine Line, The Second After @ The Canal Club – $13 (order tickets HERE)
It’s always interesting to see what the UK does with US-originating sounds like pop-punk and hardcore. Trash Boat are the latest British export to combine both of these genres, and instead of landing anywhere in the neighborhood of Neck Deep, on one hand, or Gallows on the other, they carve out their own niche at the intersection point of melodic, emotional punk and driving hardcore power on 2018’s Crown Shyness, an excellent example of the fact that some UK bands are able to hold their own with the best exports from these shores.

Trash Boat have pivoted a bit with new single “Synthetic Sympathy,” moving in a poppier and dancier direction, but it’s always tough to tell whether such moves represent a stylistic shift or just a slight outlier. Either way, it shows that the band’s still got what made them worth our time in the first place, so you could certainly do a lot worse than journeying to the Canal Club this Tuesday night and catching them live onstage. A whole bunch of local talents, including heavy-emotion trio Sleave — who are actually about to release an LP on a UK label — and speedy easycore quartet Nine Line, are also on the bill, and you should really show up on time so you can get a good look at what’s happening in this musical world here in Richmond as well as over in the UK.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Friday, October 18, 8 PM
Wylder, Starcoast, BigForestFire @ Charlie’s American Cafe (Norfolk) – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Formed in Virginia and currently based in DC, Wylder are an indie-folk group with a lovely sort of sound, one that on their most recent LP, this year’s Golden Age Thinking, doesn’t just adhere to the typical sound you think of when you hear the genre descriptor “indie-folk.” Which is to say, they aren’t just another group of bearded boys with wide eyes doing their best Sam Beam. There’s some real sonic variance here, from the string-sweetened indie-rock melodies of lead single “Ghosts” to the quieter, more precisely constructed acoustic ambience of album closer “Right To My Head.”

So can we expect the live incarnation of Wylder to hit the stage in full-on rock mode, loud and proud? Or will we get a quieter, more acoustically-driven evening? Well, chances are the answer will depend on the song. It seems most reasonable to expect many different moods from Wylder, a band with many degrees to their approach — though all of them are driven by their talent. The evening will also feature performances by Virginia Beach quartet Starcoast, who bring rich vocal harmonies to their brand of upbeat indie pop; as well as BigForestFire, a group whose jammed-out grooves are often fueled by trumpet. This will be a lovely night.

Sunday, October 20, 1 PM
Chugfest, feat. Studebaker Huck, Breakers, Ghost Logic, Cokenail, Love Roses, Ruckus The Bulldog, LNT, The 40 Boys, The Chuggernauts, The Vailix @ IX Art Park (Charlottesville) – $10 donation to UVA Cancer Center’s Patient Services Fund
When you hear a name like “Chugfest,” you might very well think it’s a day’s festivities centered around beer. However, in this case, the festival appears to have been put together by Charlottesville punk band The Chuggernauts, so I suppose it’s named after them. But then, they’re named after how much they love to drink beer (as demonstrated on tunes like “Drinking Problem” and “Party On”), so it’s all the same in the end. That said, this event is really about drinking and rocking out for a good cause, not just for the hell of it, and all proceeds from raffles and donations will go to UVA Cancer Center’s Patient Services Fund, which helps direct support to patients and survivors in need of medical services.

I can’t speak to what kind of drinking you can or can’t do at this event — it’s in a public park, so that really comes down to city ordinances up there in Charlottesville. What I can tell you is that you’ll get sets from nearly a dozen punk rock bands from all around the state, not just the Chuggernauts but also long-running C-ville punks The 40 Boys, Richmond’s favorite speedy-punk sons Love Roses, funk-blues-metal duo Ruckus The Bulldog, Tidewater skate rats LNT, countrified rockabilly boyos Studebaker Huck, and a whole bunch more. This should be a great afternoon of fun sounds for a good cause, and it’ll sure liven up your Sunday. So consider taking a trip up to C-ville for this one — you’ll thank me later.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

Top Photo: Kool Keith by Jason Persse, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: July 24 – July 30

