Artist, musician and Southern gothic visionary Wes Freed died in 2022 after a nine-month battle with colorectal cancer. The passing of the iconic Richmonder and longtime album art source for Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers left a void in his adopted hometown’s creative community. So what can be done to honor such an irreplaceable figure?
“He deserves something great,” says Mark Lynn, concert events liaison for the Friends of Wes Freed organization. “Some kind of Richmond sh-t-kicker.”
Thus Wes Freed Day was born. The combination concert and art auction will take place at the Canal Club on Saturday, April 27, kicking off at 3 p.m. On tap: Two stages, more than half a dozen bands — including a set by J. Roddy Walston — a DJ appearance by Deep Groove Records owner Jay Leavitt and a variety of ways to contribute to the Wes Freed Memorial Scholarship Fund.
The idea to memorialize Freed by supporting students from backgrounds similar to his was the brainchild of Martha Harper, an academic advisor within Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, and Cassandra Gratton, a VCU alumna — both leaders within the Friends of Wes Freed organization that formed in summer 2023. The scholarship will be awarded to a student from rural Virginia who is planning to pursue a degree at VCUarts. “It could be a life-changer for someone,” Lynn says.
Freed was born in a small, rural town in the Shenandoah Valley and went on to study painting and printmaking at VCU before settling in Richmond, helping the Drive-By Truckers gain a crucial East Coast touring foothold here and building out the band’s visual universe that added an invaluable dimension to it’s shadowy Southern sound. Truckers posters designed by Freed will be among the items up for auction, as will pieces donated by kindred artists from Richmond and elsewhere, including photographs of Freed and works donated by local luminaries Noah Scalin and Ed Trask. Bidding has already started online and will conclude the day of the event. Friends of Wes Freed T-shirts will also be sold.
The live music lineup will bring together groups representing multiple decades in which Freed made his mark on Richmond’s music scene, each with its own connection to the artist. Some — Beex, the Slack Family, Barstool Heroes — were contemporaries during a bygone heyday in which groups of Freed’s like Dirtball and the Mag Bats were most active. (The surviving members of the Mag Bats will also perform at Wes Freed Day.) Other acts — Horsehead, Woody Woodworth & the Piners, J. Roddy Walston — are part of a newer generation that’s busy carrying forward the raucous rock and alt-country traditions that Freed boosted by hosting monthly Capital City Barn Dance showcases.
Walston’s sign-on generated early momentum during the event’s planning process. “He was one of the first people to respond,” Lynn says of Walston, who appears as an opening act on one of the posters being auctioned. “I texted him and he just said yes.”
Another immediate yes came from Ken Jacobs, owner of the Canal Club. The venue’s multi-stage setup is ideal for switching quickly between bands, and there’s even Wes Freed history in its East Cary Street walls. “The first show they did there, when it was a soft opening and they weren’t technically supposed to be open, was a Dirtball show,” Lynn says. “They were letting them drink stealthily with a cooler of PBR behind the stage or something, and they got busted by ABC agents. It’s funny 24 years later — I’m sure it wasn’t funny at the time.”
Lynn is expecting a casual, coming-and-going atmosphere, given that Wes Freed Day will run from mid-afternoon well into the evening. But the event’s poster promises surprises, and Lynn says there’s likely to be something for everyone, regardless of which aspect of Freed’s rich legacy attendees cherish.
“He had so many different levels as an individual, as an artist, as a bandmate, as a musician, as a human being,” Lynn says. “That’s why you have this foundation for VCU, why you’ve got all these wonderful artists and people donating things for the art auction and why you’ve got so many bands willing to donate and volunteer their time and play for free. That’s all due to Wes Freed.”
Wes Freed Day will take place at the Canal Club on Saturday, April 27 starting at 3 p.m. DJ Jay Leavitt, Jeff Wall, Joe Cat, Louis Ledford, Barstool Heroes, the Mag Bats, the Slack Family, Beex, Horsehead, Woody Woodworth & the Piners and J. Roddy Walston will perform. Admission is free. For more information and to donate to the Wes Freed Memorial Scholarship Fund, visit friendsofwesfreed.com.
