Filtering by: Live Music
Live Music: A Stripped Down Performance by Chris Leggett & The Copper Line
Nov
8
7:00 PM19:00

Live Music: A Stripped Down Performance by Chris Leggett & The Copper Line

Quit Your Job and come drink a beer at Starr Hill 🎶

On Friday, November 8th, we're excited to present a stripped down performance by Chris Leggett & The Copper Line, in celebration of their single, "Quit Your Job," plus the re-release of our tasty collab beer 🍻

LINEUP

Chris Leggett Trio @ 7:00 PM

Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 10:30 PM

About The Artist

Chris Leggett & The Copper Line

Here’s how one listener put it after a Chris Leggett & the Copper Line set at the Broadberry: “Your sound encapsulates Virginia.” Leggett was born and raised in Richmond, absorbing the influence of storied Virginian songwriters like Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz, as well as timeless favorites like James Taylor and John Prine. He started out playing drums but was drawn to the guitar, and soon followed in the footsteps of a father who wrote songs in his spare time. “He always expressed to me that songwriting was a divine thing, and there’s always songs in the air.”

So much musical inspiration drifts around Richmond, and Leggett has moved closer to the source with each release. First came a pair of EPs, both on his Mush Brain Records label: 2017’s self-titled effort and its 2018 follow-up, Some Odd Years, where he renewed the partnership with guitarist Matt Elgin that started with their middle school garage band.

Leggett’s debut full-length, From the Idle Mind, marks the start of an exciting new chapter. The Copper Line took shape as a fully fledged rock group in 2019, when bassist Tucker Dean – a middle and high school bandmate of Elgin’s – and drummer Dave Pierandri joined up, allowing early pop-punk and jam influences to shine through Leggett’s sharp Americana songwriting for a unique sound that harkens back to alt-country’s raucous inception.

Recorded in Richmond at the Ward with production by Andrew Carper (Palm Palm, the Southern Belles) and engineering by Zach Fichter (Turkuaz, Chicano Batman), From the Idle Mind is a journey in and of itself — into a drunken haze (“Whiskey Breath”), through the heartbreak and resulting songwriting sprint Leggett experienced during the pandemic (“Eight Weeks”), and out into a wide-open, hopeful future (“Extra Blue”).

Things are similarly looking up for Chris Leggett & the Copper Line. Since playing his first gig at Alley Katz when he was just 14, Leggett and his bandmates have progressed to stages like that of the RiverRock festival on Brown’s Island and the Beacon Theatre in Hopewell. They’ve supported the likes of Neal Francis, Cris Jacobs, the Steeldrivers, and the Wood Brothers, though you’re as likely to find them playing to loyal crowds of their own at the Broadberry and the Camel. “I’ve been in Richmond for so long,” Leggett says, “and now I’m finally breaking into the scene a little bit.”

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Live Music: JP Harris
Nov
21
8:00 PM20:00

Live Music: JP Harris

Come on out to Starr Hill for the Richmond debut of JP Harris on Thursday, November 21st!

LINEUP

JP Harris @ 8:00 PM

Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 9:30 PM

About The Artist

JP Harris was born shortly, and fortunately, a few minutes before Valentine’s Day 1983 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Within a handful of years he was wearing a green velour tracksuit and leading a large Doberman around for street credibility, at the young age of three. He had a charm and strut that would take him far, so the grown folks said; but roughly a decade later, on the opposite side of the country, he would leave his family’s home late one summer night with no designs on fame, fortune, or clothing endorsements, never to return. 

He had an inkling that the eighth grade was enough education for where he was headed, and set a course for Anywhere, USA. Turns out he was right.

Spending most of his teenage years traveling by freight train, thumb, or foot, he would set down his rucksack for what he thought was the last time in rural northern New England, shortly after the anticlimactic event known as Y2K came to pass without much to-do. He spent the next decade living in remote cabins lacking the modern appointments of power, running water, or winter road access. 

It was there Harris honed the many trades he’d learned: sheepherder, logger, heavy equipment operator, farm laborer, restoration carpenter, and sometimes as contraband handler, while his musical palette expanded beyond the punk rock of his youth to include the Early American Folk Canon of blues, old time, and early country recordings.

JP had long fashioned himself a carpenter who did halfway-decent campfire renditions of old country tunes, but turned suddenly to songwriting in his mid twenties after years without the slightest ambition toward “music business” of any sort. He would assemble a band, trade his work truck for an old Econoline van, and fifteen years would elapse before he would reluctantly add the term “professional” in front of his title of “musician.”

