Weekend Picks: RVA Field of Dreams Fest, Lucinda Williams, Toro Y Moi, Bully, Diamond Center, Southern Belles, Erin & the Wildfire

Welcome to the weekend of Joaquin! He's already messed up a bunch of festivals with the State Fair, Hogtober and the 2nd St. Festival all getting flat out canceled. Joaquin, you bastard! But let's find some stuff to do indoors this weekend, shall we?

The RVA Field of Dreams Fest was supposed to be out at The Diamond, but they have moved it indoors to the Altria Theater. Doors will open at 6:30. They'll still have the craft beer and the local cuisine and they'll still have a killer lineup of bands playing R&B, soul and blues. Leading off will be a band that started in RVA, The Congress. Hitting in the middle of the order is one my favorites, Black Joe Lewis and his brand of rocking soul blues. And batting cleanup is old-school soul singer Charles Bradley, who is backed by a band of young turks steeped in the music of Stax-Volt and Muscle Shoals. Tix are $100 for VIP, $45 for GA and a souvenir glass with 3 sampling tickets, and $35 for a non-tasting GA ticket. You can buy more sampling tickets or full-glass pours. Let's do one from Black Joe Lewis and one from Charles Bradley.






Southern Belles are at The Camel on Friday night and I believe this is their first show after their triumphant appearance at Lockn'. They put on a great show there and they had a really good crowd show up for being the Sunday opener. Tix are $7 in advance, $10 at the door. Doors open at 8 and music starts at 9 with Stop Light Observations.



There's a good early show to catch at Strange Matter if you want to happy hour with some indie rock. Bully headlines the show. Doors open at 5, it's $10 to get in, Heat & Dead Soft will open. You might dig Bully if you like Weezer, Wild Flag, Screaming Females, Breeders or Pixies. Here's their brand new video which just came out today (10/1). It's for the song "Too Tough":



Saturday at The National, Toro Y Moi will grace us with their presence. The more I hear from them, the more I like. They've got a fun, funky, pop-rock groove with some nice psychedelic flourishes. Tix are $18 in advance, $20 at the door. Astronauts, etc. will open at 8 PM, and doors open at 7. Check out "Lilly" from Toro Y Moi's new album, "What For?":



Charlottesville band Erin & the Wildfire are at The Camel Saturday night. Tix are $7 and you get two openers starting at 9 PM (doors open at 8) with Common Wealth and Big Mama Shakes. Erin & the Wildfire will be playing out at the Festy Experience in Roseland, VA next weekend and hopefully the weather will be kinder than this weekend. Here they are with their original, "Puzzles":



The Diamond Center, formerly based in RVA, now residents of Austin, return to their favorite city on Saturday for a show at Black Iris Music. Diamond Center will be regaling us with the gothic psychedelic garage rock on their new album, "Crystals for the Brass Empire". It's $6 in advance, $10 at the door, doors open at 8, music starts at 9 and BIG NO opens. Get there early if you want to get in because Black Iris is not that big. From their new album, here's Diamond Center's "Wax and Wane":

Sunday night, alt-country goddess Lucinda Williams is at The National. Tix are $25 in advance, $28 at the door, doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 with openers Buick 6. Lucinda won the Americana Music Award for album of the year for her latest album "Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone". Here she is at KEXP in February:



Have a great weekend! I'll leave you with this one from Bruce, which feels personal right now:



Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Andra Day

New retro-soul singer-songwriter Andra Day will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight (ABC, 11:35 PM). You can get a free download of her song "Rearview" from her debut album HERE. And here's her cover of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" done in her style. Check it out.



Here's Jill Scott on Jimmy Kimmel Live last week:

Late Night Pick: Jill Scott

Philly Soul singer Jill Scott is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight (ABC, 11:35 PM). Here fifth album, "Woman", just debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. Here's one of my favorite Jill Scott songs, from her album, "Who Is Jill Scott?", this is "A Long Walk":



Here's the two songs Pearl Jam did on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night:

Weekend Picks: Pokey LaFarge, Mynabirds, Grace Potter, Steep Canyon Rangers, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Dismal Swamp Lords, League of Space Pirates

Americana/honky tonk/early jazz/Western//blues/country artist Pokey LaFarge is at Modlin Center for the Arts on the U of R campus Thursday night. Tix range from $9 - $18 depending on your demographic. The show starts at 7:30 and Escondido opens. Pokey got to play the Grand Ol' Opry last month for the first time. Here's the press blurb for Pokey:

Incorporating elements of early jazz, ragtime, country blues, western swing, and beyond, LaFarge has created a vibrant, deeply expressive body of work that exemplifies an expansive musical vision and vivid storytelling sensibility that are wholly his own.

