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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: November 24 – November 30

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, November 26, 9 PM
Butcher Brown, Michael Millions, Chance Fischer, Teddy Belafonte @ The Camel – $15 (Order tickets HERE)
Saturday, November 27, 9 PM
Butcher Brown & Nigel Hall, Sam Reed, Kenneka Cook, Charles Owens @ The Camel – $15 (Order tickets HERE)
Folks, the holidays are here, and it’s time to give thanks. And here in Richmond, where we’ve finally been able to return to the wonderful world of live music after a year and a half of COVID-related deprivation, one of the biggest things we have to give thanks for is the amazingly talented quintet known as Butcher Brown. Last year, as summer was ending and we were heading into the worst hard time of the entire pandemic era, Butcher Brown brought their eighth release — and first with legendary jazz label Concord — #kingbutch into the world. Full of the funk, soul, hip hop, and massive helpings of jazz that we’ve all been gaining from Butcher Brown’s music for damn near a decade now, it was just what the world needed… really though, just what RVA needed. Since then, they’ve stayed productive, and followed that excellent album up with a five-song EP, Encore, released this summer and containing highlights like opener “VA Noir” and the epic jazz-funk jam “Truck Fump” (yeah, you know what that means).

After all they’ve brought to us, what more can Butcher Brown do for RVA music? Well, how about a post-Thanksgiving two-night stand at Richmond mainstay The Camel, featuring two different supporting casts, both crammed with the best the local music scene has to offer? Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? And yet, that’s exactly what we’ve got for you now. It’s going to be incredible, and you really owe it to yourself to be there. On BOTH nights.

Start out with night one, the hip hop-focused night, during which Butcher Brown will be joined by some of RVA’s most talented MCs. Michael Millions should need no introduction to RVA readers by now, but in case you haven’t heard, he’s one of the top hip hop talents this fair city has produced over the past decade, and that is no joke. Chance Fischer has lyrical skills sharp enough to slice you up without you even noticing, and Teddy Belafonte is a celebrated local wordsmith whose creativity knows no bounds. But wait, there’s more! Night two brings Butcher Brown together with Nigel Hall, celebrated organist for long-running funk group Lettuce. Hall’s recently released solo album, Spiritual, was recorded with Butcher Brown at their legendary local studio, Jellowstone. Now they’re coming back together to bring their collaboration to the world in a live format. What’s more, that second night features a murderer’s row of top local talent in the jazz, soul, and electronic music worlds, in the person of Sam Reed, Kenneka Cook, and Charles Owens. So yeah, this whole thing’s gonna be amazing. Get your tickets now, for both shows. And be sure to thank Butcher Brown very kindly for their service to the Richmond music community.

Wednesday, November 24, 8 PM
Pay Rent Brass Band, Dalton Dash @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (Order tickets HERE)
The night before a big holiday is always a high-pressure situation, whether you’re back at your parents’ house for the first time in nearly a year or just scrambling to get the house clean and the food options together for tomorrow’s big get-together. That’s a great reason for you to give yourself a bit of a sanity break tonight, and go see Pay Rent Brass Band and Dalton Dash bring some early holiday joy to The Camel.

Pay Rent Brass Band, who bills themselves as a six-piece brass band from Richmond that’s “just trying to pay the rent,” will be kicking back with some uplifting jazz tunes on this fine evening, and they promise that their set will feature music from classic holiday special “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” Seems to me that that’s reason enough to go, right there. But of course, we also have Dalton Dash on the bill, and this Radford-birthed bluegrass/folk ensemble have been proving themselves as bringers of musical delights around RVA for quite a few years now. This evening of tuneage is sure to unkink your spine a little bit, just in time for Thanksgiving. And who doesn’t need that?