In 2011, Harris loaded his van and trailer with every tool, guitar, and keepsake he could cram and moved to Nashville TN, shortly before the release of his debut album “I’ll Keep Calling,” which would win him countless accolades from various outlets and entities unheard of by the general masses. It was enough praise to keep him on the road, even if his largest reward garnered at the time was a sizable box of Taco Bell gift cards. 

He would go on to record 2014’s “Home Is Where The Hurt Is,” 2018’s “Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing,” and 2021’s Appalachian banjo-centric side project album “Don’t You Marry No Railroad Man,” under the moniker JP Harris’ Dreadful Wind & Rain.  

JP’s historic restoration carpentry has continued to be a baseline for his relationship to music; the yin to his yang, the Burt to his Ernie, the Dolly to his Porter. It was through this concurrent line of work that he met another twice-initialed singer with a penchant for old Americana music, obscure film, and overly elaborate ethnic meal preparations: one JD McPherson. The two became fast friends and would eventually, through many twists, turns, false starts, and biblically-proportionate plagues, enter a modest studio in Nashville to record Harris’ latest album “JP Harris Is A Trash Fire.”

Over the course of nine months in 2023, they recorded a sometimes lush, sometimes sparse, and sometimes jarring country album of Harris’ originals, loudly and violently squelching any attempt to pigeon-hole a song into any subgenre of country music. Only albums by Lee Hazelwood and an obscure folk album Waylon Jennings made when his hair was still short were allowed to be mentioned in reference. Featuring the guest vocals of Erin Rae, The Watson Twins, Shovels & Rope, and producer JD McPherson himself, the record is equal parts satire, reflection, and apology to those that would listen. 

In a musical landscape of period-correct reproduction, “outlaw” internet posturing, and flavor-of-the-month variants on country, “JP Harris Is A Trash Fire” burns bright as a dumpster ablaze in a Walmart parking lot on a moonless night; some will fear it, some will gravitate to its acrid warmth, and most will have no idea what to make of the situation. 

Harris has been steadily elbowing the definitive boundaries of “country music” wider with every album, both sonically and lyrically, and his latest piece of self described “Avant-Country” is no exception. Even within the rapidly growing world of “underground” country music, Harris still considers himself an outsider, content to inhabit a gray area where punk rock ethos, folk art aesthetic, and the workingman’s ballad mingle. 

 When he’s not touring, JP Harris can be found fixing historic houses, riding old motorcycles, or picking through scrap piles for useable refuse.

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5th Anniversary Celebration featuring Live Music by Cleophus James
Dec
14
7:00 PM19:00

5th Anniversary Celebration featuring Live Music by Cleophus James

Join us Saturday, December 14th, at Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop in Scott's Addition for our 5th Anniversary Party!

LINEUP
Cleophus James @ 7:00 PM
Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 10:30 PM

about the band
Cleophus James is rooted in a decade of musical collaboration between Scott & Jamie Messier, and Jack Shea. They learned to play their respective instruments alongside each other from a young age—simultaneously building an organic chemistry while stripping away creative inhibition. In searching for a fuller sound, the trio found a natural and seamless addition in guitarist Colin Coon.

In late 2018 after setting up shop in Richmond, Virginia, the band decided it was time to write some songs, resulting in their self-produced debut EP, “Extended Play.” Released in April 2019, these songs take elements of pop, funk, garage rock, and wrap it up with a touch of psychedelia in a groove oriented, listener friendly package. Their follow-up full length album, 1am, came in August 2021 and expanded on elements of indie rock, funk, and dance music.

https://cleophusjames.squarespace.com

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Live Music: Cleophus James as WEEN
Oct
26
7:00 PM19:00

Live Music: Cleophus James as WEEN

We’re celebrating Hall-o-WEEN!! Welcome back Richmond's Cleophus James as they bring the house down with an all WEEN cover set!

LINEUP

Cleophus James @ 7:00 PM

Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 10:30 PM

🎃 COSTUME CONTEST 🎃
Come dressed to impress with your scariest, silliest, solo or group costume, plus best PET costume! We'll be judging all day 10/26—be sure to sign up on the clipboard at the bar! Winners will be notified by email. All submissions will be entered to win a $50.00 gift card.

🍺 Beer + Candy Flights 🍬
Available all week 10/19-31! Flights include four 5oz. beers paired with four Halloween candies for $16+tax

about the band
Cleophus James is rooted in a decade of musical collaboration between Scott & Jamie Messier, and Jack Shea. They learned to play their respective instruments alongside each other from a young age—simultaneously building an organic chemistry while stripping away creative inhibition. In searching for a fuller sound, the trio found a natural and seamless addition in guitarist Colin Coon.

In late 2018 after setting up shop in Richmond, Virginia, the band decided it was time to write some songs, resulting in their self-produced debut EP, “Extended Play.” Released in April 2019, these songs take elements of pop, funk, garage rock, and wrap it up with a touch of psychedelia in a groove oriented, listener friendly package. Their follow-up full length album, 1am, came in August 2021 and expanded on elements of indie rock, funk, and dance music.

https://cleophusjames.squarespace.com

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Disco Beer: Halloween Rooftop Dance Party
Oct
26
1:00 PM13:00

Disco Beer: Halloween Rooftop Dance Party

Join us and Street Mafia Collective for a spooktastic day on the Rooftop at Disco Beer, featuring an awesome lineup: DJs Room206 and Rewind spinning back-to-back sets!

Don't miss this electrifying afternoon of nonstop beats and high energy!

LINEUP

Room206

Rewind

COSTUME CONTEST all day!

Free Show, All Ages

Delicious eats by Phat Yummies Quesadilla Cantina truck

Come and enjoy with us a day full of great music and tasty treats!

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Halloweekend
Oct
19
to Oct 31

Halloweekend

  • Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Join us in the Beer Hall Sat. 10/19 through Halloween for FREAKY FUN & FRIGHTS, featuring 🍺 Beer + 🍬Candy Pairing Flights, Spooky Movie Screenings, Local Food Trucks, Trivia and Costume Contests!

🍺🍺 Beer + Candy Flights 🍬🍬
Available all week 10/21-31! Flights include four 5oz. beers paired with four Halloween candies for $16+tax

🎃🎃 Costume Contest 🎃🎃
Come dressed to impress with your scariest, silliest, solo or group costume, plus best PET costume! We'll be judging during Queer-eerie-oke on 10/25 from 7-11 PM, all day 10/26 and all day on 10/30—be sure to sign up on the clipboard at the bar! Winners will be notified by email. All submissions will be entered to win a $50.00 gift card.

★★★SCHEDULE

10/19
MONSTER NIGHT MARKET ★ Taste local Halloween treats, browse local vendors and sip while you shop @ 5 PM

10/21
HOMEGROWN TRIVIA ★ Theme: I Want Candy @ 7 PM
LOCAL EATS ★ Eat My Eggroll

10/23
SPOOKY MOVIES ★ John Carpenter’s They Live @ 7 PM
LOCAL EATS ★ TBA

10/25
SCARY-OKE ★ Queer-eerie-oke Night @ 7 PM benefitting Dayum This Is My Jam RVA!
COSTUME CONTEST ★ From 7-11 PM - must be present to win!
LOCAL EATS ★ Hey Chop

10/26
ROOFTOP PARTY ★ Daytime DJs set from Street Mafia Collective from 1-5 PM
LIVE MUSIC ★ Cleophus James as WEEN @ 7 PM
COSTUME CONTEST ★ All Day - Sign up at the bar
LOCAL EATS ★ Phat Yummies

10/28
HOMEGROWN TRIVIA ★ Theme: Spooky @ 7 PM
LOCAL EATS ★El Kiosko

10/30
SPOOKY MOVIES ★ Night of the Living Dead @ 7 PM
COSTUME CONTEST ★ Best Zombie Costume wins @ 6:45 PM
LOCAL EATS ★ TBA

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Horsehead's 20th Anniversary Show
Oct
4
6:00 PM18:00

Horsehead's 20th Anniversary Show

Horsehead turns 20! Come on out to Starr Hill RVA on Friday, October 4th to celebrate with them, The Atkinsons, Plan 9 Records, a few of your friendly local craft vendors, with some special guests TBA.

🎸 LINEUP

Horsehead @ 8:00 PM

The Atkinsons @ 7:00 PM

Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 10:30 PM

🍺 BEER RELEASE

In collaboration with Horsehead, we're releasing a very special beer: Blood From A Stone Blood Orange IPA!