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, July 27, 2 PM
Cobra Cabana Presents Ride The Snake, feat. Enforced, BBQT, Toxic Moxie, High Voltage @ Cobra Cabana – Donations to RRFP
If there’s one thing this past week has told us, it’s that summer is most definitely here. And that definitely makes it the right time for riding in the streets — which is exactly what’ll be going on at Cobra Cabana’s afternoon gathering this Saturday, known as Ride The Snake. Jim Morrison memorably used that phrase to refer to ingesting psychedelic drugs in the desert, but Cobra Cabana are being a bit more literal in their use of it, as this afternoon is based around a motorcycle rally that they’re throwing to benefit Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project.

If you’re down for some motorcycle rally action, the group ride will depart from Cobra Cabana’s Carver location just after noon. But if you’re like me and just want to see some wicked bikes and hear some killer tunes, swing by about 2 PM. The motorcycle show starts then, giving you plenty of time to check out some glorious two-wheeled machines before the music gets rolling at 3. And what music it will be! Headlining the show will be up-and-coming Richmond ragers Enforced, whose new LP At The Walls is certain to confirm their status as blackened-thrashcore heirs apparent. Get ready for headbangs aplenty from this set.

Texas band BBQT is also on the bill, and if you dig that sharp, metallic glam rock sound immortalized by bands like the Runaways, you’re sure to get stoked for this band’s over-the-top swaggering attack. Of course, Richmond party machine Toxic Moxie are also on the bill with some disco-punk jams to get you smiling and bouncing. The bill is rounded out by local AC/DC tribute band High Voltage, who are sure to get things kicked off with a bang. It’s all to benefit a great cause, so bring your dollars for RRFP, bring your summertime party spirit, and — if you’ve got one in the garage — bring your bike for the motorcycle rally. This is going to be the best hot Saturday fun of the entire summer, and you’re not going to want to miss it.

Wednesday, July 24, 8 PM
Abinnet Berhanu & Hebret Musica @ Vagabond – Free!
In a city like this, it’s easy to let the punk and the electro and the indie and the metal obsess you to the extent that you forget about the hotbeds of sound from other genres that are just as vital here in Richmond as the scenes people more readily identify with this city. That’s why I’m thankful for the weekly jazz nights at Vagabond and various other venues around town — always offering a reminder that Richmond’s jazz scene is active, creative, and producing awesome new music at a rate just as prolific as the local indie and punk scenes.

The latest excellent export from Richmond’s jazz scene is the self-titled debut album by Hebret Musica, a quintet led by drummer and Richmond jazz mainstay Abinnet Berhanu. The group, whose name means “Community Music” in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, draws from Berhanu’s Ethiopian background to add a multi-national flavor to Hebret Musica’s classic hard-bop sound, which should bring smiles to the faces of any fans of Modern Jazz Quartet or Giant Steps-era John Coltrane — and I know y’all are out there. This show at Vagabond marks the official release of Hebret Musica’s debut album, after which they will hit the road and spend the weekend in DC. We might not see them back in Richmond again anytime soon, and this group has some incredible sounds to deliver to your waiting ears. So catch them while they’re here — head to Vagabond tonight.

Thursday, July 25, 6 PM
TWRP, The Protomen @ The Broadberry – $20 in advance/$25 day of show (order tickets HERE)
This should be a fun gig. Canada’s TWRP, whose name stands for Tupper Ware Remix Party, have always had a colorful and amusing presentation, performing in costumes and hiding their true identities behind their catchy prog-rock sound and spacetime-traveling backstory. Only two weeks ago, TWRP released their second LP, Return To Wherever — a nice reference to legendary 70s jazz-fusion group Return To Forever — and that LP furthers their bouncy, jazzy, danceable yet rocking prog sound. Seeing them crank out these tunes in full costume is sure to be a blast.

