Scene Recap: Mid-Atlantic Jams, Orbital Music Park, chloe p

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.

• Well, this column is two days late. Blame the pollening and the prolonged outside exposure I had on Sunday. Still sneezing after the rain washed away the first wave. Second wave has already begun. Pray for the city.

• Macrock XXVIII takes place this weekend in Harrisonburg, and I’ll be on hand at the vendor expo on Saturday afternoon. If you’re in town, stop on by and let’s chat about local music. Give me a high five. Tell me the bands I need to cover. Tell me I suck. Whatever. Let’s chat before some awesome sets later in the day. (Macrock website link here.)

• The next wave of Golden Fest shows kicks-off this week too, with an Earthfolk Old Time Jam on Thursday and then a show at The Spot On Kirk in Roanoke on Saturday! Next week, Deau Eyes is hosting an open mic night at Flowerama so you definitely want to check that out. As always, keep an eye on our social media as well as Freight Line Management and Vocal Rest Records for all things Golden Fest.

• Orbital Music Park is making a comeback… well, sort of. They’ve been collaborating with Reveler for a while now and have played a big role in its rise as one of Richmond’s go-to music venues. But the original vision of OM–a true community hub for musicians–has been missing for a few years, a creative space lost to the pandemic. Now, they’re setting their sights on a new home base on West Marshall Street. Allison Kinney recently broke down the details in Richmond Magazine, and it’s well worth the read. Keep your eyes and ears open for the next update. Richmond’s music scene could use OMP now more than ever. (Article link here.)

• Human Worm was the latest guest on River City Sounds, and as a big fan of this synthpop trio–having premiered their track “Mega Bitch” last year and hosted them at Plan 9 in November–of course I’m going to tell you to bump this episode to the top of your queue. That said, this one hit a little harder than usual. You might’ve noticed the episode description reads, “As we slowly start to wind down the podcast,” and seeing that written out–officially–kind of floored me. River City Sounds launched not long after The Auricular, and truth be told, they’ve been more consistent than me at times. I even looked it up–our 12th article on the site was about their launch. They’ve been ahead of the curve from the jump, spotlighting so many of my now-favorite local artists before they were really even on my radar: Hotspit, Rikki Rakki, Drook, Dead Billionaires, Railgun, Ryan Irby, The Mitras, Gnawing… the list is deep. Cole and Chloe even had me on back in 2022 to talk about the first year of the Newlin Music Prize, which was a total blast. I’ll save the full emotional sendoff for when the final episode drops, but don’t let that gut-punch distract you from this fantastic episode. Give it a listen, and if you haven’t seen Human Worm live yet, fix that. (Spotify link here.)

• Speaking (loosely) about Plan 9, the next Auricular showcase is on Thursday, April 17th with Deathcat! You really don’t want to miss this one. (Instagram link here.)

• Weekly reminder that The Auricular has a newsletter! If you’re like me, you probably get frustrated opening up social media and seeing something interesting that was posted five days ago but is just NOW coming to your attention. Well, the newsletter can help solve part of that problem, at least when it comes to Richmond music. Subscribe now. I hear that good luck comes to those who sign-up and tell all of their friends. (Newsletter link here.)

• The latest episode of NostalgicEmoDads dropped on April 1st and features a sprawling, in-depth conversation with Richmond’s own Jim Ivins (The Fan, The Jim Ivins Band, The Ivins). And when I say in-depth, I mean nearly three hours of deep cuts and deep dives. I highly recommend setting aside the time for this one: Jim and the host really get into the weeds of Richmond’s music scene in the late 2000s and early 2010s. They reminisce about the glory days (and endearing chaos) of Alley Katz, sing the praises of Dash Brown’s legendary Community Service show on Y101, and rattle off more band names than I could keep up with… some of which I haven’t thought about in over a decade. Honestly, I’m wishing someone would transcribe the whole thing so I can start digging through those old catalogs and see what I missed. If you’re even remotely interested in Richmond music history, this episode is a treasure trove. Give it a listen. (Spotify link here.)

• From one Dash to the next, Dash Lewis profiled Billy Capricorn from Style Weekly at the end of March, mostly pumping up the artist’s latest album Out of Love Vol.10. Definitely give the record a spin if you haven’t and then enjoy this article. (Article link here.)

• Griffin Smalley’s “Sound Check” column at RVA Magazine covered Teen Mortage, Babe Haven, Dhemo, and more, as well as new music from Taylor Kelly and the Butcher Brown crew. Give it a read. (Article link here.)

• Last week on Shockoe Sessions, local guitar whiz REIN lit up the stage with a fiery set featuring tracks from his upcoming debut album. The performance was electric, so much so that The Auricular has a full review up, written by photojournalist CJ Payne, who also captured a ton of incredible shots that showcase both the high-octane energy and the more intimate moments of the night. Up next (and likely airing live by the time you’re reading this) is rock outfit Brickwall Jackson. Don’t miss it! (YouTube link here.)

• Speaking of Shockoe Sessions, the team behind it, Shockoe Records, are gearing up for the third annual 804 Day, taking place this year on Saturday, August 2nd. Save the date!

• And while you’re looking at your calendar, I just want to mention that we celebrated our 5th Anniversary at the end of September in 2023, but then didn’t do anything for our 6th Anniversary. If I was a betting man, I might look to the calendar and maybe circle a few late September weekends.

• Slower than usual week last week, but we were still fairly active, premiering new music from Kids Techno and Hot Lava, one returning after a five year break and another after an even longer hiatus. We also covered new videos from SlideBinLabled and Motion Man AB, and CJ Payne contributed that aforementioned show review of REIN at Shockoe Sessions. April has a lot in store for the site so make sure to keep it bookmarked!

• Outside of those articles, the “On This Day” feature returned to our website and social media so I guess it wasn’t a slower than usual week considering that’s 70 albums that need descriptions each week! You can follow along on all of our social media (yes, it does take forever to post to all of them), but if you’re looking to quit social media or just cut back, you can always check back on our dedicated page each day. (On This Day link here.)

• Back in November, I started carving out space in this column to highlight a curious gem from that week’s “On This Day” roundup. With 70 records featured each week, there’s always bound to be something unexpected… or something I haven’t revisited in ages. The “On This Day” selections in April so far have been stacked: Lamb of God, Avail, Lil Ugly Mane, GULL, Ann Beretta, Black Kray, Prisoner, Noah-O, both Erin Lunsford and Erin & The Wildfire, both Chris Leggett and Chris Leggett & The Copper Line, Ohbliv, DJ Harrison, Tennishu, Johnny Ciggs, Ant The Symbol… the list goes on. But tucked away on the 6th was this three-song EP by singer-songwriter chloe p–who you might also know as one of the co-hosts of River City Sounds (please don’t go, RCS). I remember checking it out when it first dropped in late 2020 and enjoying it, but for whatever reason, it’s hitting even harder this time around. Start with the track “bad habits” and see if it strikes a chord with you too.

• Marilyn Drew’s latest weekly show column went up on the site last week. Definitely give it a read, even if most of the shows have already come and gone. If she took the time to spotlight them, there’s a good reason. Take note of the artists she mentions so you can catch them next time they roll through town. (Article link here.)

• Since we’re talking about weekly concerts, here’s your stern, but friendly reminder to follow RestlessRVA and SoundtrackRVA on Instagram so you can make sure to see all of the upcoming concerts in Richmond.

• Finally, time to close this column out with local music. I spent a long, long time in the last Scene Recap column talking about the process with running the site and trying to cover as much as possible. I do my best to talk about as much as I can, but there’s always more that slips through the cracks. Sometimes I don’t hear about things until months later. Other times, I just run out of time and the queue gets out of hand. This week’s pick falls into the latter category: the spectacular Mid-Atlantic Jams compilation from last year.

Mid-Atlantic Jams Vol. 1 is not just a celebration of the region’s immense talent, but a snapshot of the scene’s evolution, of which the collection’s curator, DJ B-Rice, has been a major driving force behind. He’s been hard at work in the hip-hop scene for years now with his weekly shows on WRIR and VPM, DJ sets around the city, and his low-key but always on-point production work. This past fall, he lent his ear to The 6th Street Marketplace, the excellent (and underrated) album from Thealmightymil (fka Giant)–a record you absolutely need to check out if you missed it. (Don’t take my word for it–check out this track!) But the real centerpiece was Mid-Atlantic Jams Vol. 1, a dense 22-track compilation packed with heavy hitters–producers and MCs alike–many of whom have defined Richmond hip-hop over the last decade. And B-Rice doesn’t just play curator; he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone on this stacked lineup, even stepping behind the production booth at times.

And when I say stacked, I mean stacked. Here’s the talent list, in alphabetical order: Ant The Symbol, Big Sty, DJ Harrison, DJ Mentos, Fan Ran, Fly Anakin, Gordy Michael, Graymatter, Henny L.O., Illa Styles, Ivani, James Dangle, Johnny Ciggs, Koncept Jack$on, Lee Major, Lovenloops, Michael Millions, Mirtaw, Monday Night, Ms. Jaylin Brown, NameBrand, Ndefru, Nickelus F, Noah-O, Ohbliv, One Forever, Profound79, Radio B, Rah Scrilla, Reppa Ton, Ro$$eTTi, Robalu, Scoop Kid, Skweeks, SoundGenesius, Starr Nyce, Swellthy, Tennishu, Ty Sorrell, Unlucky Bastards, Zuri, and, of course, the aforementioned Almightymil. It’s a who’s who of the city’s scene, and everyone brings their A-game, whether it’s on instrumental joints like “Lovewrong” and “We” or lyrical showcases like “2Many” and “Bezerk.”

Honestly, it’s tough to single out just one track, but every time I spin this record, I find myself coming back to how great Ro$$eTTi is on “A Dream.” It’s not just the nods to legendary squared circle teams The Hardy Boyz and Dudleys (extra shout-out B-Rice for being as much as wrestling fanatic as I am), it’s the way Ro$$eTTi glides over Lee Major’s production with style and ease. Is it the best track on the comp? Who’s to say? But it’s a perfect example of what this project delivers: top-tier talent, tight production, and a deep bench of Richmond’s finest.

Give “A Dream” a listen below, and then dig into the whole compilation if you haven’t yet. And next time you see DJ B-Rice, make sure to give him his flowers. This is the kind of project that reminds you just how rich this scene really is.