🛍 VENDORS

MediaNoche

ObscurO Jewelry

Plan 9

RikRack Embroidery

Snakepit Comics

Sugar Magnolia RVA

FOOD TRUCK

El Guapo will be serving up their delicious tacos and more on the patio all night!

about the artists

Horsehead

When their original debut album Record Of The Year was officially released back in 2006, Richmond, VA’s own Americana/Rock band Horsehead wouldn’t have possibly guessed they’d still be standing seventeen years later, stronger than ever. With six full albums proudly in their catalog to-date & a seventh coming out in the summer of 2023, a ton of incredible memories gathered from throughout their years, and a remarkably dedicated fan-base unlike any other, Horsehead continues to thrive with exciting new tunes.

From the sincere heart in their irresistible hooks & melodies, to their stunningly crafted instrumentation & inherent charm, to the cleverness of their lyricism & genuinely relatable vibes, the consistency within the songwriting of their wildly versatile music has remained constant over the course of their career. All in the pursuit of entertaining the masses with gripping material designed to move the mind, body & soul – Horsehead prides itself on making music that truly connects to everyone who takes the time to listen.

Over the past year and a half, the four-piece band recorded twenty songs that revealed how far they’ve come since their earliest days, and proved their best music still comes out of’em with every new release. As they trimmed the lineup of twenty down to thirteen of their finest tracks ever, Horsehead was left with a record that represented the band’s past & present as one, and a set list that was second to none. Beyond ecstatic to launch their seventh full-length record Sundogs Dancing In The Early Morning Light into the world online June 16th, Horsehead is sounding better than they ever have before throughout a lineup of songs that speaks volumes on behalf of their ability to entertain people on every possible level.

Sundogs Dancing In The Early Morning Light features the charismatic and eclectic sound of Horsehead at their undeniable best; it’s the record they’ve always known they’ve had within them & wanted to make. Featuring a talented lineup of players that includes Jon Brown (Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Kevin Wade Inge (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Steve Chiles (Bass), and Ricky Tubb (Drums/Percussion), together they’ve committed to creating an album filled with addictive songs that would serve as a landmark highlight in their growing catalog, and an achievement that permanently establishes their legacy in music’s history.

Join Horsehead in as they celebrate the release of Sundogs Dancing In The Early Morning Light & reveal a lineup of songs that no playlist could possibly be considered to be complete without this year.

The Atkinsons

The Atkinsons first set foot on Richmond, VA stages in the early 2000s and have been playing regularly ever since. The band melds roots, country, and rock music into their own style of rambling swing rock & roll. Heartfelt story-telling is at the core of The Atkinsons, and it is complemented with three-part harmonies layered over mandolin, fiddle, drums, bass and electric guitars. The Atkinsons influences run the gamut from country, mountain, bluegrass, to straight-up rock & roll music, and the sound ends up being quite a musical stew.

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25th Anniversary Weekend featuring Cary Wimbish Band
Sep
15
3:00 PM15:00

25th Anniversary Weekend featuring Cary Wimbish Band

JOIN US IN RAISING A GLASS TO 25 INCREDIBLE YEARS AT STARR HILL BREWERY!

Our 25th Anniversary Weekend Celebration is set to be the most memorable yet! Come celebrate with us as we honor a quarter-century of brewing, community, and unforgettable moments.

Join us for a Honky Tonk Sunday on September 15th, at Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop in Scott's Addition for the 25th Anniversary Weekend!

LINEUP
Cary Wimbish Band @ 3:00 PM
Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 6:30 PM

about the artists

Cary Wimbish
Hailing from Richmond, VA, Cary Wimbish has quickly earned a loyal following in the Richmond area since his debut in 2018. Combining powerful vocals with both acoustic and electric guitar, Cary’s repertoire includes covers of well known traditional country, bluegrass, classic rock, and blues songs. An accomplished songwriter, Cary also performs original songs that have become fan favorites. Whatever your musical taste may be, Cary is sure to provide an interactive, down home experience that will keep you coming back for more. 

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25th Anniversary Oktoberfest Celebration
Sep
14
12:00 PM12:00

25th Anniversary Oktoberfest Celebration

  • Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

JOIN US IN RAISING A GLASS TO 25 INCREDIBLE YEARS AT STARR HILL BREWERY!

Our 25th Anniversary Oktoberfest Celebrations are set to be the most memorable yet! Come celebrate with us as we honor a quarter-century of brewing, community, and unforgettable moments. Prost!

