Thursday, Nov. 27
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” at The Byrd Theatre
The classic Thanksgiving screwball road comedy written and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and the late, great John Candy. 7 p.m. $9.
“Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” at VMFA
After a star-studded preview night last week, the public finally gets to check out the personal art collection of R&B and soul music star Alicia Keys and her husband, Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean), which includes 130 works by renowned Black artists from Africa, Europe, the U.S. and the Caribbean. Among the artists featured: Derrick Adams, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kwame Brathwaite, Nick Cave, Barkley Hendricks, Arthur Jafa, Titus Kaphar, Esther Mahlangu, Meleko Mokgosi, Odili Donald Odita, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Gordon Parks, Ebony G. Patterson, Deborah Roberts, Jamel Shabazz, Amy Sherald, Mickalene Thomas and Kehinde Wiley. This exhibit runs through March 1. Read our preview by Don Harrison. $12.
Friday, Nov. 28
Winter Market at Studio Two Three (Through Dec. 23)
Give the gift of local art, drop by one of the area’s best holiday markets featuring clothing, handmade treasures from local artisans. Pay as you go. Runs through Dec. 23, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays). 109 W. 15th St. Find more information here.
David Koechner at Richmond Funny Bone (also Nov. 29)
Any “Office” fans in the house? Perk up. You may know him as the sports guy in the “Anchorman” movies, or for parts in other comedy hits like “40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Snakes on a Plane,” or maybe on “The Office”? But have you seen David Koechner’s standup? Here’s your chance. Two nights and on this Friday, he’s got a show at 7 p.m. then will have “The Office Trivia with Todd Packer” at 9:45 p.m. $32-$37. Ages 21 and up. Saturday shows are at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.
Corey Fonville at Révéler Experiences Friday
Tidewater native Corey Fonville is so familiar it’s easy to forget he had a vibrant career before breaking out with hometown heroes Butcher Brown. He toured and/or recorded with first-rank trumpeters Christian Scott and Nicholas Payton, pianist Jacky Terrasson, singers Kurt Elling and Ledisi. His prior performances at Révéler have been opportunities to see different sides of his art from the retro-futuristic, hip-hop fusion of Butcher Brown. This time it is a collaboration with Virginia Beach pianist Justin Kauflin, an incredibly gifted player who lost his vision at an early age but still sees music as colors, The quartet is filled out with two Butcher Brown collaborators: Andrew Randazzo (who’s sold-out Big Band gig with Grammy-winning soul artist Nigel Hall took place at the venue Wednesday) and guitarist Morgan Burrs, whose RVA appearances are rarer since he relocation to Los Angeles. Tickets are still available for the 7 and 9:30 shows, but barring a major weather event, both are likely to sell out. (Reminder: Révéler always has a few lounge tickets available at the door.) —Peter McElhinney
Andy Thomas’ Friends-giving Jam (w/special guest Wolph) at The Broadberry
Virginia-bred, Andy Thomas is known ’round these parts as the frontman for The Trongone Band and guitarist for acclaimed Americana act Yarn. Now having found sobriety, his new solo effort has been produced by an old Richmond friend, Dave Schools, bassist from Widespread Panic. Recorded locally at Spacebomb, this work “connects the dots of Thomas’ troubled past and hard-fought strength of self in the present — this juncture of fiery Southern rock & roll and high-octane country blues,” according to a release. You can check out his new single, “Long Gone,” here.
Virginia Rep’s “A Christmas Carol” at the November Theatre (through Dec. 28)
The “heartwarming musical adaptation of the classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge, highlighting themes of second chances and the transformative power of kindness and joy.” Tickets start at $62, Children 13 and under start at $39. Find more information here.
Saturday, Nov. 29
Shop Small Saturday in downtown RVA
Support local shops and small businesses “like Odd Bird, Verdalina, Jean + Cook, TXTUR, Shockoe Bottom Clay, Fountain Bookstore, and more for Shop Small Saturday, a nationally celebrated shopping holiday that highlights local and small business owners.” Find more information here.
Richmond Symphony Let It Snow at The Carpenter Theatre
The Richmond Symphony holiday concert is a tradition for a reason. There is something special about being in a large hall, full of people who, like you, are blinking awake to yet another season full of mandatory cheer and shiny commercial distractions. Classic songs, performed by virtuosic musicians, are a collective reminder of the deep history of the season, both warmly familiar and the timeless. This year features Laura Ann Singh, a singer whose powerful control and emotional insight can reveal new dimensions to songs heard thousands of times before. conducted by Hae Lee. Shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets start at $15. Dominion Energy Center, 600 E. Grace St. More info here. $30.60 – $104.—PM
Kendall Street Company’s 10th annual Turkey Jam with Big Fancy at The Broadberry
Musically fluid, these Charlottesville natives are. Funky turkey jam, they must. Why write this like Yoda, you ask? Ask not, simply listen. Sound decision, must you make. After 2024’s “Singles Going Heady,” they supposedly have a psych-folk album coming, but when I looked on YouTube, this humorous video did I find. Doors 7 p.m. show 8 p.m. Tickets are available here.
Sunday, Nov. 30
Richmond Symphony presents Holiday Brass at The Carpenter Theatre
The RSO brass section gets to shine on Sunday afternoon in a series of classic pieces written for horns. It is a wide-ranging, somewhat ecumenical family program. “Santa and Isolde” combines Christmas and Hanukkah songs. There are horn interpretations of the lovely “I Wonder as I Wander” and a Gustav Holst arrangement of “Christmas Day.” The program concludes with an interpretation of “A Night Before Christmas” and concludes with Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite.” However well known the pieces, hearing them in a brilliant and resonant brass setting reveals new dimensions. And for those familiar with the RSO history, Principal Guest Conductor Chia-Hsuan Lin, now Music Director of the Rochester Symphony, will be at the podium. $20-$104. —P.M.
Redd Volkaert at The Get Tight Lounge
Merle Haggard’s former guitarist, an acknowledged master of the Fender Telecaster, the bulldoggish Volkaert will play a free, all-ages early show at a place he calls “a great little honky tonk.” Now living outside of Galax, the fret master might be familiar to some from his stints at the Richmond Folk Festival, or maybe his years of backing up Merle, Dolly, Dwight Yoakam and Kenny Rogers, etc. Solo, he showcases his mastery of country, honky-tonk, western swing, and even some classic Southern rock. If we’re lucky, Redd will also tell us a warm holiday story, like how his father won his son’s first Fender in a pool game. 5 p.m. Free.—Don Harrison
Comedian Todd Barry at Richmond Music Hall
Take a break from all that shopping to laugh at some jokes. The influential New York comedian Todd Barry is known for his timing and always hilarious crowd work (“if it comes organically,” he tells Style). You may recognize him from various appearances on Netflix and Comedy Central over the years, as well as appearing in time capsule cinematic classics like “Pootie Tang” and the indie film “The Wrestler” with Mickey Rourke, or shows like “Flight of the Conchords,” “Sex in the City” and “Dr. Katz.” He’s done it all, without breaking a sweat. Style’s editor spoke to him recently here. This will be a seated show. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets are $32.50 plus fees, available here.
Monday, Dec.1
Bonnie “Prince” Billy with Ned Oldham and Jordan Perry at The Tin Pan
The chameleon-like actor and singer, Will Oldham, has been using the Bonnie Prince Billy moniker for years now, and it’s always a special occasion to hear this restlessly creative artist sing, whether with Eighth Blackbird at VMFA, harmonizing with Angel Olsen and the Cairo Gang at The National, or solo in a smaller songwriter room like tonight, where he’ll be performing with family, brother Ned Oldham from Charlottesville and Jordan Perry.
A huge fan of both the Mekons and the Misfits, Oldham often brings a theatrical edge to his musical endeavors, so seeing him in an intimate strip mall venue could be a real treat; the last time I caught him was with Jonathan Richman at the Lincoln Theatre in DC, right before the pandemic started in earnest. Reading Oldham’s Wikipedia listing recently, I noticed that it quotes something I wrote about him nearly 20 years ago, describing his vocals as “a fragile sort-of warble frittering around haunted melodies in the American folk or country tradition.” I remember first learning about him in the ’90s because a girl I knew in California had picked him up hitchhiking, which led to us listening to his Palace Brothers album, “Arise Therefore,” quite a bit over a languid, tequila-filled summer in Chico, Ca.
Over the last two decades, I’ve seen him in numerous different ensembles, and each show has felt uniquely open to possibility; for instance, I remember everyone sweating during a rollicking, straight bluegrass set by Bonnie Prince Billy and the Picket Line in Charlottesville, a benefit for Fry’s Spring Beach Club in 2009. It’s hard to describe the deep breadth of his songwriting, but this quotation from an old press release helps: “My folks were violent atheists. We sang weird distorted hymns in which religious references were mutated somehow into secular ones, custom cut by my mother.” Similarly, his best songwriting has a timeless quality about it, as in this song below, “Careless Love,” later used to great effect in the indie movie “American Honey.” (One of Oldham’s most beloved tunes, “I See A Darkness,” was even recorded by the man in black himself, Johnny Cash). Bob Nastanovich from Pavement once told me that when Oldham was living in the basement of his college house in C’ville (it had some name, like the Red House or something), he slept under a high pile of blankets with just a picture of the Queen of England above him.
Oldham is also one of my favorite film actors; as a talented theater kid from Louisville, Kentucky, he was memorable as the child preacher in John Sayles’ “Matewan,” as well as in later starring turns in Kelly Reichardt’s “Old Joy” and Richmond filmmaker Rick Alverson’s “New Jerusalem,” and it’s hard to forget his monologue in “A Ghost Story.” There’s fresh news this week that Oldham will be featured in the upcoming movie, “The Lonely Woman,” from Jae Matthews (aka Boy Harsher) alongside lead Chloë Sevigny and fellow musicians FKA twigs and Sturgill Simpson. I’d expect there to be some diehard fans at the Tin Pan show on Monday; tickets are $69.41 each. 8 p.m. 8982 Quioccasin Rd.—Brent Baldwin
Tuesday, Dec. 2
“A Shockoe Sessions Live! Christmas!” at The Hippodrome
Christmas spiriters can ring in the holidays with a real Whitman’s Sampler of Richmond music at this annual multi-band show held in the historic Hippodrome. Slated to deck the halls are performers that range in styles from earth folk to soul, Latin music to opera: Caroline Scruggs, Los Hermanos Alacranes, IONNA, Holy River, Ant the Symbol, REIN, Vexine, and Ceilie Galante. Most have either released albums on the local Shockoe Records label, or have performed at its weekly “Shockoe Sessions Live!” concert at In Your Ear Studios. This year’s Christmas party is a benefit for Richmond Triangle Players. Advance tickets start at $25. Find more information here.—D.H.
“Les Misérables” at Altria Theater (Through Dec. 7)
Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon, “Les Misérables,” still the world’s most popular musical. “This reborn dream of a production looks and sounds fresher than ever. Sends shivers of excitement racing down the spine – you emerge feeling stirred and exhilarated,” according to a breathless Daily Telegraph. Shows this week at 7:30 p.m. except Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. For more info and tickets, go here.
Wednesday, Dec. 3
Cambridge Companion to American Prison Writing and Mass Incarceration: Edited by David Coogan, at Richmond Public Library Main Branch (101 E. Franklin Street)
Editor Dr. David Coogan, an associate professor of English in the Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Humanities and Sciences, will be present to tell the story of mass incarceration that is rarely told, the one where writers and activist resist. He’ll open “with two of the chapter writers, Liz Canfield, who will speak on women’s independent publishing behind bars, and Seth Michelson, who wrote the chapter on the inspirational poet, Jimmy Santiago Baca.” 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 101 E. Franklin St.
A Talk with Historian Gregory S. Wilson on the 50th anniversary of Kepone environmental disaster at Library of Virginia Main Branch (800 E. Broad Street)
Remember when the James River closed in the mid-’70s? Wilson, a professor of history at the University of Akron, is the author of “Poison Powder: The Kepone Disaster in Virginia and Its Legacy,” and will be discussing the environmental disaster that took place in Hopewell, Va. at Life Science Products, a small pesticide factory in Hopewell, when people became ill after exposure to Kepone, the brand name for the pesticide chlordecone (and also the later name for a kickass power punk trio from Richmond). Noon to 1 p.m. 800 E. Broad St. Book signing afterward. Look for our interview with him by Karen Newton on Friday. Free to attend the event, but registration required. Register here.
