Thursday, Aug. 15
Lecture with Maritza Mercado Pechin at the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design
Join the convo about urban planning and the future of Richmond with the lead author of “Richmond 300: A Guide for Growth.” Tickets include access to the lecture and reception with “light bites” and refreshments. See our story here. Free for members. $40 per person for the general public, $20 for students. 6 to 8 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 16
Black Janis at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery (Richmond)
Sam Reed’s tribute to Janis Joplin is a perfect match of performer and material. It takes vocal power to deliver the raw-edged energy of the ‘60s singer’s sound. Reed is used to matching her voice against the sonic power of the massed horns of NoBS! Brass. And with Dance Candy, she brings a host of soul and R&B songs to full-throated, passionate life. The project name, Black Janis, has a touch of irony, given that the white Joplin based her sound on Bessie Smith, Odetta and other African American singers. Joplin was more than a bit of a brilliant trainwreck, erratic in live performances where she was often swigging from a bottle of Jack Daniels onstage, and ultimately dying at 27 from a heroin overdose. In contrast, Reed’s projects – others include tributes to Nina Simone, Sharon Jones, and Betty Davis – always feature a first-rate band and a program the blends the expected artist’s hits with expectation-stretching surprises. Anything she headlines anywhere is recommended. The songs may be covers, but Reed is the real thing. Runs from 7 to 10 p.m. Advance tickets available online for $13.24.—Peter McElhinney
Satan’s Satyrs with Mel Machete and the Azures at Cobra Cabana
They’re back! “Before After Dark,” their first new album in six years, is being released later this month on Tee Pee Records; Herndon, Virginia’s preeminent freaky rockers, Satan’s Satyrs, are in town to wet some appetites with their time-tested blend of chooglin’ doom and bonehead, stoner-punk crunchers, inspired by Grindhouse cinema-schlock favorites. “We were always the riffy band on punk bills, the fast band on doom bills, the glam-tinged band on metal bills,” principal songwriter Clayton Burgess says of the band’s hard-to-pin lineage. Aptly paired with local riff-rock rebels, Mel Machete, who are bound to bring their best on the occasion of their drummer Gunner Timmerman’s farewell show. Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $15. All ages.—Tim Abbondelo
Primus, Coheed and Cambria with Puddles Pity Party at Virginia Credit Union Live!
Hard not to hear Primus these days and not think “South Park,” but the San Francisco band is reaching deep into its catalogue this tour – and you never know, Puddles Pity Party, who supposedly grew up right her in the good old RV of A. might even do something special. Read our interview with Primus bassist Les Claypool.
Old Crow Medicine Show with Town Mountain at Maymont
From busking to their platinum single, “Wagon Wheel,” (chorus written by Bob Dylan in 1973, verses written by Ketch Secor of Old Crow a quarter-century later), Old Crow Medicine Show will play to their local fans along with Asheville, North Carolina’s Town Mountain, who bring the Americana-influenced bluegrass. Gen. admission lawn is $40 a ticket, $60 for gold circle. Doors at 5:30 p.m and show at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 17
Richmond R&B Festival in Kanawha Plaza
Billed as “the biggest ‘90s R&B party,” the festival features Next, Surface, Kut Klose, Rome, Tony Terry, Rude Boys and Changing Faces. Rain or shine. Runs from 3 to 10 p.m. Tickets range from $75 to $600 plus fees.
Elegba Folklore Society presents the 33rd Down Home Family Reunion at Abner Clay Park
This free annual tradition offers a celebration of African American folklife. This year’s party features New Birth Legacy, Wildfire, Jah Baba, Crank Lukongo, Legacy Band, Ban Caribe on the mainstage, plus a whole lot more including Annie Tyler’s Childrens Place, Juanita Ragland’s Heritage Market, and Waverly Crawley’s Community Row. Volunteers may still be needed. Check out their website for more info. The reunion runs from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Pocahontas Premieres: Mini Bluegrass Festival in Pocahontas State Park (Chesterfield)
Bluegrass and gospel show includes artists Josh Grigsby and County Line, Virginia Rain Bluegrass Band, River City Band, and Tara Mills Band (C’ville). Admission is $20 a person and kids 5 and under are free. Runs 6 to 10 p.m. Advance tickets available here.
Jon Auer at the Chilton House
Co-founder of the power pop group, the Posies, who has also played with rejuvenated version of Big Star, returns to Richmond to play an intimate show at Chilton House. Various ticket prices run from $20 for general admission (plus fees) to various perks, including $100 (plus fees) to play a song with Jon (song list provided). 7 p.m. Go here for tickets.
Sunday, Aug. 18
Summer Daze Market at the Lakeside Farmer’s Market
Twisted Carrot Farm presents a local collaborative project featuring 30 plus local makers and a craft workshop, at the Lakeside Farmer’s Market at 6110 Lakeside Ave. in Henrico. Takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 20
Charley Crockett with special guest Kashus Culpepper at the National –
UPDATE: THIS SHOW IS SOLD-OUT
We’ve seen this guy before at the National and he was damn good. The Texas-based troubadour plays a blend of country blues, folk and soul that he has calls “Gulf and Western” with a terrific band, the Blue Drifters. His backstory is unusual; Crockett started out busking in San Francisco and working as a farmhand for ranchers, slowly playing clubs in Oakland. But eventually, he got into the marijuana business and was arrested by state troopers while delivering weed on Interstate 81 in Virginia. Facing time behind bars, he convinced the judge of his burgeoning music career and was allowed to serve out his sentence on probation, he told Austin Monthly. It helped kickstart his career, and now he’s widely seen as a rising country star, playing his latest songs on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and being nominated for artist, album and song of the year at the Americana Music Awards.
Wednesday, Aug. 21
Inter Arma (Neil Young covers set) with Edhochuli (from Pittsburgh), Loud Night, R.O.T.W.L.C.F.T.S.C.B.M.H (pronounced: Rot-Wool) at Cobra Cabana
It’d be too easy for the members of Inter Arma to take a victory lap with just another local show, after their dynamite new album (more on that here) and sold-out record release at Richmond Music Hall earlier this year. Instead, they’re keeping it fresh with a cover set from Mr. Cinnamon Man himself, Neil Young. Hearing what the band did with “Southern Man” on the cover album “Garbers Days Revisited” ( 2020), the material is transformed beyond paid tribute. I expect the full set to be really fun and really good; a perfectly natural stunt for a band that can channel their deep well of influences, no matter the exact musical style, with skill and purpose. That makes two picks for Cobra Cabana, two weeks in a row; and I know what you’re thinking: Am I on their payroll or something? No, they’re just offering us an embarrassment of riches in the rock’n’roll department this summer. Cheers to that. Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $15. All ages.—T.A.