Featuring Fall Beer Releases, Food Trucks, Live Music, a Festive Costume Contest, a Stein Hoisting Competition, and more! 🍁⭐️🍁 Snag a Limited Edition 25th Anniversary Stein (while supplies last)

🍺 FEATURED BEERS
Festie Oktoberfest Lager
Wicked Harvest Imperial Pumpkin Ale
South of Helles Export Helles
Second Rodeo German Pilsner
Vice Versa Hefeweizen
..and more!

MUSIC

The Original Elbe Musikanten German Band @ 4 PM

FOOD TRUCK

German Oktoberfest Menu by 191 Smokery

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25th Anniversary Weekend featuring Afro-Zen Allstars
Sep
13
7:00 PM19:00

25th Anniversary Weekend featuring Afro-Zen Allstars

JOIN US IN RAISING A GLASS TO 25 INCREDIBLE YEARS AT STARR HILL BREWERY!

Our 25th Anniversary Weekend Celebration is set to be the most memorable yet! Come celebrate with us as we honor a quarter-century of brewing, community, and unforgettable moments.

Join us Friday, September 13th, at Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop in Scott's Addition for the 25th Anniversary Weekend Kickoff!

LINEUP
Afro-Zen Allstars @ 7:00 PM
Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 10:30 PM

about the artists

Afro-Zen Allstars
Their music exists at the place where African musical tradition connects with Jazz, and the lovely and haunting sounds created in Ethiopia during the "Golden Age" (late '60's- mid '70's) serve as their primary inspiration. They also have a large repertoire of material from all over Africa and beyond, plus similarly flavored originals. This is music for the mind, body and spirit and, with the goal of increasing the amount of joy in the world, they hope to share it far and wide.

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25th Anniversary Weekend Celebration
Sep
13
to Sep 15

25th Anniversary Weekend Celebration

  • Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

JOIN US IN RAISING A GLASS TO 25 INCREDIBLE YEARS AT STARR HILL BREWERY!

This year, Starr Hill Brewery turns 25!

Our 25th Anniversary Oktoberfest Celebration is set to be the most memorable yet! Come celebrate with us as we honor a quarter-century of brewing, community, and unforgettable moments. Prost!

Featuring Fall Beer Releases, Food Trucks, Live Music, a Festive Costume Contest, a Stein Hoisting Competition, and more! 🍁⭐️🍁

Snag a Limited Edition 25th Anniversary Stein (while supplies last)

🍺 FEATURED BEERS
Festie Oktoberfest Lager
Wicked Harvest Imperial Pumpkin Ale
South of Helles Export Helles
Second Rodeo German Pilsner
Vice Versa Hefeweizen
..and more!

🗓 SCHEDULE
Fri. 9/13: Beer Releases & Stein Debut | Live Music: Afro-Zen Allstars at 7 PM
Sat. 9/14: Stein Hoisting Competition @ 3 PM | Live Music: The Original Elbe Musikanten German Band @ 4 PM
Sun. 9/15: Honky Tonk Sunday featuring Live Music by the Cary Wimbish Band @ 3 PM

🚚 FOOD TRUCKIN'
Fri. 9/13: Soul Rebel
Sat. 9/14: 191 Smokery
Sun. 9/15: Order from our Tazza Kitchen Station for FREE DELIVERY!

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Pride Month Kickoff benefitting VA Pride
Jun
1
12:00 PM12:00

Pride Month Kickoff benefitting VA Pride

This June, we’re celebrating Pride Month and all things LGBTQ+! We’ll have a variety of events all month benefitting our June Cheers for Charity partner, Virginia Pride, starting with our special kickoff weekend on Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd!

🏳️‍🌈 PRIDE MAKE-IT WORKSHOP & MINI MARKET | 12-4 PM
hosted by TransJam Events featuring

Dayum This Is My Jam

Fragment Jewelry Co.

Griot Goods

Cut Teeth Creations

TICKETS: transjamrva.square.site/product/TransJoyRVA/53?cs=true&cst=custom

Join FOUR queer artists at Starr Hill to start off Pride month by crafting some art and enjoying craft beer!

Each workshop is just $15—choose one, two, three—or grab a ticket for ALL workshops for $55 and get a beer included in your ticket.

You are also welcome to browse the artists’ wares without a ticket.


