There's no place like here. So let's plot some moves around the River City for the weekend ahead. We've lined up three quick tips to shop local art, to create a shared story together, and to take in the sights at favorite local parks. Get out there and celebrate this place we all love to call home. See you in the city!
Sophie Printmaking
Looking for the perfect RVA gift or something special (and local) to treat yourself? Sophie Smith, aka Sophie Printmaking, is a Richmond based linocut printmaker who is cranking out striking prints these days that depict our hometown at its finest. Many of her images initially started out as photographs that Sophie took herself and then carved into linoleum and printed. In their final iteration they are morphed into two-color screen printed posters. Many of her locations include some of her favorite spots on the river – like the CSX A-Line Bridge, the James River Park Pipeline Walkway next to Pipeline Rapids, and the City of Richmond skyline, just to name a few.
As many Here subscribers know, shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic began, our team quietly worked with the James River Park System to hide an old mailbox in a secret spot in the park as part of a journal writing experiment. The vintage mailbox became home to the “Dear Richmond” journal — a special place for the community to connect, to express our shared gratitude, our hopes, and our fears. Since that time, Richmonders have documented their thoughts about being in quarantine, the pandemic, and systemic racism. Others have used the journal as a place to leave words of encouragement for those feeling isolated, suggestions for working toward an inclusive community, and some simply recorded trail observations about their natural surroundings. And for others, the mailbox became a place to discuss loss, being alone, their fight to remain sober, and their search for love. Along the way, the Richmond community has responded with words of encouragement left for complete strangers, entries filled with inspiration, and even gifts. Recently, we teamed up with the James River Park System to find a new home for the community mailbox in the park. Now more centrally located near the park headquarters, the mailbox is again available for the community to find and to define what the journal will become page by page. Your job is to find it.
Have you checked out one of Richmond's newest murals yet? Head to Battery Park in the Northside for a mural celebrating Author Ashe that was painted entirely with tennis balls. The tribute to the legendary tennis star was created by JVY Creations in collaboration with RVA students and Mural MOBB, a creative outlet for teens, for the City of Richmond's Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. While you're in the area, swing by Hotchkiss Park for another new mural, this one created by All City Art Club for RVA's new outdoor roller skating rink.
Vitals:
Battery Park is located 2803 Dupont Cir. /JVY Creations / Hotchkiss Park is located at 701 E. Brookland Park Blvd. / All City Art Club
Save the Date: 9.22.23
For 50 years, the James River Park System has inspired countless hikers, climbers, paddlers, and lovers of nature. It has also inspired many of the region's artists – especially Friends of the James River Park Board Member, author, and photographer Bill Draper. He's the author of “A Photographic Journey through the James River Park System" and his work has inspired others who have used his images to take pen to paper, and brush to canvas. The upcoming Camera to Canvas event will pair some of our region's best artists with their favorite Bill Draper images to create original works for a charity auction benefitting the James River Park. Richmonders will have the opportunity to bid on individual items, or paired sets of artwork. Make sure to save the date of September 22nd, from 6-9PM at The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing for an evening of cocktails, food, music, silent and live auctions, and plenty of beautiful art.
Meet this week's guest editor, Ant The Symbol, a Richmond-based music producer. Using a lifetime of musical enthusiasm and almost two decades of production experience, he brings together major players in the Richmond music scene to create an experience that bypasses genre constraints. In addition to music, Ant has a love for sneakers, film, and trying new Richmond restaurants; check out his favorites, Maya and M&F Jamaican Restaurant!
His newest album, I Know Who I Am, is an audacious labor of love that features many familiar faces in Richmond music such as Deau Eyes, Sam Reed, Erin Lunsford, Matthew E. White, and Michael Millions. It combines soul, hip-hop, and pop to make music that’s sure to have you singing along for extended periods of time. It's available via Shockoe Records digitally and physically. CDs are available now, and vinyl is available to pre-order for a fall release!
This week, Ant serves up his recommendations for ways to experience and support the vibrant music scene in RVA! Take it away, Ant ...
RVA Rapper's Delight
We’re closing out Richmond Music Week with a bang(er)! For those who don’t know, hip-hop was born on August 11, 1973, and it’s only right we bring the community together to celebrate. The event will feature DJ Hip-Hop Henry and performances by Reppa Ton, Cane, Radio B, Noah-O and, making his grand return, Nickelus F. The show will be hosted by the radio legend, Mike Street. Come by to experience the past, present, and future of Richmond hip-hop. Part of the proceeds will go to Contribution to the Culture Foundation, who are advocates for the artistic expression, cultural traditions, and creative opportunities within the black/brown community.
As a Here Weekly subscriber, you can receive $10 off per ticket with promo code: RAPRVA.
Finally! We all know that a lot of things changed (and maybe disappeared) when the pandemic hit, but worry no more, because everything is bouncing back. Every year, I wait in excitement for the Richmond Jazz and Music Festival lineup to be released. This year, some of my favorite local artists including Erin & The Wildfire, Zhe' Aqueen, and Weekend Plans will be sharing the stage with Wale, Robert Glasper, Chaka Khan(!!) and many more. The sun’ll be out, and you should be too!
The heat is on! Cool off with some refreshing watermelon at the Carytown Watermelon Festival! And if you don’t love watermelon (which unfortunately, I don’t), there’s still something out there for you whether it be live music, local beer, food or something that I anticipate each year, Plan 9 Music’s sidewalk sale. You never know what gold you’ll find in those crates! Grab a bottle of water (it’s gonna be a hot afternoon) and enjoy one of the city’s staple establishments.
Vitals: Carytown Watermelon Festival / From entrance of Carytown to Byrd Theatre / Sunday, August 13, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
More About Ant.
Ant The Symbol skillfully uses his roots in hip-hop and eclectic musical tastes to create musical experiences that transcend genre boundaries. In his 17-year career, Ant has worked with many artists, including Chuck D of Public Enemy, DJ Harrison, and Nickelus F. He has also released many albums and scored two short films. His modus operandi is to curate artistic projects that will excite and affect everyone they reach for decades to come.
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.
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