After making a grassroots splash with his self-released debut album Marmalade and moonlighting as a mandolinist with the Hackensaw Boys, LaFarge continued to gain notoriety with his widely acclaimed longplayers Beat, Move, and Shake; Riverboat Soul; and Middle of Everywhere—the latter two were both named Best Americana Album by the Independent Music Awards—and the concert set Live In Holland.

And here's Pokey and the band playing "Wanna Be Your Man":



Royal Southern Brotherhood is at Tin Pan on Thursday night. Who the heck is Royal Southern Brotherhood? The band is led by vocalist/percussionist Cyril Neville (Neville Brothers, The Meters) and includes guitarist Bart Walker, guitarist Tyron Vaughan (son of Jimmy Vaughan, nephew of Stevie Ray Vaughan), bassist Charlie Wooton, and drummer Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band, Gregg Allman). Not a bad lineup! Show starts at 8 and tix are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Here they are at The Mint in LA in August. Turn this up loud!



If you are at home Thursday night, check out moe. on a webcast to benefit Teen Cancer America. You can pay what you want. Webcast starts at 8 PM HERE. Here's moe. at Mountain Jam this year:



Sunday night at the State Fair of Virginia, bluegrass/Americana band Steep Canyon Rangers will play amongst the racing pigs, fried snack foods, and carnival rides. The concert is included with your admission to the State Fair. The band starts at 7:30. The bands new album, "Radio", is number one on the Bluegrass Today charts. Here they are performing "Down That Road Again" on the back porch of the American Songwriter office in Nashville the other day:

The League of Space Pirates will take control of Fallout on Monday night. The League is a concept band with a sound inspired by 80's new wave. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. It's $5 to get in. This is an album release party to celebrate the release of LSP's first album, "Precognitive Universe of Emergent Desire". There will also be performances from Melody Magpie, Zhora Nova, Bizarre Bryn and Iggy Plop and the Stooges. There will be giveaways to the first 20 people through the door and prizes for the best dressed space pirates. This should be a wild, performance art filled show. Here's the League's "Elegant Universe":



Alternative singer/songwriter/indie/folk/rock The Mynabirds are at Strange Matter on Monday. It's $10 to get in. Doors open at 9. Bad Bad Hats & Venus Guytrap open. Many on the shows on the tour have been selling out so get your tickets early or get there early. Mynabirds recently got to play at Capitol Studios and leader Laura Burhenn got to play Nat King Cole's piano. I don't think they'll have this many people on stage at Strange Matter on Monday.

Surf blues rockers Dismal Swamp Lords are at The Camel on Tuesday night. Doors open at 8. It's only $5 to get in. The Vacant Stairs and The Lucky Stiffs open the show. Will the Dismal Swamp Lords be the next band to break big out of Richmond? Who knows but they are getting some plays for their song "The Devil Does The Driving" on KXLU 88.9 FM in LA. You can listen to a couple tunes, including that one, HERE.

Wednesday night at Innsbrook, the lovely and talented Grace Potter will perform with Trampled By Turtles opening. I'm interested to see what people think of this show as Grace's new solo album is a bit poppier than her work with her band, but its nice to see her going where her muse takes her, The Nocturnals. Gates open at 5 PM, show starts at 6 PM. Tix are $15 for GA Lawn, $39 for Gold Circle Reserved and $49 for Gold Circle Preferred. Grace recently sang the National Anthem before an NFL game. Unfortunately, it was for the New England Cheatriots, but we won't hold that against her. Here's one from her new album. This is "Biggest Fan":



Have a great weekend! I'll leave you with the best performance from Lockn' 2015. Here's the Mad Dogs and Englishman Joe Cocker Tribute led by the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Leon Russell and a whole bunch of guests.

But before that, this one goes out to everyone in Richmond for the UCI Road World Championships.




Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight (11:35, CBS). Pearl Jam will be playing at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, NYC this weekend along with Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay. Stephen Colbert will be one of the hosts of that event. I believe it will be broadcast on TV and certainly the interwebs. More on that later this week. Here's Pearl Jam back in the day performing "Black":

Late Night Pick: Swingin' Utters

Long-running Southern California punkers, Swingin' Utters, will be on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight (NBC, 1:35 AM). You might dig Swingin' Utters if you like Social Distortion, Dropkick Murphys, Black Flag, Sex Pistols, X, The Clash, Husker Du, The Ramones, Rancid or The Replacements. Here's the Swingin' Utters doing "I Got Your Number":



Here's Chris Stapleton on Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week:

Late Night Pick: Chris Stapleton

Country-rock singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton will be on Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight (11:35 PM, CBS). Chris did an NPR Tiny Desk Concert a few days ago and here it is:

Weekend Picks: Know Good Beer Festival, Windhand, Hunter Hayes, Justin Kauflin, Taking Back Sunday, Good Old War, Purity Ring, Donna The Buffalo

I'll have my Lockn' Festival wrap-up next week. But there is a lot going on this weekend so let's dive in.