The Protomen are an equally fun group, with a much longer history that ties closely into a classic Nintendo video game that many of us remember from our childhoods: Mega Man. Indeed, The Protomen have been writing concept albums based on the worlds of those 8-bit video games for about 15 years now, and setting their heavily story-oriented lyrics to music mixing progressive rock with the work of film-soundtrack composers like Ennio Morricone to create albums just as musically entertaining as they are narratively gripping. While they haven’t released an album on their own since 2015’s The Cover Up, they did appear on TWRP’s 2018 track “Phantom Racer,” so this tour pairing seems somewhat inevitable… and certain to maximize the awesomeness of both performances. Get stoked for this one, it’s gonna be out of this world.

Friday, July 26, 7 PM
Gauche, Post Pink, Continuation @ Gallery 5 – $10 (order tickets HERE)
It’s easy to associate punk rock with speed, volume, and rage, but back when it began as a musical movement, punk was still wide open. In the early days, all sorts of different sounds ended up in the mix, and some of them were quite fun, funky, and danceable. DC punk rockers Gauche, who feature members of Priests, Downtown Boys, and quite a few other notable groups out of the nation’s capital in recent years, hark back to that time on their brand-new LP, A People’s History Of Gauche.

From the forceful vocal attack and atonal chord structures to the pointed lyrics dealing with capitalism and colonialism, there’s no way to deny that this group’s music is punk as fuck. But the bouncy grooves that keep you moving throughout draw influence from the more adventurous groups of punk’s early days — everyone from The Slits to The Bush Tetras to The Bags, and beyond. The result is a sound that’s cathartic and full of inspired outrage, but also a whole ton of fun. And we could all use more of that.

Saturday, July 27, 6 PM
City Of Caterpillar, Oozing Meat, Continuation @ Studio Two Three – $10
Richmond Y2K-era screamo legends City Of Caterpillar blew minds all over the globe when they announced their reunion shows back in 2017; it wasn’t quite as big news as the Avail reunion, but damn close to it, and their Richmond dates sold out quickly. As far as anyone could tell back then, the reunion was a one-time thing, but it was accompanied by the release of one new recording — their legendary live track “Driving Spain Up A Wall,” finally laid down in the studio 15 years after their original breakup.

Now, in 2019 amid rumors of yet more new material to come, City Of Caterpillar has reunited once again, this time to perform at Toronto’s New Friends Fest on the first weekend in August. At first, the only other gigs they had scheduled were hours north of Richmond, but fortunately for us, they did manage to schedule a last-minute performance this Saturday night at Studio Two Three. The ad hoc nature of the show means that there are no advance tickets available — you’ll just have to show up at the Scott’s Addition art space with your cash in your hand and hope you get in. But for one more chance to see City Of Caterpillar explode out of their trademark melodic post-rock interludes into cathartic punk noise… how could it not be worth it?

Sunday, July 28, 10 PM
Prayer Group, Slump, Twin Drugs @ Bandito’s – Free!
This weekend is full of massive heavy noise, and Sunday night is perhaps the most massive of all, as Richmond sludge lords Prayer Group celebrate the release of their latest EP, Eudean, with a free show at Bandito’s. The new EP finds Prayer Group at their harrowing, churning heaviest, blasting us all with leaden grooves that roll right over you and leave no room for anything but headbangs.

The bass rumbles and thuds, drums pound, vocals howl in your face, and the noise of the guitar scrapes your eardrums raw in the best possible way. Don’t go into this one unprepared, but do expect to be blown away by what you find. And do expect some excellent sets from psychedelic hardcore freaks Slump and hazy shoegaze-psych maniacs Twin Drugs. Plus there are the nachos… always, always the nachos. End your weekend with this rager — it’s the right thing to do.

Monday, July 29, 7 PM
Big Fundamental, Little River Creek Police, Billy Bacci, Jeremy White @ The Camel – Free!
Big Fundamental is a loud rock n’ roll trio from right here in Richmond, who got together recently from somewhat surprising roots — solo singer-songwriters and free jazz freaks, coming together to rock out in that classic post-Nirvana 90s alt-rock style isn’t exactly a predictable occurrence. But when it results in some really good sounds, I’m sure none of us are wont to complain. Right?