🎶 LIVE MUSIC
DJ BearBonez | Beer Hall set 12-4 PM
Rachel Leyco | Rooftop set 5-7 PM

😂 GAME OF JOKES
Queer Open Mic Comedy Competition 7:30-10 PM
hosted by Mike Engle
featuring local queer comedians
Headliners: Yusuf Goal & Mara Feiner

🚚 FOOD TRUCK
Latin Quarter

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St. Paddy's Jam featuring Bombshell RVA
Mar
15
7:30 PM19:30

St. Paddy's Jam featuring Bombshell RVA

Join us Friday, March 15th, at Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop in Scott's Addition for our St. Paddy’s Celebration! Salty’s Lobster & Co. will be on the patio with their amazing lobster rolls and more.

LINEUP
Bombshell RVA @ 7:30 PM
Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 9:30 PM

about the artists

Bombshell RVA
Travel back in time with us for an unforgettable night of music from our favorite decades: the’80s, ‘90s and ‘00s! Local band Bombshell is Richmond’s amazing female-fronted 80's & 90's rock cover band 🎸 Their high energy performance will take you to the next level!

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4th Anniversary featuring: Justin Golden's EP Release Party
Dec
16
7:00 PM19:00

4th Anniversary featuring: Justin Golden's EP Release Party

Join us Saturday, December 16th, at Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop in Scott's Addition for our 4th Anniversary Party! Local musician Justin Golden has put together a stellar lineup in celebration of his EP Release!

LINEUP
Brady Heck of Holy Roller @ 6:00 PM
Justin Golden @ 7:15 PM ~ accompanied by Ryan Stevens on harmonica

with an interlude by Christina von Claparede-Crola

Free Show, All Ages
Last Call: 9:30 PM

about the artist

Blues isn’t just twelve bars and a hard luck story. On his debut record, Hard Times and a Woman, guitarist and songwriter Justin Golden showcases the full breadth of the genre and its downstream influences, everything from country blues to Americana, soul, indie roots and beyond. Golden was raised on the Virginia coast and is steeped in the distinctive, fingerpicked Piedmont blues of the central part of the state. He’s studied country blues and can name any number of influences from Blind Boy Fuller to Taj Mahal, but his key inspirations have always come from the indie guitar realm, specifically friends like Phil Cook and J Roddy Walston, with a little Hiss Golden Messenger, Daniel Norgren, and Bon Iver mixed in and maybe a hint of James Taylor. Recording his new album in the midst of the vibrant Richmond, VA scene, producer Chip Hale helped craft lush arrangements with Richmond artists around Golden’s classic Americana songwriting sensibilities. Fuzzed out guitar, keys, and harmonica meld with his deft fingerpicking and slow burning grooves. Across twelve tracks, Golden lays out a caution: be wary when things start going too well. The lyrics of Hard Times and a Woman reference winning (and then losing) it all, heartbreak, and the harsh realities of being Black in America. On his sparkling debut, Justin Golden arrives fully formed as a guitarist and a songwriter. It’s not just that he can move so fluidly between musical genres, it’s that he understands that the blues underpins nearly every American genre, and he hears the blues wherever he goes.

It’s not many artists who learn to play the blues in a dream, but for Golden, the music had been percolating in his subconscious for years before he started playing. Sleeping late at Bonnaroo some years back, he woke up from a dream with a blues fingerpicking pattern in his head, a seminal moment that sparked a lifelong commitment to the music. “Blues was always what I wanted to play,” he says. “It was an idea before I knew how practical it was or what it meant.” Later he played this dreamt fingerpicking pattern to blues elder Phil Wiggins who told him that he’d been unconsciously playing Piedmont blues, the tradition from his home region of Virginia. This musical kismet showed him that he was on the right path with the music, and the encouragement of Wiggins and other elders pushed him to learn more. His passion as a torch bearer and relationship with Wiggins connected him with the Virginia Folklife Program at Virginia Humanities who helped him release the new album. Now he’s passing that inspiration on, teaching youth to play as well. Trained as an archaeologist, Golden learned to take a long view of history. He studied historic cemetery sites throughout the region and noted that old burial grounds could be lost within a generation. One generation clearing land would remember the site of an old cemetery and leave up the trees to mark it, but the next generation would forget and clear the land, losing the historic memory of that graveyard. “It’s the same thing in the music,” he says, “if there’s no link to an elder, the music can be lost.”

A central theme of Hard Times and a Woman is that unfortunate events always seem to happen right when we’re at the top of our game. It’s something the world is experiencing now, moving into a third year of a pandemic, and for Golden it was tied to COVID as well. Right before the pandemic struck, he had suffered a heartbreak, lost his job, and was then forced to cancel his touring. An optimist at heart, it all ended up being the perfect excuse for him to rethink the album, rework the songs, and to take the time to bring his local community together to help him make the music. Working with producer Hale, the two brought together a dream team of artists from Richmond’s rich musical scene including guitarists Nate and Eli Hubbard, drummer Drew Barnocky, backing vocalist Tyler Meacham, and organist Tommy Booker. Fellow blues phenom Andrew Alli brought his harmonica, and Golden asked Seattle fiddler Ben Hunter to join remotely, eager to support other Black blues musicians with deep ties to the tradition. Adrian Olsen (Lucy Dacus, Natalie Prass) at Montrose Recording in Richmond mixed the album. Golden wanted to put together a full band for the album, making use of Hale’s ear for arrangements and background in indie rock. Still, the blues lay at the heart of the ensemble’s ethos. “It's so popular these days to think you’re BB King,” Golden explains, “and it’s cool if you can play like that, but sometimes it’s what you’re not playing that’s interesting.”

The songs on Hard Times and a Woman run the gamut of blues topics like heartbreak (“Call Me When the Bed Gets Cold”), romantic love (“Lightning When She Smiles”), global pandemics (“Why the Sun Goes Down”), the gospel (“Oh Lord, Oh Lord” which interestingly features Golden on banjo), and even possible deals with the devil (“Ain’t Just Luck”). One of the most powerful tracks on the album, “The Gator,” tackles the difficult topic of racism in America head-on. Golden wrote it at a writer’s retreat in Florida, thinking of the gators lying in wait under the Florida water for a chance to pull him under. It’s a metaphor for the fear many Black Americans feel in public in a post-Trump era and well before that. “‘The Gator’ is about that feeling that something’s always out to get you,” Golden says, “or that you’re never safe because you never know what’s in someone’s heart. You never know if you’re gonna run into someone who’s having a bad day and end up a target.” Over a rolling, trance-like rhythm, Golden sings “When I see blue lights, sometimes I wanna run,” an unflinchingly honest look at the reality of being Black in America. True to form, he ultimately looks for a positive solution. “So where do I look when hard times’ bringing me down / I turn to my brother with both of my arms stretched out.”

Though Golden’s influences range far and wide, the blues will never be far from his heart. That’s because he doesn’t see the tradition as limiting, but rather a musical form open to any emotion. “The blues is not a box,” he says. “They try to make it seem like it’s just twelve bars or it’s gotta be sad or it’s gotta be this or that, but if you listen to so much old pre-war blues, there are so many feelings involved. There’s happy blues, sad blues, just got paid and spent all my money blues, gonna go see my girl late at night blues, there’s blues for anything. It doesn’t have to be a specific form or feeling, it can be whatever you want it to be, but you know it when you hear it.”

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4th Anniversary Party featuring Afro-Zen Allstars
Dec
15
7:00 PM19:00

4th Anniversary Party featuring Afro-Zen Allstars

Join us Friday, December 15th, at Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop in Scott's Addition for our 4th Anniversary Party!

LINEUP
Afro-Zen Allstars @ 7:00 PM
Free Show, All Ages

Last Call: 9:30 PM

about the artists

Afro-Zen Allstars
Their music exists at the place where African musical tradition connects with Jazz, and the lovely and haunting sounds created in Ethiopia during the "Golden Age" (late '60's- mid '70's) serve as their primary inspiration. They also have a large repertoire of material from all over Africa and beyond, plus similarly flavored originals. This is music for the mind, body and spirit and, with the goal of increasing the amount of joy in the world, they hope to share it far and wide.

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Road to the Porch: Live in Richmond
Jul
30
5:00 PM17:00

Road to the Porch: Live in Richmond

Summer music festivals are BACK and we're celebrating big time with our friends from Front Porch Fest. Join us on a musical adventure, with chances to win tickets to the fest along the way! Friday, July 30th, is when the fun begins--two new travelers to Front Porch Fest meet in RVA to kick off the 5-stop journey to the Porch:

☆☆☆LINEUP 🎸

Abby Rasheed & the Sundry Collective @ 5:00 PM

Into The Fog @ 7:30 PM

🎟 FREE admission

☆☆☆BEER 🍺

Front Porch Helles is a light, crisp Helles, dry-hopped with Lemondrop hops. This refreshing brew is perfect for summer sippin' on the Farm!

☆☆☆GIVE BACK 💚

$1 per pint of Front Porch Helles sold will be donated to One Family Productions, producers of Front Porch Fest. OFP is a non-profit organization formed to promote and support their local community through donations and production of events, such as music festivals, holiday parades, and virtual variety shows.

☆☆☆MERCH 👕

Special Road to the Porch limited-edition t-shirts will be available for sale--grab yours before they sell out!

☆☆☆FOOD TRUCK 🍜

Kudzu RVA will be on site, bringing the fire with their delicious ramen, noodles and more!

✨ ABOUT THE BANDS ✨

INTO THE FOG is a genre-jumping string band located in Raleigh, North Carolina. With its members having various backgrounds ranging from bluegrass, country, rock, to funk, Into The Fog creates a musical melting pot of sounds in an acoustic/newgrass setting.

ABBY RASHEED is a folk-rock musician raised between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. The Sundry Collective met a few years ago at George Mason University while Abby was working on her first album, Carried Away. Since then, they've been experimenting with different instruments and styles.

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Virtual Event: Erin's Stay Home Dangit Show
Apr
27
7:00 PM19:00

Virtual Event: Erin's Stay Home Dangit Show

Join Erin Lunsford as she plays Erin and the Wildfire material ON THE KEYBOARD! (Praise be, may the lord open)
Anddddd there will be SPECIAL VIRTUAL WILDFIRE GUESTS on the show! You won't want to miss this Tuesday's show!

Suggested donation of $10 or whatever you can send
Venmo: Erin-Lunsford-1
Paypal: erinlunsfordmusic@gmail.com

Also, proceeds will be split among my bandmates from Erin & The Wildfire for this show. Help our band stay afloat, even when we can't be in the same boat!

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Live Music: Kenneka Cook
Mar
13
6:30 PM18:30

Live Music: Kenneka Cook

Kenneka Cook has always loved outer space.

Growing up in Richmond, VA, she was obsessed with the moon, staring out her window at the night sky in awe of its mystery. The title track on Cook’s debut record Moonchild, on American Paradox, is both a product of her intense connection with the cosmos, as well as a tribute to the embracing of celestial feminine energy. Musically, Cook bridges the gap between beat-driven sonics and melodic jazz in a brazenly colorful and tonally rich debut album.

Cook’s early training took place in her church choir and school chorus. Her tastes eventually shifted towards heavyweights like Billie Holiday, Erykah Badu, and The Cardigans, informing her confidently playful, harmony-heavy, atmospheric style. Initially, she was making acapella songs with a microphone and laptop during the end of her college career out of necessity, describing her voice as “the only instrument I truly had access to” at the time.

She discovered the process of live looping through Reggie Watts, who sometimes uses looping techniques in the songs found in his comedy acts. She covered the jazz standard “Night and Day” using the technique and it turned out better than she ever could have hoped. From there, she began to fully explore creating music and on the new album, she welcomes a variety of live players into the fold to flush out and widen the unique sound she created on her own.

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Live Music: Erin Lunsford (Solo)
Mar
6
8:00 PM20:00

Live Music: Erin Lunsford (Solo)

Erin Lunsford is an amazing singer and lyricist originally from Fincastle, Va and now living in Charlottesville, Va. Erin’s compositions, which include self-styled guitar, banjo, and keyboard melodies, are sure to please. She is the powerhouse front-woman of Charlottesville funk/soul band Erin & The Wildfire, who appeared on the main stage at LOCKN 2014 and LOCKNWOOD 2015 w/ the late Leon Russell. Charlottesville’s Paramount Idol voted Erin their top choice in 2013, winning the competition with comments from the panel like “perfect intonation.” She won 1st Prize at Rapunzel's 11th Annual Songwriting Contest and several other awards have followed. Erin's recording projects include a debut solo album "I Saw The Thread" in 2012

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Live Music: Margarita and the Maracas
Mar
6
6:30 PM18:30

Live Music: Margarita and the Maracas

“Latin Lounge Music” from Richmond, Virginia-based duo Margarita and the Maracas! Featuring the voice of Anaís Alonso, a singer/song writer from Puerto Rico, Margarita and the Maracas provides a mix of salsa, son, bolero, and rumba flamenco. New York City native Tony Corsano adds percussion along with guitar and tres cubano. This lively duo presents “Latin Lounge Music” in a warm and intimate setting. Enjoy!

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