Bill Frisell

2024 in Review

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Bill Frisell Trio at the Tin Pan on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Photo taken by Warren Parker. Squint long enough and you might recognize someone…

2024 was a lot of things. Not all were great, but at its best, 2024 was The Year I Was on Bill Frisell’s Instagram Twice™. The first was when this Style Weekly Q&A went live, a few days before his November show at the Tin Pan. Red Hook Records, the label that released Frisell’s 2024 ad hoc trio album, Breaking the Shell, was kind enough to reshare the article and Bill’s account reposted.

The second was after the show, when WarHen Records founder Warren Parker posted the shot above (subsequently reposted to Frisell’s stories). It’s evidence of the awestruck look that did not leave my face until Frisell and his bandmates were done casting their 90-minute spell. What a privilege it was chatting with the endlessly inspirational guitarist, and what a joy it was seeing him from the very first table inside the doors of the Tin Pan.

As I did last year around this time, I wanted to drop a post here with a few lists: articles I wrote, shows I saw, and albums released in 2024 that have taken up residence at YHT HQ.

Articles I Wrote

Thanks to everyone who made these pieces possible: the brilliant musicians I chatted with, my editors (especially Brent at Style Weekly), and @maddyaboutfood, who reacts with saintly patience when I ask her to be a second set of eyes at like 10 p.m. the night before an article is due. I’m an unreasonably lucky dude.

Striking Gold: “Golden Country, Volume 1” captures the lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry between Justin Golden and Devil’s Coattails.
Style Weekly, January 2, 2024

Going Solo: A Q&A with the Camel’s outgoing co-owner, Lucas Fritz, and its new sole proprietor, Matt Hansen (pictured).
Style Weekly, January 16, 2024

Road Game: A Q&A with Will Anderson of rising Brooklyn band, Hotline TNT.
Style Weekly, January 17, 2024

Album Outlook in 2024: Six Richmond-affiliated artists (and a label) with new music on the way this year.
Style Weekly, January 23, 2024

A Second Debut: Adrian Ciucci, leader of the Southern Belles, on the group’s quiet hiatus and revised modus operandi.
Style Weekly, January 31, 2024

Return to the River: The sequel to the award-winning environmental documentary, “Headwaters Down,” journeys deeply and widely.
Style Weekly, February 26, 2024

Settling In, Leveling Up: A veteran of the Newport Folk Festival, Richmond-based folk trio Palmyra is ready for its biggest local gig yet.
Style Weekly, February 27, 2024

Battling Dad: Richmond rapper Cane goes viral turning fatherhood into battle rap.
Style Weekly, March 12, 2024

Unbroken Circle: The Carter Family’s Legacy and How to Find it in Southwestern Virginia
Virginia Tourism Blog, March 25, 2025

That One Song: “God’s Song” by Prabir Trio
Style Weekly, March 26, 2024

Keeping the Flame: Bandleader and streaming service apostate Timothy Bailey on his “New Love Stories” album which comes out in May.
Style Weekly, March 29, 2024

Time to Shine: Ratboys singer Julia Steiner on touring Japan, band bonding, and the importance of aimless country drives.
Style Weekly, April 1, 2024

That One Song: Richmond indie-pop standout Tyler Meacham’s recent single, “dream house,” is a graceful meditation on grief.
Style Weekly, April 15, 2024

Remembering Wes: A concert and art auction, Wes Freed Day takes place at the Canal Club on April 27.
Style Weekly, April 23, 2024

Dojo Inferno: Virginia garage-psych veterans the Ar-Kaics return with red-hot new album “See the World on Fire.”
Style Weekly, May 7, 2024

Worth Knowing, Worth Going: Hazy, stargazy Richmond rock band Rikki Rakki will celebrate the vinyl release of “Breaking Skin” at Plan 9
Style Weekly, May 22, 2024

Back in the Pocket: Ace drummer Nate Smith extends his “Pocket Change” solo album series and his influence.
Style Weekly, May 27, 2024

One City, Two Films at Sundance: A pair of criminal justice documentaries with Richmond roots captivated audiences at the Utah film festival.
Style Weekly, June 3, 2024

Friday Affirmation: Durham singer-songwriter Tre. Charles will scale up his message of introspection as Friday Cheers opening act.
Style Weekly, June 19, 2024

Worth Knowing, Worth Going: Richmond-raised guitarist Jack Stepanian brings blues riffs and brisk momentum to Get Tight Lounge.
Style Weekly, June 25, 2024

Worth Knowing, Worth Going: Americana outfit Holy Roller headlines the second annual Road to Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion showcase at the Broadberry.
Style Weekly, July 17, 2024

A Plunky good time: Concert to bring jazz icon’s multifaceted legacy to life
Richmond Free Press, July 18, 2024

Standing Together: The return of 804 Day celebrates the vibrancy of Richmond’s music community
Richmond Magazine, July 29, 2024

The Color of Sound: The Richmond Jazz and Music Festival returns to Maymont for a star-studded 12th year
Richmond Magazine, August 2, 2024

Sonic Storyteller: From working with iconic filmmaker David Lynch to outfitting his own studio in Bon Air, Dean Hurley explores the extremes of sound.
Style Weekly, August 20, 2024

A Meant-To-Be Trio: Guitarist Scott Metzger of LaMP joins three of the jam scene’s most revered instrumentalists for another Broadberry blowout.
Style Weekly, August 21, 2024

Latin Jazz and Salsa Festival sets the stage for unity
Richmond Free Press, August, 29, 2024

Worth Knowing, Worth Going: WRIR DJ Freddie J will spin Japanese music from his own vinyl collection at Plan 9.
Style Weekly, September 11, 2024

Drop Zone: A preview of some anticipated local album releases.
Style Weekly, September 14, 2024

Drawing Us Together: Illustrator Robert Meganck on his love of music and designing the 2024 RFF poster.
Style Weekly, September 23, 2024

The Chronicle Continues: Horsehead charges into the future with a 20th anniversary celebration.
Style Weekly, October 1, 2024

The Torchbearer: Known for playing in major Virginia rock bands, Charlie Glenn is finally releasing his own debut solo album on a special night.
Style Weekly, October 8, 2024

Virginia’s Farm Aid: A new country and Americana festival, Virginia Farm Fest, to benefit the Central Virginia Poultry Co-op.
Style Weekly, October 14, 2024

From The Ground Up: Virginia rock duo Illiterate Light continues growing organically with new album “Arches.”
Style Weekly, October 30, 2024

A Parting Gift: Concert to raise relocation funds for Minimum Wage Recording Studios owner Lance Koehler.
Style Weekly, November 13, 2024

Elements of Surprise: Jazz guitar legend Bill Frisell and his longtime trio push into the unknown.
Style Weekly, November 18, 2024

Spinning Season’s Cheer: A new vinyl Christmas compilation unites Virginia artists in the fight against cancer.
Style Weekly, December 5, 2024

Top 40 Under 40: Ant the Symbol, 36
Style Weekly, December 10, 2024

Top 40 Under 40: Doug Nunnally, 38
Style Weekly, December 10, 2024

Worth Knowing, Worth Going: Eclectic sonic explorer Cloud M will celebrate the release of “Cazimi” this weekend.
Style Weekly, December 16, 2024

Style Wrapped: Looking back on a year of listening to Richmond’s music scene.
Style Weekly, December 18, 202

Shows I Saw

Another year, another failure to keep a running list of shows. I even started a concert journal this year – that was fun while it lasted, but it didn’t last long. As best I can recall in retrospect, here’s what I saw:

1/18/24 Erin Lunsford and Tristan Dougherty at the Sefton Listening Room
1/20/24 Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Yam Yam at the National
1/22/24 Wednesday and Hotline TNT at the Broadberry
2/16/24 Skyway Man, Abby Huston and Less Blank at Spacebomb
2/23/24 Kendall Street Company at the Camel
3/13/24 Lamplight, Saw Black and Burns Burly West at Black Iris
3/14/24 Big Cat at Sefton Listening Room
4/13/24 Curt Sydnor at St. John’s Episcopal Church
4/13/24 Shovels & Rope and Al Olender at the Broadberry
4/27/24 Patterson Hood at the Canal Club
4/28/24 Waxahatchee and Good Morning at the National
5/2/24 Futurebirds and Jack Stepanian at the National
5/4/24 Tim Bailey & the Humans at the Basement
5/10/24 Daniel Donato and Mackenzie Roark on Brown’s Island
5/23/24 Trey Burnart Hall and Jon Charles Dwyer at the Sefton Listening Room
5/24/24 The Legendary Ingramettes, Woody Woodworth and Knifing Around on Brown’s Island
5/26/24 Shinyribs at Get Tight Lounge
5/27/24 Daydream Fest at Main Line Brewing
6/10/24 Drive-By Truckers at Lewis Ginter
6/14/24 Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners and Deau Eyes on Brown’s Island
6/21/24 Digable Planets and Tre. Charles on Brown’s Island
6/24/22 Jake Xerxes Fussell and The Great Beforetimes at Richmond Music Hall
6/28/24 Sam Barber, Jake Kohn and Villages on Brown’s Island
6/28/24 Jack Stepanian and Caroline Vain at Get Tight Lounge
6/29/24 Erin Lunsford house show
8/2/24-8/4/24 Newport Jazz Festival
8/23/24 LaMP at the Broadberry
8/24/24 Dean Hurley, Amminal and Second Dinner at Gallery5
8/28/24 King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Geese on Brown’s Island
9/6/24 Jonathan Russell and David Shultz at the Sefton Listening Room
9/9/24 Goose Ting at Pavilion
10/2/24 Vampire Weekend and Cults at Ting Pavilion
10/4/24 Horsehead at Starr Hill Richmond Beer Hall
10/5/24 Miramar with the Richmond Symphony at the Dominion Center
10/5/24 Justin Golden and The Great Beforetimes at the Camel
10/10/24-10/12/24 Richmond Folk Festival
10/12/24 Charlie Glenn and Deau Eyes at the Camel
10/17/24 The Dead Tongues and Libby Rodenbough at Richmond Music Hall
10/21/24 Chris Cohen, Benet, Shormey and Ethanol at Get Tight Lounge
11/8/24 André 3000 and serpentwithfeet at the Altria
11/13/24 Goose at the Anthem
11/15/24 Sturgill Simpson at Hampton Coliseum
11/17/24 Bio Ritmo, No BS! Brass Band and Juston Golden at the Broadberry
11/20/24 Bill Frisell Trio at the Tin Pan
11/30/24 Modern Groove Syndicate and Mekong Xpress & the Get Fresh Horns at the Camel
12/7/24 Nate Smith and Butcher Brown at the National
12/21/24 DJ Williams and Grateful Jed at Smartmouth Brewing Co.
12/29/24 Low Cut Connie at the Tin Pan

2024 Albums I Acquired

I loved plenty of 2024 albums not listed below, but here are the ones that I managed to pick up a physical copy of. I did do a Top-10 for Uproxx’s critics poll again, but that hasn’t been posted yet. I’ll be sure to add a link when it’s available.

Arooj Aftab – Night Reign
The Ar-Kaics – The See the World on Fire
Timothy Bailey & the Humans – New Love Stories
Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter
Bonny Light Horseman – Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free
Alan Braufman – Infinite Love Infinite Tears
Bright Eyes – Five Dice, All Threes
Anna Butterss – Mighty Vertebrate
Chris Cohen – Paint a Room
Louis Cole – Nothing
The Dead Tongues – Body Of Light / I Am A Cloud
The Decemberists – As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again
DJ Harrison – Shades of Yesterday
Jon Charles Dwyer – Chorus
Father John Misty – Mahashmashana
The Fearless Flyers – The Fearless Flyers IV
Sierra Ferrell – Trail of Flowers
FM Skyline – Images
Mabe Fratti – Sentir Que No Sabes
Amaro Freitas – Y’Y
Futurebirds – Easy Company
Angelica Garcia – Gemelo
Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes – The Doober
Myriam Gendron – Mayday
Good Morning – Seven
Nigel Hall & DJ Harrison – The Burning Bush: A Journey Through the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire
Helado Negro – Phasor
Hiatus Kaiyote – Love Heart Cheat Code
Brittany Howard – What Now
Christian Lee Hutson – Paradise Pop. 10
Hurray for the Riff Raff – The Past Is Still Alive
Illiterate Light – Arches
Itasca – Imitation of War
Jamie xx – In Waves
Johnny Blue Skies – Passage Du Desir
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Flight b741
Gold Connections – Fortune
Pokey LaFarge – Rhumba Country
Julian Lage – Speak to Me
Lamplight – Lamplight
Charles Lloyd – The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow
John Moreland – Visitor
Fabiano Do Nascimento and Sam Gendel – The Room
Nickelus F – MMCHT
Misha Panfilov – To the Mesosphere and Beyond
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet – The Way Out of Easy
Parlor Greens – In Green We Dream
Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch
Joe Pug – Sketch of a Promised Departure
Tomeka Reid Quartet – 3 + 3
Peni Candra Rini – Wulansih
Bryant Roses – Bring It Back Around
Shabaka – Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace
Nala Sinephro – Endlessness
The Smile – Wall of Eyes
The Smile – Cutouts
Billy Strings – Highway Prayers
Tidiane Thiam – Africa Yontii
Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
Kamasi Washington – Fearless Movement
Willie Watson – Willie Watson
Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland
Wild Pink – Dulling the Horns
Yasmin Williams – Acadia
Thom Yorke – Confidenza

Also 2024 But Archival/Live/Compilation/Other

Alice Coltrane – The Carnegie Hall Concert
Justin Townes Earle – All In: Unreleased & Rarities (The New West Years)
Emahoy Tsegue-Mariam Guebru – Souvenirs
Fleet Foxes – Live on Boston Harbor
The Grateful Dead – Duke ’78
Horse Lords – As It Happened: Horse Lords Live
Jason Isbell – Live from the Ryman Vol. 2
Paul McCartney – One Hand Clapping
Panda Bear – Reset Mariachi EP
Emily Remler – Cookin’ At The Queens: Live In Las Vegas 1984 & 1988
The Smile – Don’t Get Me Started / The Slip
Billy Strings – Live Vol. 1
Vampire Weekend – Frog On The Bass Drum Vol. 02: Una Notte A Milano 7.9.19 Con Vampire Weekend
Various – Love Hides All Faults
Various – Long Distance Love: A Sweet Relief Tribute to Lowell George
Various – European Primitive Guitar (1974​-​1987)
Various – Xmas in VA
J. Roddy Walston – Christmas to the Bone
Thom Yorke – Confidenza

I’m sure I’ve forgotten stuff, but 2025 is knocking. See y’all then.

2020 in Review Part 4: Jazz

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Part 1: Duos
Part 2: Covers
Part 3: Survival Sounds
Part 4: Jazz (You are here!)
Part 5: Live
Part 6: Blasts from the Past
Part 7: RVA
Part 8: 31 Favorites

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Jazz was an incredibly important part of my life in 2020. It was something to turn to, focus on, and disappear into. When it was time to start cooking dinner — a typically enjoyable task that assumed a new level of intensity as a result of the regimented nature of life in 2020 — I reached for jazz. When I was up late, typing about who-knows-what and worrying about everyone-knows-what, I reached for jazz.

As I have the past few years, I spent a ton of time following the International Anthem label’s release cycles. You’ll read about one of those albums below, but I’ve already written about two 2020 additions to their catalog, and more IA blurbs are on the way. The fact that they’re scattered across these lists is both a testament to the imprint’s eclecticism and an attempt to hide my IA stan status in plain sight. (Is it working? Probably not.)

I’d also call 2020 the year that I aimed to form a more personal relationship with John Coltrane’s music. It’s always felt like I was barely scratching the surface there, so I decided I’d hold myself to a higher standard and get to know albums like Giant Steps and A Love Supreme in a way that felt less like saying “Hey” from a distance and more like a focused conversation. Later albums, too — I picked up a used copy of Kulu Sé Mama via Steady Sounds’ Instagram and held it up like a map of that unfamiliar territory. I still have a ways to go, but I do feel more connected, both to his work specifically and to the broader idea of spirituality being communicated instrumentally. It’s opened my ears, and I’d guess that the rest of the jazz I heard in 2020 sounded sweeter as a result.

That said, I’m certain that these five albums would have sounded sweet regardless. And truth be told, the bonus list below them still seems woefully incomplete, so I’ll probably keep adding to it as the year comes to a close.

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Kahil El’Zabar — Kahil El’Zabar’s America the Beautiful

Pitchfork reviewed this a day before the election, and I was so moved by it — the idiosyncrasy of El’Zabar’s renderings of “America the Beautiful,” the frankness of the album’s dissonant passages, the ebullience of “Express Yourself” — that I put in an order for it right away, knowing it wouldn’t come until at least a few days after the last votes had been cast. The way I saw it, that first spin would either be a celebration of a hopeful new chapter, or a motivating reminder of how much work is left to be done. It ended up feeling like both. This is music that zooms way out, reminding you that history is long, that the difficulties ahead are part of struggles that are bigger than ourselves, and that they connect us to good people who came before.

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Greg Foat — Symphonie Pacifique

A top-10 2020 album in terms of play count. I went through a stretch over the summer when I listened to Symphonie Pacifique about once a day, usually at night through headphones, and I’ve internalized it to the point that “Man vs Machine” starts playing in my head every time I hear a synth sound that’s anywhere in the same sonic ballpark. It’s lush, it’s varied, it’s fun, and it welcomes you with open arms. I did end up getting a vinyl copy, but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for that initial run of late-night listens.

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Asher Gamedze — Dialectic Soul 

Three cheers to the kind folks at Small Friends Records & Books for securing a copy of this with my name on it. Like Kahil El’Zabar’s America the Beautiful, Dialectic Soul offers a blend of savory and sweet, marrying a lyricism that hits my ear like Mingus’ with a capacity for beauty that makes it seem like notes were placed next to one another by divine predestination. Seriously, listen to “Siyabulela” and tell me you can’t picture some melodic higher power guiding the way. It’s astonishingly gorgeous.

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Sam Gendel — Satin Doll

This was a game-changer. I’ve since picked up two more Sam Gendel albums — DRM, which came out in October, and Music for Saxofone and Bass Guitar (with Sam Wilkes) from a couple of years ago. All brilliant, all with a similar sideways vantage point into how melody and arranging can function. It’s hard to imagine life without Gendel’s instrumental voice now, and it all started with this collection of woozy renditions of jazz standards.

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Jeff Parker — Suite for Max Brown

In addition to being one of the year’s best albums of any genre, Suite for Max Brown was also my overdue introduction into the multi-faceted and wildly rewarding world of Jeff Parker’s past output. I didn’t have to go far (same Bandcamp page!) to find him in the liner notes for recordings by International Anthem labelmates like Makaya McCraven and Rob Mazurek, but I ended up spending even more time with Tortoise’s TNT. That turned out to be another late night headphones-in favorite of 2020. Getting to know that one helped me appreciate Parker’s versatility even more — something that really shines on Suite for Max Brown.

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Other jazz albums I enjoyed:

Butcher Brown — #KingButch (more to come on that one)
Bill Frisell — Valentine
Sam Gendel — DRM
Irreversible Entanglements — Who Sent You?
Quin Kirchner — The Shadows and the Light
Rob Mazurek — Dimensional Stardust
Makaya McCraven — Universal Beings E&F Sides
Gil Scott-Heron — We’re New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven (More to come on this one.)
Shabaka and the Ancestors — We Are Sent Here by History
David Tranchina — The Ogre
Kamasi Washington — Becoming

2019 in Review: Jazz

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The last few years have been an education in how much place and community matter when it comes to making meaningful jazz. Kamasi Washington’s Epic made the West Coast the epicenter of my jazz listening, illuminating a network of Brainfeeder collaboration linking excellent output from artists like Thundercat, Flying Lotus, and Kendrick Lamar. Things started to shift toward the end of last year, when Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings signaled that something exciting was happening in Chicago, at the International Anthem label. That’s been the center of my jazz universe ever since, and I’d call this “The Year of International Anthem,” but the Chicago-based label shows no signs of slowing down, and I have a feeling next year’s jazz list will look a lot like this one.

Here are five non-RVA jazz (or jazz-adjacent) albums that I spent a ton of time with in 2019. Not surprisingly, three were released by IA.

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Jaimie Branch — FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise

“prayer for amerikkka pt. 1 & 2” is what initially grabbed me. I must have listened to it two dozen times in the days after I heard about it, probably from an International Anthem email. (At this point, given the winning streak IA is on, receiving one of their marketing emails means stopping whatever I’m doing and reading it immediately, because something awesome is most assuredly happening or about to happen.) “prayer for amerikkka pt. 1 & 2” is an unfiltered masterpiece — a pure and powerful expression of pathos I couldn’t get out of my head. The rest of the album retains that directness, even when applying it to songs (“simple silver surfer,” for example) that have a lighter tone. Closing track “love song” splits the difference, delivering a cutting message with an irony that brightens up my day each time I hear it.

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John Coltrane — Blue World

Still digging getting to go around saying things like “Hey, did you hear the new John Coltrane album?” And digging the music, of course. While this doesn’t have the true sense of “newness” that last year’s Both Directions at Once had, you can’t beat this collection of people playing this music at this time with Rudy Van Gelder at the helm. It’s a miracle. Carve this into a gold disc alongside everything else the Classic Quartet recorded and shoot it into space so aliens can still be having their own “Hey, did you hear the new John Coltrane album?” moments a million years from now.

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Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan — Epistrophy

Love a good version of “Lush Life.” I can’t find it on YouTube, but the whole album is great. Frisell and Morgan are both outstanding, though the real star of the show is the empathetic connection that holds each cut together, despite the space the two players give one another to operate. Check out their take on “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” to see what I mean.

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Damon Locks’ Black Monument Ensemble — Where Future Unfolds

Did I play this on the night the new Kehinde Wiley “Rumors of War” statue was unveiled at its permanent location outside the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, right next door to the United Daughters of the Confederacy? You bet I did. It sounded great, just as it has throughout the year. Another question: Does this belong in the jazz category? Who knows — Where Future Unfolds is a multifaceted explosion of creativity featuring excellence in playing, singing, dancing, and historical documentation. Its abundance defies categorization. It overflows, even when taken in as an audio work alone. The thought of seeing it all come together in person gives me goosebumps.

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Resavoir — Resavoir

Ugh. So gorgeous. An instant classic. Will Miller has earned “wherever you’re going, I’m there” status as fast as anyone I can remember, given his work with the International Anthem crowd, and his arranging work with Whitney. When I think about Resavoir’s self-titled album, the word “resplendent” comes to mind.

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More 2019 in Review:

2019 in Review: Instrumental
2019 in Review: Audiovisual
2019 in Review: RVA
2019 in Review: 25 Favorites