We're over the moon to have Reese Williams (a.k.a. Queen Reese) as our Here Weekly guest editor this week! Reese is a bright light in the Richmond music community; to know her is to love her. She's able to promote her beloved music community for a living, as the Chief Communications Officer for Shockoe Records and the Studio Ambassador for In Your Ear Studios! She also hosts the weekly concert series Shockoe Sessions Live and its companion podcast This Room Sounds Great. and produces and hosts her own podcast titled Spying on Humanity. Also, Reese has been a voice actor for over 25 years! She enjoys this work because it allows her to be obnoxiously animated, yet socially acceptable. She’s lent her talent to live radio, animation, mobile apps, voicemails, commercials, corporate videos and singing backup vocals.
For kicks, Reese enjoys roller skating, trivia nights, bird watching and walks around the city. She's often followed around by her sweet pup Rosie, who is the official mascot of Shockoe Sessions Live.
This week, Reese serves up her recommendations for ways to experience and support the vibrant music scene in RVA!
Take it away, Reese...
804 Day
in Shockoe Bottom
This is a celebration of Richmond! This is an evening of fun and inspiration focused on reminding us that the “804,” RVA, Richmond, Virginia shares a human harmonic. We come together to dance, sing, eat and drink as one community...together. The vision is to create an annual event that highlights Shockoe Bottom as a place of creativity and impact on the entire Richmond metro area through music and collaboration between the art, business and nonprofit communities! A block party with three stages of music to provide entertainment, while non-profit organizations will share the impact they are having on our community, and vendors can share their creations.
Enjoy an evening at Gallery5 surrounded by the Richmond music community as well as vendors who specialize in services that help to grow a musician's career. Live music by Gordy Michael, Goodnight Daniel, FLKL, and Weekend Plans. Come meet vendors who specialize in services that help to grow a musician's career AND see a concert jam packed with some of the 804's best talent.
To put a cherry on top of this amazing event, ticket and raffle proceeds will benefit local community group LIV - Life Is Valuable. Come ready to mingle, support locally and listen to some great music!
A weekly concert showcasing Richmond’s GOLDMINE of music talent! In person and livestream, presented by Shockoe Records and In Your Ear Studios. Tuesday's show (August 8) is smack in the middle of Richmond Music Week and features Richmond rockers Flight Club. Pulling influence from their southern roots, the group takes the gritty blues and classic rock tones they were raised on and adds a dose of punk rock intensity. Blending them together to find a soulful sound, full of heart, delivered raw, passionate, and true.
Born from the neighborhood from which it derives its name (Shockoe Bottom), Shockoe Records seeks to project into a vibrant and vital future by celebrating and uplifting the region’s musical talent. The neighborhood, having evolved from its troubled history and decades of struggle, is now resonant with diverse and inclusive art and culture. By tapping into the Richmond area’s groundswell of new voices and sounds, Shockoe Records aims to be a parallel to this movement, bringing forth an array of artists from varied racial, ethnic and gender identity backgrounds.
Shockoe Records is a label whose objective is to disrupt today’s unsupportable music business model with a focus on amplifying the voices of artists. This involves a more cooperative approach than that of top-down management of traditional labels. Shockoe Records provides artists with more autonomy, and most importantly, does not and will not own an artist’s intellectual property. Instead, the label will facilitate a host of services including marketing, booking, merchandise production, sync licensing, album production, and more to bolster the artist’s career efforts. The Shockoe Records team wants its curated roster of artists to not only survive, but to thrive.
Ultimately, Shockoe Records plans to expand the music community by nurturing talented artists, connecting them with local businesses, educating through mentorship, and promoting new music in our schools. The foundational purpose will always be to provide support for the Richmond area’s musicians and the music they make.
