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Ain’t Life Beautiful: Weekend Playlist by Dharma Bombs

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you an essential playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This time around, we’ve got a selection of tunes from Richmond’s premier old-time string band, Dharma Bombs. With strong connections to the heart of Virginia, this acoustic ensemble has been bringing the powerful sound of Appalachian roots music to the river city for over half a dozen years now. Their new album, Enjoy The View, finds them embracing their local heritage for their strongest collection of tunes yet.

Dharma Bombs’ playlist brings us a fine collection of country, jazz, blues, Americana, and beyond, both pulling from decades past and incorporating the latest up-to-the-minute sounds. It all adds up to a great listen that’s sure to get you stoked for their next show. And you won’t have to wait long — they’ll be headlining a triple bill of excellent Virginia groups, along with Piranha Rama and Chupacabras, tomorrow night at The Camel. Get tickets and more info here, and warm up your cold evening with this excellent set of tunes courtesy of Dharma Bombs.

Take it home, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Old Home Place: Weekend Playlist by Woody Woodworth & The Piners

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you a playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This time around, we’ve got a great set of folk, country, blues, Americana, and more from Woody Woodworth & The Piners. Bandleader Woody Woodworth says of the playlist, “I just wanted to highlight all the things that influence me and hit me hard — the kind of tunes that are often undiscovered — and to showcase artists from the past that set the bar.”

Woodworth has recently paired up with Ashland Theatre and the Broadberry Entertainment Group to create a recurring event known as the River City Revue. The first edition will take place on Saturday, November 2 at the Ashland Theatre, and will feature performances by Richmond-area luminaries like Paulo Franco & The Freightliners, Justin Golden, Slack Family Bluegrass, and more.

The intent of the River City Revue is to capture the spirit of not only the radio barn dances of the mid-20th century but also the yearly Capital City Barn Dance events of late 90s/early 00s Richmond, which were masterminded by Wes Freed and first brought the Drive-By Truckers to the river city. Says Woodworth, “For me, The River City Revue is about showcasing the vibrant and wonderful music here in Richmond, and acknowledging Virginia’s influential musical past.”

Featuring live music, comedy performances, storytellers, and other unique acts, the River City Revue will bring this eclectic, down-home spirit to the Ashland Theatre this Saturday — you can grab a ticket at Eventbrite and go check it out for yourself tomorrow night.

To get psyched up in preparation for the festivities, enjoy this playlist created exclusively for RVA Mag by Woody Woodworth & The Piners. It features plenty of classic folk, country, and Americana sounds to put a smile on your face, as well as some great local flavor and a taste of all the groups you’ll encounter at the first River City Revue tomorrow night.

Tune in and get down, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Blaze Foley: The Folk Legend of Country Music

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Before Ethan Hawke’s Blaze film was released, the name Blaze Foley was largely unknown. Hawke hopes to change that.

On Sunday, October 6, Ethan Hawke made a personal appearance at a movie screening at the Byrd Theatre. Hawke is famous for his decades-long career as an actor, and is currently in the Richmond area filming the upcoming Showtime limited series The Good Lord Bird. However, Hawke didn’t come to the Byrd to discuss any of that. Instead, he came to talk about Blaze Foley.

In 2017, Rolling Stone published an article titled “100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time.” On that list, artists ranged from all-time legends like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Dolly Parton to more recent game-changers like Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Garth Brooks. 

However, Blaze Foley’s name did not appear on that list. Despite his impact on several of the groundbreaking artists listed, Foley’s is a name lost to time. Born Michael David Fuller, Foley only released one album during his lifetime, though his songs were later recorded by Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, and other well-known country artists.

Foley endured trials throughout his life. While pursuing his goal of becoming a famous musician, Foley faced polio, alcoholism and drug use, physical abuse, and a failed marriage. Ultimately, the success that Foley did obtain was short-lived. While trying to protect his friend, Concho January, Foley was shot and killed on January 31, 1989. He was 39 years old.

Photo by Christopher Brown III

After his death, Foley’s legacy was initially told through those who knew him, including his wife, Sybil Rosen, and country artist Townes Van Zandt. Rosen would eventually write a memoir about the time she spent with Foley, Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley. In the memoir, Rosen recounts the history of how the couple met, and the events leading up to their short-lived marriage.

During that time, Rosen became Foley’s muse for his songwriting, showcasing the good and bad of their relationship. Songs like the widely covered “If I Could Only Fly” and the hidden gem “I Should Have Been Home” detailed Foley’s struggle with alcoholism, drug use, and staying faithful while trying to become a successful musician. 

When Rosen published her book in 2008, she couldn’t have foreseen that a decade later, her work would become the basis for a full-length feature film. Hawke, an Austin native, took an interest in Foley’s story, writing and directing a biopic based on the events described in Rosen’s book. It was that 2018 film, Blaze, that Hawke presented and discussed with the Byrd Theatre crowd earlier this month.

