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Richmond, VA Culture & Politics Since 2005

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Summer Madness: Weekend Playlist By Marcus Tenney

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops an absolutely amazing playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This time around our festival of musical excellence is brought to you by Marcus Tenney, who you may know from many different arenas of sound around Richmond. On trumpet and saxophone, he performs with his own Trio and Quartet, as well as being a core member of Butcher Brown. And on the mic, he raps under the name Tennishu, and collaborates with his Butcher Brown bandmate DJ Harrison in a duo known as Tennison.

With this much going on, you can imagine that he stays busy at all times, and that’s definitely true this week. Tonight sees Tenney tearing things up at the Broadberry with a release party for Triple Trey, the latest slab of hip hop excellence from Tennishu. He’ll be joined by the R4ND4ZZO Big Band, featuring the rest of Butcher Brown, for an evening of powerful music from all walks of life. Tickets are $12 at the door — start walking now.

And on your way, put this Spotify playlist into your headphones and groove. It kicks off with “Peace,” the preview single from Triple Trey, and only gets heavier from there, with classic funk and hip hop from the likes of Rick James and the Notorious BIG standing alongside the best our modern river city sound has to offer, including Kenneka Cook, No BS! Brass, and a whole lot more.

Step to the rhythm, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

This Beat Is Mine: Weekend Playlist by Body Talk

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops an absolutely amazing playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This time around, we’ve got a flawlessly-curated selection of bangers from Body Talk, a local DJ collective made up of Mike Murphy, Tru Blu, Sean Lovelace, and DJ Mordecai. The members of Body Talk came together to get Richmond dance floors bumping with boogie-funk, disco, soul, go-go, and more sounds to keep your feet movin’ round.

You can catch up with Body Talk around town on a regular basis, and their next live appearance will be on Saturday, May 25th at Black Iris (322 W. Broad St). Music starts at 9:30, and if you arrive before 10:30, you get in free! After that it’s $5, so show up on time and dance all night! Body Talk DJ Sean Lovelace can also be heard weekly on WRIR, every Monday night from 11 PM to 1 AM, co-hosting The Heavily Cosmic Rotation along with DJ Heavy Styles.

Check all that out, but first, check out this massive collection of groovy tunes perfectly designed to get you prepared for a weekend of dance-floor transcendence. Funk, soul, R&B, disco… this playlist has got it all and then some.

Get it right, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Infinite Walrus: Weekend Playlist by Book of Wyrms

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops one scorcher of a playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This time around we’re getting jams from an excellent local purveyor of dusted psychedelic grooves. Book Of Wyrms released their debut LP, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, a couple of years ago, and they’re currently gearing up to drop a full-length followup. Entitled Remythologizer, it’ll be out this summer on Twin Earth Records; the first single, “Spirit Drifter,” dropped earlier this week.

Their playlist shows that Book Of Wyrms know how long one weekend can be — they’ve filled it with songs that go well beyond the five-minute mark, and even a back-to-back trio of 20+ minute epics! Whether you love stoner metal, space-faring psychedelia, mind-expanding jazz, or good ol’ hard-rocking grunge, you’ll have plenty of awesome sounds to keep your head nodding throughout this wonderful spring weekend.

Set controls for the heart of the sun, Virginia.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

No BS! Brass Band Blows The Crowd Away at The Broadberry

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The Broadberry was loaded with spectators last Friday evening, as fans flocked to see No BS! Brass Band, an 11-member brass band featuring numerous well-known local jazz players, perform with their ensemble of brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.

No BS! Brass have won over a lot of local music fans with their lively arrangements that incorporate a traditional jazz flavor with modern elements taken from punk rock, hip hop, funk, and soul. Having recorded five albums and several cover singles since 2007, every member of No BS! Brass has proven skill and experience in their craft.

Big No

The performance began with a set from opening band Big No, which was as stimulating as it was nostalgic. Their combination of psychedelia and traditional rock and folk sounds blended beautifully in recent singles like “Life on a String” and “When I Think Of Heaven.”

No BS! Brass took the stage next, and electrified the crowd with their performances of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, their very own “3AM Bounce,” featuring local rapper Chance Fischer, and many more hits to keep the audience raving.

Throughout the night, the band’s stage presence paralleled the audience’s intense energy, and by the end of the night, they left nothing to be desired. As the evening ended, it was apparent that No BS! Brass Band remains RVA’s own perfectly-crafted treasure, one that remains extremely beloved in the city.

Photos by Aviance Hawkes

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond