Some folks rush to the front row when they arrive at a concert. I head straight for the merch table. I’ve had so many meaningful interactions there, and I regularly take home mementos I’ll treasure for as long as I live, whether it’s an album, a T-shirt or a band-branded utilitarian something-or-other — a Julian Lage water bottle, a Lucy Dacus beach towel or a Sylvan Esso toothbrush. Here are five merch table moments from the second half of 2023 that stood out.
Butcher Brown at the Newport Jazz Festival on Friday, Aug. 4
I attended the Newport Jazz Festival for the first time this year, largely spurred to do so after seeing that Richmond’s own Butcher Brown would be making their debut at the storied, three-day event. Though I was there with a trio of familiar faces — my wife and two fellow music-loving friends with whom we shared an Airbnb — and though we scheduled our day-one arrival around a band I’ve seen numerous times, riding the ferry to Fort Adams felt like crossing into a totally unfamiliar plane of existence, an alternate universe populated by more jazz legends than I could have previously conceptualized seeing in one weekend.
So imagine my surprise when our wait at the festival’s merchandise tent was interrupted by a booming and instantly recognizable “Well, look who it is” issued from just behind us. It was Dave Pierandri, drummer for Richmond-based country outfit Chris Leggett & the Copper Line. He’d made the pilgrimage to Newport for the same reason I did: to see some of Richmond’s most accomplished players on one of music’s most significant stages. “There’s something about what Butcher has captured that is a Richmond sound to me,” he told me in an interview a couple of months later — proof that merch table magic isn’t limited to commerce. (We did bring home a poster, to be clear.)
Jason Isbell at Brown’s Island on Tuesday, Aug. 8
2023 saw an uptick in the number of posters that made their way from a merch table back to my house and onto the wall. Among the most meaningful is the one I picked up at Jason Isbell’s Tuesday, Aug. 8 show on Brown’s Island. The instantly classic linocut-turned-screen-print rendering of Deep Groove records — owner Jay Leavitt and Isbell both hail from Alabama — is the work of 2019 VCU Arts grad Sophie Sallade of Sophie Printmaking. Walking directly to the merch setup on the river side of the island, I secured the fifth of 175 hand-numbered prints and settled in for a blistering opening set by S.G. Goodman, then a headlining performance heavy on compositions from Isbell’s 2023 album, “Weathervanes.” Especially affecting was Isbell’s ode to the layered nature of life’s twists and turns, “Cast Iron Skillet,” which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots song, and which launched a line of literal Lodge cast iron skillets imprinted with the logo of Isbell’s label, Southeastern Records. Those weren’t on offer at the merch table that day, but they’re back in stock at Isbell’s website. And while that evening’s poster sold out quickly, a version of the linocut (sans Isbell concert details) is being sold as we speak at Deep Groove and at the Sophie Printmaking website.
Adam Hopkins’ Crickets SOUTH at ArtSpace Richmond on Monday, Nov. 13
This was a great year for reissues, and one of the very best was “Crickets,” the bold and brilliant debut from jazz bassist Adam Hopkins, originally issued in 2018 as the first release for the label he runs alongside drummer Scott Clark, Out of Your Head Records. I’ve been a big fan of Out of Your Head’s monthly Second Mondays shows at ArtSpace Richmond, and I was especially excited for November’s installment: a celebration of the label’s fifth anniversary featuring a hushed improvisatory set by Javanese singer and composer Peni Candra Rini, a performance of Scott Clark’s stunning long-form composition, “Dawn & Dusk,” and the first staging of the “Crickets” material in Richmond. The all-star ensemble Hopkins put together, dubbed Crickets SOUTH, met the challenging material head-on, with characteristically deft playing from Out of Your Head regulars like Clark, saxophonist JC Kuhl and trumpeter Bob Miller, alongside skilled contributions from guitarist Trey Pollard, trombonist Reggie Pace and saxophonist John Lilley. So what happened at the merch table? Nothing — and everything. As I approached the assortment LPs and CDs, Hopkins swooped in to let me know that the test pressing of “Crickets” I’d ordered from Bandcamp — one of just eight made available — was in the building, brought to the event by Hopkins just in case I was in attendance. I’ve spun the disc many times since, marveling both at the sounds it contains and the bespoke handoff that brought it into my possession.
Curt Sydnor at Gallery5 on Friday, Nov. 17
In terms of virtuosity and versatility, you won’t find music more generous than Curt Sydnor’s. His latest, “Air Ride Equipped,” is a feast for the ears, bringing together the present, past and future; the secular and the devotional; the freedom of jazz and the precision of classical. The release show for “Air Ride Equipped” took place on Friday, Nov. 17 at Gallery5, and those who attended saw Curt Sydnor working a double shift; he provided keyboard accompaniment during a thrilling opening set by Peni Candra Rini, then he led a headlining performance of his own backed by a trusted trio of adventurous instrumentalists — Adam Hopkins, Scott Clark and JC Kuhl — as well as the ever-exquisite vocals of Laura Ann Singh. But the generosity didn’t end there. After his set concluded, Sydnor swung by the merch table and began handing out vinyl copies of “Air Ride Equipped” to anyone interested. It was as celebratory a scene as you’ll find, with Sydnor freely sharing his LP, which ties the bow on a trilogy of albums made with Lance Koehler at Minimum Wage Recording, and listeners and bandmates waiting in line to wish Sydnor a happy birthday. (Did I mention it was also Sydnor’s birthday?) I did take home a copy of “Air Ride Equipped,” but not before leaving a tip and buying Sydnor a birthday beer to show my thanks — still far short of proportional repayment for what Sydnor gave that night.
Read more: Autumn Albums: Six Richmond (and Richmond-adjacent) artists releasing new music this fall.
Modern Groove Syndicate at the Camel on Saturday, Nov. 25
Rarely are you afforded the opportunity to travel back in merch time and browse the offerings of a band whose heyday you initially missed out on. I was living in Richmond during Modern Groove Syndicate’s initial run in the 2000s, and I did see bassist Todd Herrington play regularly as part of the DJ Williams Projekt, but I wasn’t as clued into the Syndicate’s output during that time. That’s one reason I was so thrilled to see that the new Richmond-based label Ghost Track Records was reissuing the jazz-funk group’s 2007 album, “Ms. Popular.” The show marking that reissue’s release, held at the Camel on on Saturday, Nov. 25, was packed in more ways than one: fans standing shoulder-to-shoulder, world-class musicality on every corner of the stage, solos thick with nods to the improvisatory ideas the previous soloist had kicked around. In the minutes before the headlining performance, after singer-songwriter Ben White staged an inspiring set of his own, I squeezed over to the merch table, snagged a light blue Syndicate shirt and chatted with Brian Gearing, founder of Ghost Track Records, congratulating him on the reissue and the well-attended release show. I didn’t pick up a copy of “Ms. Popular,” however; the red-and-gold-glitter-colored pressing I’d ordered through the Heady Wax Fiends Record Club was on the way via the United States Postal Service: that merch table that stays open come rain, sleet or snow. If you’ve yet to pick up a copy of your own, no time machine is necessary. Both Ghost Track and Heady Wax Fiends are currently stocked up.
