Scene Recap: Newlin Music Prize, Friday Cheers, McKinley Dixon
There’s a ton of great outlets, organizations, and individuals covering 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 Newlin Music Prize announced its 2023 Short List on Monday. Your lovely author here is the executive director of said award so I don’t want to spend this whole column talking about the Newlin award, but it is worth mentioning so we can shine a bigger spotlight on the local music scene. I’ll talk about the award first and then I’ll talk about the nominees. (Newlin link here.)
• Launched in 2022, the Newlin Music Prize celebrates excellence in music from the Richmond-Petersburg metropolitan area. Named after musical prodigy, VCU professor, and performer Dika Newlin, the prize annually awards $1,000 (and a spiffy trophy) to the best album from the previous calendar year, as voted on by members of an 80-plus jury and the general public. Voting began on Monday, February 13 and is open until Friday, March 17. You can cast your fan vote now! (Newlin fan vote here.)
• Nearly 200 albums were nominated for this award and there are 20 albums officially up for consideration. These records cover so many of the different styles and sounds that are prevalent in our scene. Altogether, they provide a great overview of the exciting music being created in Richmond today. Here’s a list of albums with Spotify links and you can find more streaming links and information on the Newlin website. (Newlin Short List here.)
Butcher Brown – Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey Featuring Tennishu And R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND
Cassidy Snider And The Wranglers – A Good Heartbreak
Deau Eyes – Legacies
Drook – Life In Estates
Dumb Waiter – Gauche Gists
Erin & The Wildfire – Touchy Feely
Justin Golden – Hard Times And A Woman
Mackenzie Roark – Rollin’ High, Feelin’ Low
Monday Night & Heather Grey – Soon You’ll Understand
Ms. Jaylin Brown – Take It Easy
No BS! Brass – Undying
Piranha Rama – Omniscient Cloud Cover
Radio B – Stop Looking For Noise
Spooky Cool – Existential Pie
Strawberry Moon – Habitual Creatures
Timothy Bailey And The Humans – Timothy Bailey And The Humans
T V L P A – Walk With Me
Ty Sorrell – HomeGrown
Tyler Meacham – Into The Fray
• Thank you to all members of the jury. Thank you to the shortlist committee which helped narrow down those 200 nominations. Thank you to the Newlin board (Andrew, Davy, Maya, and Rian). Thank you to anyone who has liked or shared something relating to the Newlin. And BIG thank you to anyone who saw the link, clicked on a record, and started listening. All we want to do here is put a bigger spotlight on Richmond.
• Friday Cheers announced its 2023 line-up this week too. Lot of Newlin nominees on the line-up, which is great, but the line-up from top to bottom is pretty amazing. Snail Mail is going to be a huge show, but I’m also really looking forward to Sampa The Great on 6/2 and Tank & The Bangas on 6/16. The last show of the year looks really good too: Flipturn and Holy Roller. Everyone gets excited about these line-ups every year, but this year truly feels special and I’m already trying to see how many I can go to. Check out the full line-up yourself and start making plans. (Line-up announcement here.)
• Richmond Times-Dispatch was generous with its Newlin coverage this week, writing a short blurb about it, covering it in the A1 minute, and then really putting a spotlight on it in their 8@4 video.
• Timothy Bailey (who made the Newlin!) penned this incredible piece for Style Weekly that covers the way the music industry has changed and the challenges musicians face these day. At one point, he mentions “nearly all musicians know this” and we, of course, believe that, but we just need more people talking about it. Otherwise, it won’t change. Anyway, go read this. (Article link here.)
• More news from someone on the Newlin shortlist. Radio B stopped by Shockoe Sessions Live this past Tuesday for a performance that was given a triple “magnificent” from host Reese Williams. Lot of people told me this was one of their favorite performances from Shockoe Sessions and I can totally see why. Radio B’s compelling and dynamic sound really thrives in this setting and it makes his great album, Stop Looking For Noise, really come to life. Watch it now! (YouTube link here.)
• Asylum 213 has been rebranded as Sound Condition so check it out. Dylan Lawson has a really good single spotlight for the new Crucial Rip track over there now. (Article link here.)
• Vy Truong from theMSQshop has had two really good producer spotlights lately on some people making moves behind-the-scenes in Richmond. Her Q&A with RJ $tackhouse came out earlier this month and a chat with Vibe just went up this past week. Check them both out here. (Article links here.)
• Episode 70 from River City Sounds is up and features No Moniker, a returning guest who was previously on the show in Episode 18. If the crew is starting to repeat guests from years ago, might we suggest Hotspit (episode 6), Abby Huston (episode 4), and Drook (episode 20)? Please? While we wait for an answer, make sure to listen to No Moniker. (Spotify link here.)
• Here’s a really in-depth interview with legendary guitarist Richard Thompson that Brent Baldwin did for Style Weekly. Worth the time. (Article link here.)
• Running a little long in this column here, but I wanted to give out our usual shout-outs to HearRVA (Instagram link) and RestlessRVA (Instagram link) who will have the hook-up on new releases and concerts. Marilyn Drew Necci does a deeper dive on upcoming shows so don’t miss her weekly column here. (Article link here.)
• Peter McElhinney chatted with saxophonist Joshua Redman for Style Weekly before his Wednesday performance. I particularly loved this quote from Redman: “The thing I love so much about music is that it gets me out of that kind of observer status.” Truth. (Article link here.)
• David Timberline had an interesting look at Scott Wichmann for Style Weekly that focused on the stage star’s interpretation of the Great American Songbook. (Article link here.)
• Time to close this out and we’ll bookend this column with some more stuff on the Newlin Music Prize. It’d be unfair of me to list just one song from any of the 20 albums listed so instead, why don’t we highlight last year’s winner? McKinley Dixon won the inaugural award in 2022 for his album For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her, an absolutely spectacular collection of songs that everyone should hear. Since winning, McKinley Dixon has relocated to Chicago and is currently prepping for his next album, due out soon on City Slang Records. He’s released two singles recently and has kept his Richmond connection strong, producing the music alongside Sam Koff (No BS! Brass) and having contributions from local musicians like (Eli)zabeth Owens, Angelica Garcia, and Reggie Pace. Here’s a link to the first single (“Sun, I Rise“), but I wanted to share the video for him performing his second single on Kitchen Table Sessions. This track is entitled “Tyler, Forever” and is a stunning track that has just as much in common with jazz, soul, and even punk as it does hip-hop. Easily one of his best tracks yet. McKinley Dixon is a truly special musician and I can’t wait to hear what he’s got in store for us next!