Friday, November 26, 7 PM
North By North, Lightmare, Spacemere, Ten Pound Snail @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
The holidays are stressful, aren’t they? Sometimes it seems like every passing day brings a new source for anxiety. For example, this week — Wednesday night, you’ll be stressing about getting everything ready for the big event on Thursday. On Thursday, you’ll be stressing about which of your relatives is going to say something terrible to you first, and/or which one is going to get sloppy early and have to be babysat all night until they sober up around 1 AM. And on Friday, whether you’re a retail worker or just an ordinary person with Christmas shopping to do, the whole outside world is going to be a bit difficult to hack.

Wait, did I say the whole outside world? I was lying, because there is one place you’ll find a home in the outside world Friday night, especially if you’re a diehard fan of garage rock. That place is Fuzzy Cactus, Richmond’s home for wild n’ crazy rock n’ roll since back before the pandemic forced us all to spend a year and a half avoiding all indoor live performances (boo). This Friday night, Fuzzy’s bringing us a killer set from Chicago rock n’ roll duo North By North, whose 2020 LP, Get Real, got totally upstaged by COVID but was nonetheless an incredible slab of danceable retro-psych fun. If you were too busy buying hand sanitizer to pick up on it at the time, well, now’s your chance. You’ll get a bonus treat of a co-headlining set by DC soul-punk ensemble Lightmare, who only last month brought their excellent second album, Dirt, into the world — so if you like your danceable rock n’ roll sounds to be properly horn-infused, Lightmare’s got you covered. Come out and dance your cares away.

Saturday, November 27, 7 PM
Taylor McCall @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 in advance, $20 day of show (order tickets HERE)
If you’re a fan of moody, electrified Americana sounds — and hey, who isn’t? — this is a show for you. South Carolina native Taylor McCall is a young singer-songwriter with a skill for cranking out spooky musical tales that cut to the heart of the dark underbelly of the South. McCall shows off his talent on his second album, the just-released Black Powder Soul, which gets downright swampy on tunes like “Hell’s Half Acre” and the nine-minute slide-guitar epic “Lucifer.”

All sorts of ingredients have gone into McCall’s musical mix, from Led Zeppelin and the Drive-By Truckers to John Lee Hooker and Gary Clark Jr. The result is pure gold, and if you love the sort of gritty, distorted blues sounds The Black Keys were dishing out back before they went commercial and lost track of their soul (yeah, I said it), Taylor McCall’s a musician to whom you should be listening closely. Make it happen this Saturday night at Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall. You won’t be sorry.

Sunday, November 28, 8 PM
Bats, Jason Jamal, Ethanol @ The Camel – $6 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Now, when you say “bats” to me in context of a musical artist, my brain goes to THE Bats, the long-running indie-pop group from New Zealand. But that’s just because I’m an old lady. If you’re young, hip, and up with the times, you know Bats (no “the”) is a musical project headed up by Tennessee songwriter Jess Awh. And you can probably also guess that the show Jess and her Bats are headlining at The Camel this Sunday is a Citrus City production, considering that Citrus City released the cassette version of Bats’ spring 2020 LP, There’s A River Up High. And of course, considering that it came out only weeks before the pandemic descended upon us all, this is probably Bats’ first chance to come to Richmond and celebrate its release with a live show. So hey, let’s make up for lost time, shall we?

This show features two other artists with connections to local labels as well. Richmond classical trombonist turned R&B singer Jason Jamal released an EP called Sweet this summer on Grimalkin Records, and it’s full of excellent smooth sounds that incorporate both his horn-section experience and his excellent singing voice. Meanwhile, Ethanol is another Richmonder (real name Ethan Rozario), who you may know from the band Teenage Cenobite. Under the name Ethanol, he dabbles extensively in synth-pop, ambient/experimental textures, and electronic sounds. Ethanol’s 2019 album, Meet People And Learn, was reissued on cassette by Citrus City in April of 2020… so again, this might just be the first chance Ethanol and Citrus City have had to get together and celebrate this release with a live performance. Glory in the sounds of all of these artists, and the pure fact that they can now perform them for you with far less risk of exposing us all to a deadly contagion at The Camel this Sunday night.