Country-pop singer Hunter Hayes is at Innsbrook. Gates open at 5, show starts at 6 with opener Striking Matches. Tix are $25 (GA Lawn), $50 (Gold Circle Reserved), and $65 (Gold Circle Reserved). You might dig Hunter if you like Dierks Bentley, Jason Mraz, or Sugarland. Here's his latest hit, "21":

Over at The National Thursday, alternative/indie/emo/punk/pop band Taking Back Sunday. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30 with openers Citizen and Modern Chemistry. Be sure to get there early to see critically acclaimed Citizen. Tix are $27.50 in advance, $30 day of show. You might dig Taking Back Sunday if you like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Nirvana, Weezer or The Cure. Here's Taking Back Sunday at the 2015 Alternative Press Music Awards playing with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra:

Thursday night at Sound of Music Recording Studios, trance rhythmic band Lobo Marino headline a open the show at the new location for Sound of Music at 1710 Altamont Ave. The order on the Facebook page for the event and the order on the poster don't exactly jive but just show up and see who is playing when. It's only $7 to get in. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Also on the bill are HEADLESSMANTIS, Recluse Raccoon, Kreamy 'Lectric Santa (out of Oakland, CA), and Spooky Cool. Here's Lobo Marino's "I Hear the Ocean, Lift Up the Mountain":



Another in-studio performance Friday night, this time at In Your Ear Studios with the jazz of the Justin Kauflin Trio. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30, tix are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Justin was signed by legendary producer, composer and musician Quincy Jones for management. HIs latest album, "Dedication", was produced by Quincy. Justin is a musical prodigy who began performing at age 6, lost his sight at age 11, and started performing jazz professionally at 15. The video below is from Havana Nights Jazz Club in VA Beach, where he performed regularly as the house pianist starting in 2011.



Philly band Good Old War is at The Broadberry on Friday. They play fun folky pop that can sometimes hide some darker lyrics or themes (kind of like the video below). Tix are $15. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 with openers Pete Hill (also out of Philly) and Mason Brothers. Here's their latest video, "Tell Me What You Want From Me":



Richmond stoner/sludge/doom metal band Windhand headlines a show at Strange Matter Friday. Doors open at 9, it's $10 to get in and Citadel and Druglord open. Windhand's new album, "Grief's Infernal Flower" comes out that day so expect to hear a lot from that at the show. You can check the new album out on NPR's First Listen HERE. Here's "Crypt Key" from that album:



The Know Good Beer & Music Festival comes to Brown's Island on Saturday from 2 PM - 9 PM. $40 gets you admission and unlimited 4, 8 or 12 oz. tastings (your choice) of over 60 beers. You can also get a $20 admission which gets you in and you can then buy 16 oz. beers, if you want. Music is provided by Blitzen Trapper, Kopecky, Those Darlins, and Sleepwalkers. Here's the title track from Blitzen Trapper's new album, "All Across This Land":

Futuristic electronic/indie/alternative/pop band, Purity Ring, are at The National Sunday night. Tix are $22 in advance, $25 at the door, doors open at 6:30 and the show start at 7:30 with HANA. Here's Purity Ring's "Bodyache" from their latest album, "Another Eternity":

Americana jam band Donna the Buffalo is at Tin Pan Sunday night. Hard to believe that I first saw Donna The Buffalo back in the early 90's! The show starts at 7, no opener, tix are $45 in advance, $50 at the door. The band recently got to play at The Ramble, Levon Helm's famous studio in Woodstock, NY. Here's "I Love My Tribe":



American icon Willie Nelson is at Innsbrook Wednesday night. Gates open at 5, show starts at 6. It says guest: Levon so I don't know if that's the opener or a guest of the band. It looks like it's going to be packed so you might want to get there early regardless. All the reserved seats are sold out. GA lawn is still available for $25 in advance, $30 at the gate. Willie is performing at the 30th annual Farm Aid concert this Saturday with John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Imagine Dragons, Jack Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jamey Johnson, Mavis Staples, Lukas Nelson and more. It appears there will be a webcast of the show beginning at 3:30 Eastern Time on the Farm Aid site. Here's a playlist of Willie's performance at Farm Aid 2014:



I'll leave you with Fishbone's performance at Lockn' this year. If you look closely, you may just see me bopping in the red baseball hat, next to the guy with the white cowboy hat.