Big Fundamental just released their first LP, which has the affirming title of You Belong Here, and is, according to singer-guitarist Stu Ruiz, about “the hard work of finding optimism.” It’s certainly true that that’s a difficult search in the era we’re all living through, but Big Fundamental’s catchy grunge riffs and steady-rolling pace throughout this album promise to bring smiles to all our faces, at least for a little while. Come join them this Monday night and shake off the beginning-of-the-workweek blues.

Tuesday, July 30, 9 PM
Drunk Mums, Friendship Commanders, Kid Is Qual @ Wonderland – $10
If you are wise in the ways of punk rock, you can probably guess that a band called Drunk Mums is primarily made up of young dudes. And if you know what’s up with Australia, learning that Drunk Mums are from the land down under is probably all you need to hear to know that they’ll rock you hard in a straightforward, no-frills style. If you know your international punk well enough to be stoked on bands like The Lime Spiders and Cosmic Psychos, Drunk Mums are sure to make you real happy. They’ll also make the more US-oriented among us who dig bands like the Marked Men and the Riverboat Gamblers smile.

Friendship Commanders are also on this bill, and while this Tennessee band have come a lot less far than Drunk Mums have, they’re still not exactly around here every week. Their heavy yet upbeat grunge-punk sounds wonderful on last year’s Bill, an LP I’m assuming is not named after my old roommate who never washed his dishes. This duo rocks really hard on recording, and are sure to get the crowd at Wonderland moving about. On-again off-again bass-oriented Richmond mainstay Kid Is Qual will return once again for an opening gig on this one, and it’s sure to rumble you in all the right ways. Get stoked for this one.

Elsewhere Around the State:

Saturday, July 27, 8 PM
Fed Ash, Hearse, The Panic Broadcast, Sanguis @ Bricks Restaurant & Pub (Staunton) – Free!
I’m well aware that music happens in quite a few different locales around this state. However, this might be the first time word of a show in Staunton, up there were I-64 and I-81 meet, has reached my ears. But I’m always up for new places to see awesome music in a live environment, so I’m glad to know about it. This Saturday night, if you happen to be up that way, you can catch a pretty great metal show full of blazing blast beats and harsh sludge over at Bricks Restaurant. And if you are up that way, you should definitely do that.

New York grinders Fed Ash are topping the bill, and their recent split LP with fellow grindcore maniacs Landfill shows that they like it fast, furious, and full of low-end rage. However, they can also crank down the tempo and shatter your mind with occasional blasts of crawling sludge, and are sure to do so during this performance. They’re accompanied on this bill by fellow New Yorkers Hearse, who also like to switch back and forth between blasting speed and harsh doom, but tend to focus more on the slow n’ heavy end of things. The result is sure to inspire mass amounts of slow-motion headbangs — and we always advocate for those around here. The bill will be rounded out by two western VA metal bands, Waynesboro groovers The Panic Broadcast and Charlottesville doom-drone crew Sanguis. Should be awesome.

Tuesday, July 30, 6 PM
Korn, Alice In Chains, Underoath, Ho99o9 @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater (Virginia Beach) – $20 – $335 (order tickets HERE)
Nu metal was a punch line for a long time. However, recent years have shown that a whole new generation of kids who came of age in the early ’10s see bands like Korn in a whole different light than those of us who thought they were too cheesy and commercial back in the 90s. And really, Korn has stood the test of time well enough to hush us all up. Head came to his senses and rejoined the band a few years back, and 2019 finds them on the verge of releasing their 13th (!) album, The Nothing.

Advance single “You’ll Never Find Me” is cooler and heavier than you’d ever expect from these nu-metal torchbearers 25 years after their self-titled debut. So maybe it’s time for all of us to admit that Korn really do have something to offer that we should be paying attention to. Plus, they’re coming to town with Alice In Chains, who, believe it or not, have now been around longer and released just as many albums with current singer William DuVall (formerly of 80s hardcore band Neon Christ) than they ever were with Layne Staley. And I’m sure they still play all the songs you love from back then too, so hey… why examine it too closely? Let’s just go to the amphitheater and rock out.

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

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