Monday, November 29, 8 PM
An Unthemed Rap Show For No Reason With No Theme by Secret Bonus Level, feat. Tribe 95, I Am I Collective, Melodic, TMA, Cane, Sap Evans, Eliturite, Sons Of Ichibei @ The Camel – $7 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
If you’re interested in the less straightforward, more creatively offbeat sounds currently being created within the realm of Virginia hip hop, Secret Bonus Level is a name you need to pay close attention to. The brainchild of Noah Page, Secret Bonus Level brings eclectic bills full of a wide variety of VA-based hip hop sounds and always featuring an LGBTQ presence to venues around Richmond on a regular basis. This is Noah’s latest endeavor, and unlike many of the other Secret Bonus Level shows you might see around, this one takes great pains to let you know that it has no theme. However, it does have a ton of great music on the bill… and isn’t that all you could really ask for?

Let’s talk about exactly who you’ll be seeing at The Camel on Monday night, starting with Tribe 95, probably the most noteworthy artist on this bill, at least if you’re a big fan of Richmond’s indie hip hop scene. This group brings together a bunch of artists associated with Citrus City Records, including Ty Sorrell [who, we have received word, will not be performing Monday night], Clwdwlker, Billy Capricorn, Luther, and Tron Javolta [all of whom, we have been informed, will be performing]. They’ll be doing an ensemble set consisting of group pieces as well as songs you know from their respective solo careers, and that should certainly be plentiful enticement for attendance right there. But the show also features Eliturite, a Gritty City affiliate who helms the community-support organization HearRVA and will be performing tracks from his forthcoming Ant The Symbol-produced project. And then there’s Charlottesville’s Sons Of Ichibei, a duo consisting of illustrious hustlers Remy St. Clair and Fellowman, who’ve gotten a lot done for hip hop in VA over the past few years — as well as bringing us all some really great music. There’s way more in store for you too, from Petersburg-based raw street-level rapper TMA to Richmond hip hop veteran Cane, as well as local up-and-comer Melodic and RVA hip hop supergroup I Am I Collective. If you really want to know the score, though, this blurb is nothing compared to what you’ll take in by being there. So hey… be there.

Tuesday, November 30, 7 PM
Heartracer, Saint Samuel @ The Camel – $5 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Everybody needs a strong dose of upbeat 80s-style pop music every now and then to lift their spirits and get their feet moving. And for years now, Richmond has been getting our dose of that sound from Heartracer, a group led by brothers Chip and Chris Cosby. They’ve been keeping it low-key over the past year and a half — hiding out from the pandemic, as you do — but they’ve kept the music coming in digital form even as all of us were trapped inside our houses begging for new tunes to dance to. Now, with their first live performance in well over a year, Heartracer will give us all a chance to enjoy their latest catchy tunes, including “Reverence,” “Sound Of Fear,” “Better Off,” and more, without having to hear them through tiny earbuds or tinny laptop speakers.

They’re not alone, either — they have fellow Richmond pop hitmakers Saint Samuel along with them for this Tuesday night showcase of local pop excellence. This four-piece group just released a new single of their own, and “Such A Saint” would fit right in on any playlist of 80s magic by groups like Duran Duran and the Psychedelic Furs. Their appearance earlier this month on an Hourglass Sessions livestream shows that this quartet can deliver the goods live, too — and it’s sure to be a lot more enjoyable when you don’t have to watch them do so through your phone. So hey, come to the Camel this Tuesday night and enjoy your booster shot of pure pop.

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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: Butcher Brown, by Jacob Blick

Fight Isolation With The Mommyheads

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Long-running New York indie pop quartet The Mommyheads are playing Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House tonight, on tour to support their brand new album, Age Of Isolation. Their lush melodic sound is sure to bring the city together.

It’s an auspicious night here in Richmond, particularly if you’re a fan of music. For you see, New York’s own The Mommyheads are coming to town tonight, lighting up the evening with a set of great music at Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House, where they’ll be joined by local favorites Prabir Trio.

