The Commonwealth of Notions is a reaction to the idea that good music is dead in the city of Richmond.
So starts the description of Shannon Cleary’s radio show on WRIR’s site, and every time I see that sentence, its meaning changes a little.
#rva
Positive No
Daniel Clarke
I had the pleasure of shaking hands with Daniel Clarke on Sunday when I went to Hardywood to fill a growler.
Sound Gaze
So I was on Sound Gaze again! I’m a huge fan of Doug Nunnally’s WDCE show, and I’m extremely thankful to have been invited back last Saturday. The full episode is posted below.
Robbin Thompson & Steve Bassett
I’ve lived in Virginia all my life. In fact, I’m fairly certain I’ve never been outside of the state (JK it’s a commonwealth — just testing you) for more than two consecutive weeks. You could call me a homebody, and you’d be right, but that’s only part of the reason why I tend not to wander. I really, really like it here, and that sense of pride led me to interview Robbin Thompson and Steve Bassett about their song “Sweet Virginia Breeze,” which the General Assembly recently named the state (ahem, commonwealth) popular song. The interview just went up over at Richmond Navigator.
Friday Cheers
Time to say goodbye to another Friday Cheers season. Sniff. It’s incredibly sad to think of how far off the next one is, but I figure I can suppress some of that longing by looking back at highlights from the shows I was able to make it to.
Without further ado, I present the inaugural YHT Friday Cheers Awards.
CD Monday
A very special CD Monday today, y’all. The RVA Playlist 5th Anniversary party is this Thursday at the Broadberry, and I’m very sad to be missing it due to out-of-town-ness. But Andrew was kind enough to give me an advance copy of this incredible compilation he’s assembled in partnership with Triple Stamp Press. It’s a thoughtful and immaculately assembled representation of the music community RVA Playlist has done so much to support. From the track list to the materials used, it really is stunning.
Moon Taxi
Very excited for tonight’s Friday Cheers. A big part of that has to do with getting to see Sleepwalkers do Sleepwalkers things. It’s been too long since I’ve seen them, though I’ve enjoyed following along on social media as they’ve melted faces all over the country with J. Roddy and others. When the Cheers schedule was announced, my eye jumped to this show because I love this venue for them. Their sound is big and can easily fill that beautiful Brown’s Island space. Their writing is versatile, meaning that olds, youngs, moms, non-moms, country mice, city mice, babies and barflies alike can enjoy. It’s a pre-summer highlight waiting to happen.
Sam Reed
I’ve been spending lots of time with Sam Reed’s new This Is Love album, and two general impressions have settled in. The first is that this is a very good album. The second is that the start of This Is Love goes hard.
The Trillions
Been so anxious to share this: My interview with the brilliant and talented Trillions went up late last week over at Richmond Navigator. You can find it in print in River City Magazine — copies should be hitting newsstands this week.
One thing I have to add:
You Hear That 