Scene & Heard: Richmond, VA

posted in: Features • Pop • Reviews & Playlists • Rock

Just a short drive down Route 17 from Washington, DC, you’ll find the next stop on our Scene & Heard road trip: Richmond, VA. As the capital of “Old Dominion,” Richmond is a solid musical destination.  Though the area’s genres are quite diverse, folk, country and certain types of heavy rock music seem to dominate.

Richmond itself, as well as neighboring Virginia Beach, were notable starting points for many big-name urban artists such as D’Angelo and Pharrell. In rock and pop, Richmond has produced eclectic bands spanning from Carbon Leaf to Lamb of God. Richmond Blues/Country heavyweights include Tim Barry and River City Gang. The area’s culture makes it a hot bed for festivals and entertainment, with hundreds of DC tourists taking the trip down to explore some of the musical offerings. Most notably, Richmond has hosted the National Folk Festival (NFF) in previous years including acts like Chuck Brown, the Skatalites and The Holmes Brothers. Additionally, Richmond has a strong radio presence with pop/rock stations Q94 (94.5 FM) and Lite 98 (98.1 FM).

OurStage band Gills and Wings are no strangers to playing in the Richmond area. This Hush Sound-esque band combines their strong songwriting style with bouncy piano chords and guitar riff harmonies like those of Queen.  To pinpoint a genre with these guys wouldn’t really do them justice. Take a listen for yourself:

Based out of Richmond themselves, the band are no strangers to the club circuit. “Gallery 5 is an art gallery/music venue hybrid…It’s an opportunity for us to expose ourselves to art enthusiasts and other Richmond-ers we might not have otherwise been able to play for,” commented the guys when asked what their favorite Richmond venue was to play. “The atmosphere is great and the passersby are always very receptive”.
“Seeing the reaction of [a Richmond] audience has altered our perspective of what kind of boundaries and freedom a band could have.” They went on to mention that scene is very eclectic, containing genres like Latin, jazz (as heard at Balliceaux), hip hop (as heard at Cafe Diem), grass roots, funk and rock. The underlying theme of our interview with the guys was simply that there are a large number of venues, and what genre will be heard really depends on what night you go there. “For music goers, The National, Canal Club and The Camel…are just a few venues off the top of [our] head that feature excellent music. Check the lineup on a given night…to see if it’s worth your while.”
Gills and Wings have had songs featured on MTV’s The Real World and were actually in the process of shooting the new music video for their song “Rebirth of a Nation” when we caught up with them. Head over to their OurStage profile to stay tuned for its release.