If you’ve been in the indie/alternative music world anytime over the past three and a half decades, chances are you’ve encountered the Mommyheads at some point. Starting back when they were teenagers in late-80s New York, this indie pop quartet was part of the bubbling-under east coast indie scene in the early-90s, and eventually even got signed to a major label, Geffen Records, in the waning days of the post-Nirvana feeding frenzy. As with a lot of bands who were brought into the major label hype machine that late in that whole era, The Mommyheads received almost no label support, and barely even got their one major-label release, a self-titled album, into the world before they were dropped.

This whole experience was thoroughly disillusioning and depressing for the members of the Mommyheads, to the point that they actually broke up completely for a decade. Thankfully, they still loved music, and couldn’t help but return to action in the late 00s. These days, the band retains three of the four core members from their 90s heyday, and is if anything even more productive — not only have they been back together for longer than they were ever originally a band, they’ve released seven new albums since reforming in 2008. They only released five the first time around!

Their complex, rich, and addictive melodic sound has stayed powerful throughout their lengthy career, and this is obvious on their brand new album, Age Of Isolation. It reflects the cultural mood created over the past year and a half as all of us were required to spend most of our time by ourselves in our homes, missing out on so many things we’d taken for granted for so long — from late-night hangs with friends to the joys of live music. The Mommyheads capture the zeitgeist on songs like “TV Dinner,” “Am I Too Comfortable,” and the title track, evoking artists as diverse as Grandaddy, XTC, ELO, and John Lennon (during his solo era) with a series of guitar-based, synth-infused indie pop tunes.

This all stands in intriguing contrast with the previous Mommyheads release, a remastered reissue of their second album. Coming Into Beauty was originally released in 1992 by Simple Machines Records, that essential label of the early-90s indie pop revolution (and where I myself first heard the Mommyheads, on the Simple Machines compilation EP Pulley). Rather than the lush, multilayered soundscapes of their more recent work, Coming Into Beauty has more of a jangly, wide-eyed feel — more Aztec Camera than the Eels. Which only makes sense, as the members were all in their late teens when they originally recorded this album. Rest assured, if you’ve found anything to appreciate in modern examples of the Mommyheads material, you’re sure to get a kick out of these earlier tunes as well, especially from their youthful, energetic approach to the same flawless melodic sense the band evokes to this day.

All of this is what you’ll have in store for you tonight if you head down to Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House, where the Mommyheads will be doing their part to inaugurate the post-pandemic era of live music excellence. They’ll be joined by our own veteran of the melodic indie/alternative world, Prabir Mehta, backed by his latest project, the Prabir Trio. So if you were thinking of strolling in fashionably late, make alternate plans — you’re going to want to be there from the very first note.

Broadberry Entertainment Group presents The Mommyheads at Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House, Thursday October 28, with Prabir Trio. Doors open at 7 pm, show begins at 8. Tickets are $10 in advance and can be purchased at bit.ly/mommyheadsrva. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours required for entry.

Big Freedia is Bringing It Loud to RVA This Friday

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The return of live music to Richmond in the post-pandemic era brings us the return of New Orleans bounce legend Big Freedia, who’ll take Richmond’s Pride Month celebration to the next level this Friday at Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House.

Just in time to kick it up a notch for Pride Month, Big Freedia is bringing her famous New Orleans bounce to town this Friday at the Richmond Music Hall at downtown Capital Ale House. Broadberry Entertainment is back and getting shows rolling in town, and they’re starting things off right with a return by Richmond fave Big Freedia. We could not be more stoked to twerk it out with friends for her always bumpin’ party.

Big Freedia (pronounced “FREE-da”), known as the Queen of Bounce, is at the forefront of the Bounce rap movement (a subgenre of hip-hop born out of New Orleans and known for its call and response style and lightning-speed booty-shaking dance). Performing five out of seven nights in any given week with dancers she calls The Divas, Big Freedia’s show is nothing short of dazzling. She tours every city in America from New York to San Francisco and is always a favorite at festivals such as Electric Forest, Hangout Fest, FunFunFun Fest, SXSW, and Bonnaroo, among many others. Gay and proud, Big Freedia asserts that her (Freedia identifies as a gay man but uses the feminine pronoun for her stage persona) sexuality has little to do with her music. “All types of people — gay, straight, rich, poor, black, white — come to my shows. People just wanna get out and shake their azzzz and have a good time!”