Have a great weekend!


Tony Jordan

Weekend Picks: Jamey Johnson, Kevin Gordon, The Congress, Christian Mistress, No BS! Brass Band, Southern Belles, Fool's Errand

Labor Day weekend is typically pretty quiet but there is some good stuff out there this weekend. Friday's got three shows starting with Kevin Gordon at Ashland Coffee & Tea. Show starts at 8, tix are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Kevin has a new half electric/half acoustic album coming out on 9/14 called "Long Gone Time". Here's the press blurb about Kevin:

Kevin brings the band for a CD debut! Bug Music artist Kevin Gordon – the southern rock and roll songwriter who has been covered by Keith Richards, Levon Helm, Irma Thomas, and others and who has recorded a duet with Lucinda Williams – released ‘Gloryland’ last year –  his first new album in 7 years. It’s a new high water mark for Gordon, representing his most powerful, fully realized writing to date. Writer and musician Peter Cooper in the hometown Tennessean  focused on the song “Colfax”: “We’ll empty your spit-valve for life if you find us anything more stunning than ‘Colfax,’ [Kevin Gordon’s] undeniably superb song that could only have come from one mind, and from one person’s experience. It’s ostensibly about a kid in the marching band but winds up being about the heart of American darkness and the steel that it takes to move beyond.” Drawing comparisons to a southern Bruce Springsteen, ‘Gloryland’ depicts heroic and anti-heroic characters tackling choices of faith, individual responsibility, and the positive force of art.

 Here's Kevin's "Colfax":



No BS! Brass Band is at Broadberry on Friday. Tix are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with Future Prospect. Here's No BS! performing "Infamous" at the Hudson Museum Amphitheater in NY:



The Southern Belles and Seth Stainback & Roosterfoot warm up for their shows at Lockn' Festival on Friday night at The Camel. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9, tix are $7 in advance, $10 at the door. Seth Stainback & Roosterfoot will open the festivities on the big stages at Lockn' on Friday and Southern Belles get to do the honors on Sunday. Best of luck to both bands! I'm hoping I'm not too hung over and can make it down for both bands! Here's Southern Belles on August 8 in Charlottesville doing "Won't You Come Down":



The Congress are at Broadberry Saturday night with Trongone Band opening. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Tix are $12 in advance, $15 day of show. The Congress started in RVA but now reside in Denver but they come back a lot to see friends and play us their Americana rock & roll. Here's The Congress with "New Amsterdam":

Gypsy folk band Fool's Errand play Cary St. Cafe for the first time on Saturday night. It's FREE to get in. Show starts at 10 PM with Steal The Prize starting the show with some psychedelic rock. Here's Fool's Errand with "What Happened?"

Heavy metal band Christian Mistress are at Strange Matter on Monday night. They've got a classic 70's - 80's metal sound, not the devil-growling vocals of newer metal and that's why I like them. Sorry, I'm old school when it comes to my metal. Doors open at 7, tix are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. High Spirits, Night Magic, and Savage Master open. From their new album, "To Your Death", this is Christian Mistress with "Open Road":



Wednesday night at Innsbrook, the great alt-country artist, Jamey Johnson, is in town. Gates open at 5, show starts at 6 with an unknown opener. Tix are $15 (GA lawn), $35 (Gold - Reserved), $45 (Gold - Preferred), and $99 (Gold - Platinum).  You might dig Jamey if you like Miranda Lambert, Shooter Jennings, Merle Haggard, or Waylon Jennings. Here's Jamey's "In Color":



That's it! There will be no blog next week as I will be Rockn' at Lockn'! Hope to see you all there! I'm really looking forward to seeing Robert Plant there, where he will do two completely different sets on two nights for the first time in his career. I'm sure he'll bust out some Led Zep classics, but I also hope he dips into his own solo catalog. I'd love to hear this one:



Have a great next couple weekends! I know I will!

Tony Jordan

Late Night Pick: Gary Clark Jr.

Most excellent blues/rock guitarist Gary Clark Jr. will be on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon tonight (11:35 PM, NBC). Gary has a new album, "The Story of Sonny Boy Slim", coming out Sept. 11. Here's Gary's "Bright Lights" from 2011:



Here's Ashley Monroe on Conan last week: