Scene Recap: Richmond Seen, Circle Breaker, Céilí

Countless great outlets, organizations, and individuals cover the music scene in Richmond, so many that it might be hard to keep up to date on all of them. We’ll try and collect some great articles, coverage, and news bits we’ve read each week here at The Auricular.

• The third big Golden Fest event took place this past Friday at The Camel, organized by Andrew Carper and hosted by Seth Morrison and Céilí Galante. The night featured performances from The Trillions, Jake The Dog, Charm Offensive, Mead The Dear, and Andrew Alli & Josh Small, a stacked line-up that brought out another good crowd adding to the fundraising efforts for Justin Golden. That energy carries over into tonight at Gallery5 with a special hybird show/dance party, organized and hosted by Céilí Galante, who we should all wish happy birthday to! It’s a céilí for Céilí! (Fun birthday trivia: Céilí was the one who coined “Golden Fest” for this whole collaboartive effort.) DJ Leto is also performing and Mama Galante will be on-hand to help teach some new moves, so bring your dancing shoes. $15 tickets for this one and another raffle, all proceeds again going to Justin Golden. It’s the last Golden Fest show for a few weeks so let’s make it count! (Event link here.)

• Voting is still open for the Newlin Music Prize until Thursday, March 20th, and it’s time for my final push! I’ve got some appearances coming up on VPM to chat about a few of this year’s standout selections (huge thanks to Annie Parnell and DJ B-Rice for making that happen), and if time allows, I’m planning a deep dive of my own on Tuesday night. These 20 incredible records deserve the biggest audience possible, and I hope this gives you the nudge to really spend time with them. Listen closely and I promise you’ll find at least one record, one song, one lyric that shifts your perspective. Give them a spin, cast your vote, and mark your calendar: the winner will be announced Monday, March 24th! (Short List link here.)

• We talked about The Richmond Seen last week, a new publication and platform putting a well-deserved spotlight on Richmond’s hip-hop scene. I picked up their first print zine at Vinyl Conflict recently, and today, they are leveling up with the release of an actual print newspaper, available at Le Cache Dulcet with a launch event happening from 12p to 4p today. I’ve been looking forward to grabbing this all week so I hope to see some familiar faces there. In the meantime, make sure you’re following them on Instagram so you can stay up-to-date with all the moves they’re making! Trust me, they’re just getting started. (Instagram link here.)

• Have you snagged your tickets for Daydream Festival yet? May 26th is creeping up fast, and Baripete Productions is coming in hot with a stacked lineup that has Nickelus F, Rikki Rakki, Charlie Glenn, R4ND4ZZO BIGB4AND, Dusty Ray Simmons, and Former Champions on it so far, with more names to come. Last year’s event was one of the best nights of live music in 2024, with surprises galore like Anderson .Paak casually strolling through the crowd to cap off the night. This year promises to be just as unforgettable, so don’t sleep on it. Grab your tickets now and get ready for another legendary day over at Main Line. (Ticket link here.)

• Hot on the heels of Daydream Festival comes Charged Up Fest, running May 29 through June 1. Last year marked the grand debut of this multi-day celebration, and Noah-O pulled out all the stops, curating standout shows and unforgettable gatherings each day. With the 2025 edition on the horizon, I’ve got a feeling some big announcements are just around the corner. Do yourself a favor: follow Charged Up Fest on social media so you don’t miss a beat. You’re going to want to be in the know for everything they’ve got planned this year. (Instagram link here.)

• Velvet Kove lit up Shockoe Sessions Live this past Tuesday, bringing her vibrant visual dance-pop art to Studio A at In Your Ear. If you haven’t caught the session yet, it’s the perfect addition to your Sunday watch list so definitely check it out. Coming up this Tuesday, honky-tonk indie rockers Bucko are stepping in front of the cameras, and I’ll be there as a guest host for the night. This one’s a big deal. This band is getting better by the day, and it won’t be long before they’re headlining festivals like the ones I mentioned earlier. Tickets are still available so catch them here while you still can in an intimate setting. (Ticket link here.)

• 2025 is already shaping up to be a breakout year for synth-pop artist IONNA, and Andrew Cothern over at Style Weekly got the scoop straight from the source. We covered one of IONNA’s singles last year, and while that track was a standout, the two singles she’s released so far this year have taken things to the next level. If this momentum keeps up, we’re in for something really special. Can’t wait to see what else she’s got in store for us this year. (Article link here.)

• There are few musical journeys in town I’ve enjoyed more than Pete Curry’s. A decade ago, he was crafting laid-back indie tunes under his own name and then, out of nowhere it felt, came a bold pivot into full-on vaporwave under the moniker FM Skyline. Watching his rise within that subgenre has been nothing short of incredible, and now he’s back with a new record, a colloboration with 100% Electronica labelmate Equip. For all the details, check out Davy Jones’ article at Style Weekly. It’s a great read. (Article link here.)

• Griffin Smalley returned with another edition of his “Sound Check” column over at RVA Magazine. While the shows he highlighted have come and gone, it’s still well worth a read for his take on the new singles from Hard Count and Cleopheus James. (Article link here.)

• Another busy, productive week here at The Auricular. We premiered the new single from noise-punk duo White Beast, the debut album from hip-hop artist MsSimoneJ, and the ambitious collaboration between Lunch $pecial, REIN, and Catie Lausten. We also reviewed new EPs from singer-songwriter Caroline Vain and emo quartet Soft Catch, plus highlighted new music videos from indie act Dhemo and MC Rico Bando. There’s plenty more coverage on the horizon this coming week, so stay tuned!

• Have you subscribed to our newsletter yet? It’s the best way to stay up-to-date on all things Auricular–not just our latest articles, but also news about upcoming showcases and sponsored events. It hits inboxes every Wednesday, right after the weekly show column, so make sure you’re subscribed and in the loop! (Newsletter link here.)

• And speaking of the show column, this week’s edition featured the most events in its Auricular run so far: 10 events spotlighted! As always, Marilyn Drew Necci dives deep into every band on the bill, so be sure to give it a read before making your concert plans. (Article link here.)

• On the topic of upcoming shows, here’s your weekly reminder to follow SoundtrackRVA and RestlessRVA on social media so you can stay on top of every concert happening in Richmond. SoundtrackRVA delivers a full week’s lineup every Wednesday, while RestlessRVA breaks down each weekend day in detail. Follow both and start upping your concert intake. You won’t miss a beat.

• Time to close things out with a local song. Over the past week, I’ve been talking with people about the nature of protest music. Personally, I subscribe to the belief that all art is protest. Pete Seeger said it best back in 1968 on the Pop Chronicles: “In the largest sense, every work of art is protest. The unrequited lover singing a love song. He’s protesting unrequition. A hymn is a controversial song. Sing one in the wrong church, you’ll find out. A fellow singing dirty songs, he’s protesting sanctimoniousness.” I think it’s all true, but I’ll take it a step further. At its core, art is about making your voice heard in a world that seeks to silence you. Anything that stops you from contributing as a useful cog in the system is, by nature, a capitalistic sin. So whether you spend your time writing silly ditties about your dog on social media or composing full confessions within your music, it’s all protest in some form. The value and intent of that protest will always be up for debate, but the essence remains: art challenges the status quo. Don’t believe me? Just look at how many seemingly innocuous books have been banned in recent years. Or go back two decades and see how songs were pulled from radio rotation in mass due to “questionable” lyrics. Sometimes, just existing is enough to unsettle, which is why even the most unassuming creation can become a powerful instrument of change.

Take, for instance, the all-trans band Flora & The Fauna who recently put out a jangly, upbeat single called “Kiss Your Friends.” You tell me–is there anything that embodies protest more than four people, whose identities are routinely under attack in the media and legislature, telling people to just kiss whoever they want? Look at Radio B. His new album The Internet Is Fake is a case study on how digital life has corrupted us, something the last decade has grimly exposed. When a humble artist from a mid-sized city writes and releases a song entitled “Zuckerburger,” taking a direct shot at the third wealthiest man in the world, is that not the protest music that artists like Woody Guthrie championed almost a century ago?

Richmond still gets its fair share of obvious protest music. The 2023 single “Not Your Pawns” by Wrong Worshippers is as fearless as it gets, with the artwork being a searing invective. Alex Jonestown Massacre are similarly just as bold, with a song like “Regulize Komplete” distilling their dissent perfectly. Disaster Preparedness Coloring Book by Dead Billionaires–a prescient band name if there ever was one–is guided by its robust activist heart, while Terror Cell offers subtler social consciousness on their record All Quiet. Point being, even if you don’t ascribe to Pete Seeger’s assessment on protest art, Richmond is still rife with musical insubordination. But again, just looking for clear-cut clarion calls misses the broader truth. The very nature of art is to make us see through someone else’s perspective, and that innate truth will always inspire change. As painter Lawren Harris stated in 1978, “Every work of art which really moves us is in some degree a revelation: it changes us.”

This is a topic worthy of a deep-dive, putting a spotlight on how Richmond is dealing both direct blows and indirect wounds against the world’s growing fascism. For now, I thought it best to share a song from a band that embodies protest on every level: their band name, their sound, their lyrics… even the band members themselves. Circle Breaker is all of that and more. The band describes themselves as “queer motor punk hellfire,” which saves me time from trying to dissect the black metal and grindcore in their music. Their name itself speaks to defiance: demolishing cycles, shattering chains (as seen in their logo). This past September, they put out a blistering EP entitled Hopesmoker that features a deafening sound roaring with rebellion. I’ll share the album’s opening track below, one the band described on Bandcamp as examining “the destructive nature of border policing and how cowboy hats can be used for evil,” but really, you can’t go wrong with any of these tracks if you’re itching for some undeniable protest music. Give them a listen below, but, more importantly, keep your mind open for the protest that exists all around us. It’s always been there and it’s never going away.