We were able to catch Big Freedia and have a quick conversation between stops on her hectic travel schedule. We leaarned a few things, and even got a sweet recipe to share with all of you. Check it out.

How did the Queen Diva Big Freedia get through COVID, and how did it affect your life and plans? 

BF: Like everyone, it was a very scary time. I was just about to go on a tour with Kesha, but that was postponed. I kept the party going though; I started a cooking show. Big Freedia’s Garden Cookout and Big Freedia’s Gospel Brunch. It was a blast! 

It’s Pride month and we are excited to have you here in Richmond to celebrate it and bounce it out. So on that note, what does Pride mean to you?

BF: Pride is a time to celebrate loudly, and that’s how I do it! 

You’ve been involved in the music industry quite a while now, and during that timeframe trans visibility and the movement for trans rights have made some real advances. Is the music industry keeping up with the progress of the movement? Is it easier to navigate now than when you were first participating in the industry as a trans person? In what ways does it still need to improve?

BF: Actually, I am not trans, I’m a gay man. But I am an ally! I think we’ve come really far of course, but there is still a lot of discrimination and violence (towards trans women of color in particular) that must be addressed. 

I was checking out your cookout streams, with your Garden Cookout and then Big Freedia’s Kitchen. Looks like you’re really into cooking, and make some amazing New Orleans originals. Tell me about the show and what you love about cooking. What’s your favorite recipe and where can we find yours?

BF: I learned how to cook from my Mom. She was always in the kitchen cookin’ up something for me and my brother and sister. My favorite is my Booty Poppin’ Potatoes. 

Tell us what makes this tour different than your other tours, and what can people look forward to seeing?  

BF: I think since we’ve all been quarantined for so long, there’s going to be an energy and release with these shows unlike any other! 

What new music collaborations or projects are on the horizon for Big Freedia?   

BF: I am on Lady Gaga’s new Born This Way Tenth Anniversary album. I covered “Judas.” I have my new EP coming out in July too — Big Diva Energy. The first single off the EP is called “Betty Bussit.” 

Big Freedia
Big Freedia Bringing the Bounce. Photo by Chris Berntsen

See Big Freedia’s Tour this Friday at 7pm at the Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House. Tickets are available HERE.

Flattening The Mental Health Curve For Musicians

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RVA Mag wanted to find out how local venues are surviving during the ongoing pandemic. In the second of a multi-part series of articles, we learn how The Broadberry Entertainment Group is keeping music alive in Richmond: from socially-distanced concerts to the mental health of musicians. 

2020 has perhaps been the most difficult year in modern history for concert venues and the live music industry as a whole. The impact of the pandemic on independently-owned businesses is felt far and wide, and Richmond is no exception. 

One of Richmond’s most popular live music companies, Broadberry Entertainment Group, is having a rough go of it right now, but they are finding ways to keep live music going. The entertainment business has always required those in the industry to seek creative solutions on a regular basis. COVID-19 has proven itself to be one of the greatest challenges the Broadberry Entertainment Group, its venues, and its staff have faced together.

Lucas Fritz is one of the main talent buyers and promoters for Broadberry Entertainment Group, which operates several venues including The Camel, The Broadberry, Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House, and several other breweries and venues throughout Virginia. He sat down with RVA Magazine to offer the organization’s perspective on the times, and share what it’s like to operate an entertainment company during this unprecedented situation.

In spite of the fact that The Broadberry’s venues are some of the keystone live music rooms in Richmond, and are critical to the local music scene, they are unfortunately no exception to the impact of the pandemic. All of their venues have virtually shut down as a result of the quarantine. However, Fritz says that they are staying hopeful, even during these difficult times. 

“Every venue and entity is different in finding its own way,” Fritz said. The Camel, an employee-owned club and one of Richmond’s favorite live music spots for locals and touring bands alike, is fortunately also a popular restaurant and bar. Therefore, Fritz and his colleagues there have been focusing most heavily on the food these days.