“It is about Blaze Foley, but it’s also about the intangibility of the unknown,” said Todd Schall-Vess, general manager of the Byrd Theatre, describing Hawke’s film. “The ‘Blaze here is not just Blaze Foley, it’s the ‘Blaze’ of fame, the ‘Blaze’ of the agony of not being recognized, the ‘Blaze’ of wanting so much for it to be just out of your reach.” 

Blaze premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Hawke’s friend and musician Ben Dickey as Foley, Arrested Development actress Alia Shawkat as Rosen, and musician Charlie Sexton as Townes Van Zandt. The movie also features cameos from Rosen, who played her own mother, Ethan Hawke as a radio host and country legend, and Kris Kristofferson as Foley’s father, Edwin Fuller. For Dickey, it was his first major acting role. 

“The magic was Ben finding Blaze Foley,” Hawke said. “For his first [acting] job, he won ‘Best Actor’ at the Sundance Film Festival.”

As the director of Blaze, Hawke uses Foley’s music to tell his story. Right before his death, Foley had recorded a performance at the Austin Outhouse — later released as Live At The Austin Outhouse — which Hawke uses as a basis to begin the tale. There are also radio segments featuring Van Zandt, and one of Foley’s closest friends, Zee (Josh Hamilton), telling Foley’s story through their point of view. 

While his life was cut short, Foley’s music and his legacy lived on. Merle Haggard covered “If I Could Only Fly” twice, first Willie Nelson on their 1987 collaborative album Seashores of Old Mexico, then again on his 2000 solo album, which was named after the song. Van Zandt wrote a song in Foley’s honor called “Blaze’s Blues” in 1990. Country artist Lucinda Williams even wrote a tribute song for Foley, titled “Drunken Angel,” for her 1998 album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

With Blaze, Hawke hopes to bring Foley to mainstream consciousness, taking him beyond the inner circle of country music legends who’ve kept his songs alive since he was killed 30 years ago. And the film is a great step in that direction, showing that Foley’s life embodied the true spirit of country music. Beyond today’s surface-level Nashville pop country, which focuses more on trucks and parties than any of the struggles that were traditionally found at the heart of the genre, Blaze depicts Foley in moments of sadness, anger, and frustration — the emotions that inspire some of the best country songs.

Hawke’s film does justice to Foley’s life and music, and helps to give this unknown country music legend some of the well-deserved recognition he never achieved during his lifetime.

If you missed the Blaze screening at The Byrd Theatre, the film is currently available on iTunes and Showtime’s streaming service.

Top Image via IFC Films

Sounds Like Hallelujah: Weekend Playlist by Muther Goose

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you an essential playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This week’s comes to us from Muther Goose, a young bluegrass/folk/Americana quintet from Richmond who are just about to release their brand new album, Enough To Go On. In fact, you’ll be able to get it tonight, if you go check them out at their record release show at the Camel, where they’ll be sharing the stage with Dalton Dash and Graham Stone starting at 9 PM tonight. Grab your tickets here.

But first, make sure you give a listen to the treasure trove of goodies that Muther Goose has left us in the form of an excellent Spotify playlist. You’ll get a cornucopia of sounds that has influenced this acoustic quintet, from the predictable yet delightful sounds of Willie Nelson and Bela Fleck to unexpected but always excellent tunes by Karen Dalton and Pink Floyd. It’s a great way to get the most out of a lazy sunny afternoon this weekend. After which you can put on the new Muther Goose album you’ll score tonight at The Camel. Of course.

Get with it, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

The East Virginia Blues: Weekend Playlist by Graham Stone

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you a lovely and wonderful playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This week, we bring you a lengthy list of jams from Graham Stone, a Richmond based singer-songwriter whose rollicking style pulls from folk, country, and American roots music. He released his second album, Bad News, earlier this year, and has stayed busy ever since, playing regularly around the Richmond area and across the Mid-Atlantic region. You can catch him at The Camel two Fridays from now on September 27, with fellow local favorites Dalton Dash and Muther Goose.

Until then, this playlist full of country, blues, old-time music and good ol’ rock n’ roll is sure to keep you tapping your feet and help you build up anticipation for Stone’s next live gig. It mixes legends of 20th century Appalachia and the best of the current Americana scene in alongside a variety of talented locals, adding up to hours of fun.

Tap your toes, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

For Landon Elliott, Love Is A Hurricane

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“This record is the most honest I’ve ever been with myself and with the songs,” said Richmond songwriter Landon Elliott of his forthcoming album. 

At 8 a.m. on a sunny weekday morning, local Richmond musician Landon Elliott walks into the small but quaint Cafe Nostra near Brookland Park. Based on their brief exchange, it’s clear that he and the barista know each other. Elliott has a friendly tone to his voice, and there’s a spark in his eyes as he sits down to discuss his new single “Hurricane,” which came out at the end of August. Its music video was released shortly after on September 4, with the Richmond-based recording label American Paradox Records. 

“I’m excited to get the record out,” Elliott said. “I’m still processing it’s happening. It’s been a long time coming, and a long journey to make this happen. It has a lot of sonic differences than what I’ve done before, but I’m still staying true to my songwriting sensibilities. This record is the most honest I’ve ever been with myself and with the songs.” 

The partnership between American Paradox Records and Landon Elliott began in December 2017, after owner Scott Lane saw Elliott play earlier that fall at an open mic night at Poe’s Pub. 

Lane had just moved back to Richmond from Denver when he started his new label, he said, and was wrapping up a record production with Kenneka Cook when he decided to take Elliott on. 

Photo by Joey Wharton

Elliott and Lane had already begun a friendship by that time, and deciding to work together seemed like a natural addition to their relationship. 

“Scott has done a good job of pushing me,” Elliott said. “He’s the label, but also my producer. We co-produced this record together. What Scott was able to do was honor my vulnerability and my personality, and my voice as an artist, while also pushing the direction of things a little bit.” 

“Hurricane” is the first single to be released for Elliott’s new record, Domino — and with a yet-to-be-announced release date, the album represents a period of transition and questioning of a lot of things in his life and his worldview. 

As he hinted, the new “Hurricane” single does have a slightly different tone and sound than the Wildflowers EP he released in 2017, under the name Landon Elliott and The Goods. While the EP with The Goods had a stronger country/folk/Americana sound, which clearly had roots in artists like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, Elliott said he was more inspired for the new album by the 1980s synth pop-rock sounds of Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, and Fleetwood Mac. 

And it shows. The sound of “Hurricane” is multi-layered, and while you can still hear his original Americana sound, there are also layers of synth and a slightly-more refined and mainstream sound than his earlier EP. The pop sound almost hides the raw, honest lyrics about the difficulty of being honest in a healthy relationship… almost. There are plenty of references to ghosts of the past, and the destruction that they can leave in their wake like a hurricane, as the title suggests. 

“This track is about relationships and its many forms,” Elliott said. “The struggles that go into making love work. Love is hard work, to really care about someone truly and know someone fully takes a lot of work.” 

The music video for “Hurricane” also reflects the struggle Elliott believes can be present in maintaining honest and loving relationships. Departing from the usual music video conventions of its genre, this video presents two dancers in a choreographed and improvised struggle for dominance and equality, before they end their performance in unison. Elliott himself is present, and sandwiched between them as they mouth the final lyrics together. 

“I had this vibe in my mind of an 80s ‘Dancing in the Dark’ aerobic style movement,” Elliott said. “I wanted to do a dance video. For my style of music, you don’t necessarily see a more dance-style music video.” 

Lane liked his idea, and suggested doing something even more out-there, Elliott said. 

“I suggested a total visual departure from his Americana genre,” Lane said. 

Lane had seen a dance performance in New York City based on similar themes of the struggle between love and hate. The performance was by a dancer named Georgia Usborne with Brooklyn’s Gallim Dance Company. Lane reached out to her about the possibility of choreographing something similar for Elliott’s video, and she agreed. 

“What Scott really connected to was the raw physicality paired with a space for emotional connections between dancers, and also that emotionality can draw the audience into a story without there actually being a story or narrative,” Usborne said. “So we used that as a starting point, having a man and a woman, and discussing the light and shade of the relationship that can be shown through big physical movements — and also less physical, highly charged moments.” 

The shoot was done in New York City, where Elliott and Lane met personally with Usborne, the dancers and the music video director. While the two dancers, Kayla Farrish and Sebastian Abarbanell, had been able to rehearse the choreographed parts once before — and some of the material was already familiar to Farrish, as much of the performance was inspired by a previous one of hers — they hadn’t had a lot of prior experience working together. 

Landon Elliott, from the “Hurricane” Music Video

To make the pressure even tougher, they only had five hours to shoot the entire video, including setup and take-down, Lane said. 

Despite the intense time pressure, they did it. Their team managed to film an entire music video, complete with some last-minute decisions, such as putting Elliott himself in the video. 

In the end, the video presents itself as a nearly surreal and chaotic dance. The pair of dancers fight and work together throughout the routine, visualizing the struggle of making a relationship work as Elliott sings, nearly motionless on the floor. At times, Abarbanell is seen leading. At others, it is Farrish. Occasionally they work together, and oftentimes their movements seem to contradict each other. In the end, they appear to make their differences work out, coming to lie down on opposite sides of Elliott as the song comes to a close. 

“This is the first music video I’ve worked where the musician was in the video,” Usborne said. “It was fabulous, I loved it. It was very focused, and we all cared a lot about it; there was real heart behind it. The track was super catchy, and it all came together well. It was a real pleasure, and I’d love to work with them again.” 

After the release of the music video, a new single will be released in September. Right now Elliott is on tour with fellow Richmonder Deau Eyes, and the last few dates of the tour will find them pairing up with Josiah Johnson, formerly of The Head and the Heart. 

Locally, Elliott will also be playing at The Broadberry on September 28 for the Shack Up festival, thrown each year by The Shack Band. This will be his first year playing at The Shack Up, Elliott said, and one of his first times playing solo on a platform that big. 

“I love the Broadberry,” Elliott said. “They’re all really good friends of mine. I’m looking forward to hamming it up with them. There’s a lot of bands I love on the bill.”

Top Photo by Joey Wharton

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond