“We had been dreaming about doing something like that for a long time,” says Dillon Douglasson, co-founder and audio director for Hourglass Sessions, the Richmond-based live music video platform.

Douglasson is talking about an epic, 6-minute video capturing more than two dozen local musicians and vocalists performing a cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” “When we realized we had made almost 50 videos, we thought, ‘oh, we should do something for this,’” he says.

“It was a big milestone,” says Tyler Scheerschmidt, the other co-founder and visual director for Hourglass. “We felt it was a chance to do a video that was a celebration of Richmond. We started thinking, ‘What would happen if you literally got everyone together for something that was entirely community based?’”

The final product was shot at Godfrey’s nightclub and has Richmond favorites like Ali “Deau Eyes” Thibodeau and members of the Yes, And! Theatrical Company belting out the classic song as the camera swoops in and amongst them. “It’s not unlike a lot of sessions we’ve done,” says Scheerschmidt. “It’s not just fun, but also important to bring artists together for these kinds of collaborations.”

Established right before the pandemic, Hourglass Sessions emerged from a project Scheerschmidt did solo. “I was working as a videographer and an artist named Shy Lennox wanted to shoot a live video in his apartment,” he says. “After we did it, we were talking about how cool it was to shoot like that.”

Scheerschmidt ruminated on developing a series of location-based live videos created in collaboration with local artists, eventually bringing it to Douglasson. “I told him I thought it could be something bigger,” Scheerschmidt continues. “Dillon was like, ‘Yes, I like it.’”

The pandemic ended up helping them refine the idea. “It allowed us to develop the style of the sessions,” remembers Douglasson. “We had all the time in the world to do it.”

Since launching the concept, the Hourglass team has worked with many of the biggest names in local music such as Butcher Brown and No BS! Brass. The founders have positioned Hourglass as a platform similar to NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series.

“I think our approach gives us an edge compared to something like Tiny Desk,” says Scheerschmidt. “It gives us the ability to do live performances in a way that’s extremely intimate. And there’s so much more variety to it than you get from just setting someone up in a soundstage.”

Collaboration is key to the sessions: Douglasson and Scheerschmidt have learned to trust the artists they work with even when they have unwieldy ideas.

“One of our early sessions was with Deau Eyes,” says Douglasson. “They wanted to do theirs in a U-Haul truck. Especially sound-wise, I was very skeptical of how it would turn out.”

Thibodeau and her crew ended up decorating the truck and soundproofing it. Despite his initial skepticism, Douglasson says, “It’s honestly one of the best sounding sessions we’ve done.”

Artists who have done sessions say the supportive environment helps get exceptional results. Composer and producer Ant the Symbol had talked with Scheerschmidt about working together in the past but, after seeing the “Bohemian Rhapsody” video, he reached out again. “Once I saw that, I was like, ‘this is definitely something I want to do,” recalls Ant.

The composer didn’t have a specific idea for a theme but the shoot was scheduled for November so, working with the Hourglass team, a friends-giving motif emerged. The video has musicians and singers gathered in a cozy living room performing “Pride Like a Pendant,” sharing Thanksgiving staples.

“It ended up being absolutely perfect, better than I’d even envisioned it,” Ant says. “It was a very positive environment. The whole time we were all just very happy to be there with each other. I think that really comes through in the video.”

Sessions have ended up being filmed at some of Richmond’s most recognizable locales, from Main Street Station and Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens to the Diamond. The team also added another partner, Matt Sease, to help with logistics and planning.

Hourglass creates the videos for free to help promote the artists they work with as well as promote themselves as a video production company.

“At this point, it feels like a large responsibility,” says Douglasson. “We’re giving artists a platform and there’s a responsibility in putting something good out there.”

“There seems to be a nonstop influx of crazy talent that we have ready access to,” Scheerschmidt says. “We’ve been very lucky to be living here and be a part of that. My hope is that, through the sessions, the Richmond music scene in general can attain a wider national recognition. That’s a goal for me, for sure.”

New Hourglass Sessions will be released for Portland, ME-based band Dead Gowns on Feb. 16 and locals MacKenzie Roark and the Hot Pants on Feb. 29. A live release party featuring Flight Club is scheduled for March 14. Details at https://hourglasssessions.com/.