“The Camel has been open as a takeout and delivery restaurant this whole time,” Fritz said. “As Virginia moves into various phases and allows limited capacity inside, we’ve been able to re-do our seating to have very limited capacity, and socially-distant concerts inside the venue.” 

PHOTO: Mutually Assured Destruction livestreams from The Broadberry

The Camel was one of the first places in Richmond to host live music indoors since March 15. The shows are held on the stage, like usual, and the crowd is safely socially distanced from the stage throughout the room. Attendees are sat at tables, and kept in separate groups scattered across the dance floor. The shows are intimate, and probably feel like private concerts for the select few who get tickets. Tickets are sold by the table, and serve as a reservation.

“Your ticket isn’t just for you. You buy a ticket for a table that seats a certain number of people,” Fritz said. “You go in, sit down at your table, and that’s where you have to be the entire time, unless you’re using the restroom.” It may feel a tad rigid and stuffy being glued to the seat, wearing a mask as is required by Virginia law. But it’s the best we can ask for at this time — and it’s certainly better than no music at all. 

“With the need to maintain social distances throughout the venue and wear masks, it offers the concert-goer a different experience,” Fritz said. 

It is live music, just not quite the way it was before. Shows at The Camel are typically intimate and energetic, with close proximity to the band, only the minor lift of the venue’s short stage standing between performers and fans. Those nights are filled with energy, and can even get a bit rowdy, the way a rock show should be: sweaty, loud, contagiously inspirational. We will have to relive those nights in our heads for a bit longer before we can return to screaming the words of our favorite song with strangers in tight spaces. 

For now, The Camel’s staff are going above and beyond to ensure that every safety protocol is being followed, protecting each person in attendance from exposure to the virus.

“We are keeping safety on the forefront,” Fritz said. “Sanitizing mic stands, cables, and microphones after every show to make sure we protect the artists, our staff, and all of the concertgoers.” Some bands are eager to perform, but others are still cautious — just as some fans can’t wait to see live music again, while others are still wary and cautious of crowds. Everyone is different, and opinions vary greatly from person to person.

“Not everyone feels comfortable, and we definitely respect everyone’s level of comfort as it comes to easing restrictions,” Fritz said. Even if normal indoor concerts were allowed again tomorrow, he knows that it may be a while before people would feel comfortable attending them. 

PHOTO: Upcoming Events from Broadberry Entertainment Group

Fritz and his team are making the best out of a difficult situation, and they are fighting to do what they’ve always done: putting on high quality shows in a comfortable and professional environment. 

“I think generally, it’s been successful,” Fritz said. “It’s a different experience than a normal show at The Camel. People are used to going in, getting right up by the stage, ordering drinks at the bar, hanging out with their friends on the patio. [But] it’s great that now there are some outlets for bands.” 

Musicians are the other half of this equation. Bands and local artists have been unable to play proper concerts for more than four months now. Many of those artists are full-time musicians, relying on shows to make a living. They have been virtually out of work since the pandemic took full effect. Worse still is the emotional and mental toll that not performing has on so many artists. “In these tough times, mental health is a huge concern for everyone,” Fritz said. 

Music is an art, and art is rarely “just a job.” Performing is a ritual of vulnerability, a thrill of confidence and empowerment, and a place for freedom of expression. For the maladapted musician, performing might be the only way to stay sane. It is an act of release that has the potential to expel fear, sadness, anger, joy, and pain. The state of an artist’s mental health may be contingent upon their ability to get on stage. 

As we live through this music drought, this staple of culture has been mostly removed from society. The effects are showing. People miss live music. For many, it’s a necessary part of life. But thanks to local venues, it hasn’t disappeared entirely.

In addition to the socially-distant shows at The Camel, Broadberry Entertainment Group has created other opportunities for bands to keep playing. “The Broadberry has been completely closed, because there isn’t a good way to operate while still maintaining appropriate social distances inside,” Fritz said. “We have been doing live-streamed concerts from the venue, in which there’s two to four production techs, the band, and no audience — nothing else. We’re using the full stage, production, PA, lights, and pushing that out through YouTube, Twitter, and various Facebook pages.” 

Any form of performing is better than nothing, and many bands have had a varying degree of success with live streams. “It’s offering opportunities for our staff, musicians, and keeping the venue’s branding on the forefront,” Fritz said. Live streams don’t bring in much revenue for the venue, but they can pay the production teams, and hopefully send artists home with virtual cash as well. 

“Live streams at The Broadberry are not, in any way, replacing the revenue of in-person concerts,” Fritz said. “We’re still down 99.5 percent of revenue compared to 2019.” Whether that percentage is hyperbolic or genuinely representative is uncertain, but Fritz maintained a positive attitude and sense of humor as he spoke. 

It is clear that Fritz and The Broadberry’s team have been working very hard to keep things going at the highest capacity they can. They strive to provide opportunities for artists, in whatever way possible, to flatten the curve and keep musicians’ mental health from failing during pandemic shutdowns. 

“Allowing bands, techs, myself, and various creative outlets to perform is an important part of keeping everyone mentally healthy,” Fritz said. “It’s not a big money maker, but it keeps the creative juices flowing with the artists in town.” 

You can keep up with Broadberry Entertainment Group’s efforts to survive the pandemic by following them on Facebook, or on Instagram @broadberryentertainmentgroup.

Top Photo via The Broadberry Entertainment Group

Daniel Donato at Richmond Music Hall on 3/13

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His strident voice and explorative songwriting carry his music into new territory, offering bold ideas to his fan base while staying true to what drew them to him in the first place: a palpable love of music delivered through excelled craft. With one eye on the night’s gig and another on the ages, Donato is continuing his journey down country music’s long and winding road, leaving no stone unturned.

TICKETS $12 AT THE DOOR

Howlin Rain: High Energy Cosmic Hippie Music

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California psychedelic rockers Howlin Rain bring their Hendrix/Dead-flavored throwback jams to Richmond Music Hall At Capital Ale House tonight. Frontman Ethan Miller explains what goes into the band’s cosmic musical creations.

On Friday, February 28, Howlin Rain will bring their own unique brand of psychedelic rock to Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House. The acclaimed underground Oakland, CA-based band is touring behind a new live album series, Under The Wheels, while also continuing to push their latest studio recording, The Alligator Bride.

According to front man Ethan Miller, RVA show-goers should expect to hear ramped up “60s and 70s rock” infused with a bit of “Hendrix and The Grateful Dead.” On the phone, Miller — who’s also a member of Heron Oblivion and Feral Ohms, as well as running his own label, Silver Current Records — comes across as thoughtful and friendly, speaking in a slow raspy tone that reflects his California hippie roots. “You’ll see people making music the old-fashioned way,” he promises of the show with a laugh, “sweating blood up on that stage.”

For Miller and Howlin Rain, Friday’s show will mark a return to the city following last year’s performance at Stone Brewing’s Stone’s Throw Down in RVA festival on Brown’s Island. Miller had not been to Richmond before, but the experience last year and his discovery of the city itself was enough to have Howlin Rain looking forward to returning.

“I’ve traveled the whole world, really, and enjoy the thrill of discovery,” Miller explains. “Richmond is a place that is steeped in history. [Last year] I remember walking around Richmond going to record stores and getting coffee…and you’re walking by these major historical sites at every turn. That was a thrill and fascinating; the people in Richmond were really laid back and the city itself was really quite striking.”

For Miller, whose recent tour stretch saw him playing 22 shows in 19 days, travel and music go hand in hand. One of his earliest memories of rock music was traveling an hour and a half outside of his rustic Eureka, CA hometown with his dad to cut and haul firewood off the mountain of a family friend.

“We’d drive out in my Dad’s little white Toyota pickup before dawn,” Miller recalls, “and he’d be playing music on the cassette player and banging away on the steering wheel singing… Kenny Rogers’ ‘The Gambler;’ Crosby, Stills and Nash, the first album.” I ask Miller what makes that experience so memorable and he pauses a moment before answering: “The smell of his coffee in his cup,” he says, “and him banging on the steering wheel and singing along, and us going to do stuff that’s pretty exciting for a little boy… you know, chainsaws going, wood flying, us stacking it up.”

Photo by Life Wide Open Photography, via Howlin Rain/Facebook

Miller, who has a deep interest in philosophy and literature, has spent the decades since pursuing the experience of creating and experiencing music. I ask him if he sees any similarities between the acts of felling trees and gathering firewood, and pursuing and producing music.

“I don’t know,” he says, considering the connection. “When you’re gathering firewood, you are kind of monster and master of your environment, and there’s a little bit of destructive triumph, I suppose, as an artist. Like times where you thought the music had you, but you end up doing it and capturing it, and completing the song or the album.”

Ultimately, though, Miller feels that his work as a musician and record label owner is more similar to the act of “creating beautiful photographs… knowing how to capture a moment and present it in the right way, without disturbing its natural essence.” He compares coming across an intriguing musical idea to coming upon something inspiring or unique in nature.  The best music,” he says, “gets made when something worked so naturally all I had to do was not threaten the thing off… and I could capture it and present it.” 

In addition to his bandmates, when he takes the stage at Richmond Music Hall on Friday, Miller will be accompanied by a significant co-creator in his efforts to produce and capture the music he shares with audiences: his beloved 1964 Fender Jaguar, originally a robin’s-egg blue that has long since “discolored to a rare seafoam green.” Miller purchased it in 1998 out of an airstream trailer of “really vintage stuff” behind Steve’s Music World in Santa Cruz, and it has been with him ever since.

Miller extols the attributes of the Jaguar’s “great tremolo system.” “Most guitars that stay in tune,” Miller says, “don’t have a radical action, and the ones that do have a radical action don’t stay in tune worth a shit. The Jaguar stays in tune even after taking a total beating doing diabolical whammy bar stuff.”

Howlin Rain at Stone’s Throw Down In RVA. Photo via Howlin Rain/Facebook

It took Miller two months of saving tips from delivering pizzas to accumulate the $1,400 needed to buy it. Since then, on the road, he’s had people offer him a lot of money, even one memorable offer of $6,000 just a few months after he bought it.

“It doesn’t matter what it’s worth,” Miller says. “It’s my life guitar… The reason I bought it is because I felt I’m better with it. It helps me go beyond my abilities. It’s got something it wants to do, too, and if you’re in the zone, it starts having a little bit of a life of its own.”

These days Miller has moved on from that white pickup of his childhood to the band’s Dodge Grand Caravan, with stowaway seats where they can load up their merchandise. When the band rolls into town on Friday, the audience will get to see Howlin Rain and Miller on stage going, with the help of his Jaguar, beyond their abilities.

“If you like high energy rock and roll shows and cosmic hippie music with a Hendrix buzz,” he says, “then I think you’ll love it. If you hate all that stuff,” he adds with a laugh, “then just come and check it out anyways.”

After the show, Miller and his bandmates will climb in the Dodge Caravan and pull off for “the next of many cities and tour stops” to come. The post-show drive to the next venue can be many hours long. “Sometimes the band goes quiet,” Miller says, looking at their phones and resting their ears. Often, though, he says they’ll “listen to music,” and Miller does more than his fair share of driving.

Howlin Rain at Stone’s Throw Down In RVA. Photo via Howlin Rain/Facebook

It’s not hard to imagine those dark hours of driving between venues: Music playing in the white van, the smell of coffee to keep the driver awake, Miller tapping the steering wheel as he and Howlin Rain move out yet again to another distant place — toward all those mountains and trees, all those cities and music that await.

Howlin Rain will be at Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House, located downtown at 619 E. Main St, tonight starting at 7 PM. Admission is $15 at the door. For more info, click here.

Top Photo by Erik Jankstrom, via Howlin Rain/Facebook