RVA Shows You Must See This Week: April 8 – April 14
FEATURED SHOW
Friday, April 10, 7 PM
Sun V Set, E 33rd, Mead The Dear @ Gallery 5 – $12 in advance, $16 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Main photo courtesy of Escapism Is Fun (website | social media)
It’s been interesting to watch the directions musicians who got started in the Richmond math-rock scene of the early 2010s have gone. While folks like Fight Cloud have continued to do a relatively similar type of thing to what they’ve always done, other groups have gone quite afield at points. This could definitely be said of Sun V Set, who are a relatively new band but whose rhythm section was once two-thirds of the band Houdan The Mystic. While their earlier math-rock projects were always more complex than Sun V Set has turned to be, but some of those old Houdan tunes had a similar amount of melody and technical prowess embedded in their grooves to that which shows up in Sun V Set’s work today. The difference is really embodied in the soaring vocals and chiming acoustic guitars of Linnea Morgan, who leads Sun V Set and continues to take their music in directions more adventurous and unpredictable than ever.
Three years after the release of their debut LP, Curious Wave, the group has a new single out, “Somewhere To Be,” the release of which this show is intended to celebrate. The fact that Sun V Set’s basic trio lineup will be augmented once again with flute and clarinet for this single release show is instructive, and clearly points the way toward the advances the group has made since Curious Wave‘s release. At that time, they were much closer to an indie sensibility, with a heavy dose of psychedelic folk stirred in. Their more recent material retains a fair bit of that sound, but adds in a jazzy acoustic sound that is simultaneously reminiscent of Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter and Django Reinhardt-style acoustic jazz. The folkier moments sometimes draw in a flute, while the clarinet appears in more jazzy moods. If anything, this continued evolution for Sun V Set makes their music harder to pin to one specific genre than ever. That said, it also makes it more widely accessible and appealing than ever, without sacrificing an ounce of their creativity and talent.
Even if you catch Sun V Set on the regular, this performance is sure to be a particular highlight in their list of shows this year, so you definitely don’t want to skip it and say “I’ll catch ’em next time.” And if you haven’t seen Sun V Set at all, it’s about time you fix that particular problem. Get to Gallery 5 this Friday night. And while you’re over there, check out fellow Richmonders E. 33rd, who bring a slinky, sexy neo-soul sound that might just remind you of Erykah Badu and Jill Scott records you used to spin back in the mid-90s… or maybe it was your mom spinning ’em. I don’t know how old you are. Anyway, the lineup will be finished out by Mead The Dear, who plays a stripped-down, folky take on classic country sounds while never coming within a country mile of modern Nashville polish. This will be a lovely way to get your Friday evening started off, and it’ll only keep getting better from there. Show up and enjoy.
Wednesday, April 8, 7:30 PM
Corey Fonville Guitar Trio @ Reveler Experiences – $17.50 (order tickets HERE)
Corey Fonville’s name has to be one of the most recognizable in the field of jazz percussion here in Richmond. Known primarily for his membership in the formidable hip-hop-infused soul-jazz combo Butcher Brown, he’s done a lot to bring fame to his group and to Richmond as a whole by being part of such a highly acclaimed and wide-reaching group of incredible talents. Lately though, I feel like I’m hearing his name more often in a bandleader context, whether it’s in his role as dual leader of Fonville X Fribush with organist Sam Fribush, or at the head of a series of combos referred to with variations on the name “Corey Fonville Trio.” The man is clearly putting in a lot of work and having an incredibly fertile creative period, and when someone with this level of talent hits a hot streak like that, you’d be a fool not to sit up and take notice.
Therefore I would be remiss if I didn’t bring tonight’s Reveler gig featuring the latest incarnation of the Corey Fonville Trio to your attention. This time around, Fonville is joined by bassist Andrew Randazzo and guitarist Morgan Burrs, which makes this trio, in real terms, 3/5 of Butcher Brown. They’ll be going in different directions though, for sure. In jazz, piano, brass, and woodwinds tend to be key instruments, and while you might see a jazz combo that doesn’t include some of them, it’s rare to see one that doesn’t include ANY of them. Things will get interesting and head for unusual places when this lineup, now christened the Corey Fonville Guitar Trio, hits the stage — mainly because the guitar-bass-drums format they’ll be taking on is much more commonly seen in the world of rock music. How will it work in a jazz context? How will it work when the group is 3/5 of a beloved local soul-jazz ensemble? These are questions that can only be answered one way — by showing up at Reveler Experiences tonight and watching the fireworks for yourself. You won’t regret making it out to this one — or to any performance of a Corey Fonville-led group. That’s a promise.
Thursday, April 9, 7 PM
Maurice Louca’s Fera, Zgomot @ Reveler Experiences – $17.50 (order tickets HERE)
Reveler having a good week isn’t exactly news, but the Carytown venue that specializes in jazz and international music, among other things, is having such an incredible week this time around that we’re gonna hit three shows in a row taking place there. Show #2 of three is one for the fans of all sorts of international musical flavors, as well as a taste for the avant-garde and the willingness to explore all sorts of deep sonic rabbit holes to find amazing new sounds. Anyone who digs any of those sorts of things will be way into Maurice Louca’s Fera, a band led by the Egyptian guitarist Louca, and incorporating epic polyrythmic explorations with electronic augmentations and tranced-out instrumental grooves.
Fera, a quartet featuring Louca on guitar and electronics, Ayman Asfour on violin, Dylan Greene on drums, and Luke Stewart on double bass, create intricate and hypnotic soundscapes for the listener to get lost within. Mixing in genres including jazz, modern Egyptian folk sounds, and psychedelic space explorations, this incredible group will expand on the sound they create on their latest LP, Barĩy, which features custom microtonal guitars and intricate arrangements displaying the formidable capabilities of this fine Egyptian combo — one you won’t get a chance to see again soon, so you should definitely come out to Reveler this Thursday night and check them out. Also on the bill will be Richmond group Zgomot, who are opening the evening with their first live performance in 9 years, so it’ll definitely be good to see them up and around again, performing their Eastern European-style experimental instrumental jams. Considering that Zgomot is Romanian for “noise,” you can expect this one to go in some pretty enticing directions. Don’t miss a minute.
Friday, April 10, 8 PM
Moses & Tennishu @ Reveler Experiences – $22.50 (order tickets HERE)
For our third night of the week at Reveler, we join a team of jazz powerhouses, and find out what one of the other two members of Butcher Brown is up to while three of his bandmates play a trio set at Reveler. The answer is apparently “brush up for a Reveler set of his own,” as on this bill, Butcher Brown trumpet/saxophone player Marcus Tenney, better known as the rapper and producer Tennishu, teams up with saxophonist Dexter Moses, who has roots in Richmond but now lives in North Carolina. Moses gained experience and credibility with his stints as a sideman for artists like Branford Marsalis, among many others. Eventually though, he started stepping into the limelight, and released his solo debut, New Perspective. This release finds Moses engaging in some classic bop sounds with a bit of a travelogue feel as well.
As for his compatriot on this show, Tennishu has a bit more of a reputation locally, for both jazz and hip hop, which he originally created as totally separate projects. However, more recently, both his solo work and his work with Butcher Brown have moved toward a jazz/hip-hop fusion that really exemplifies the full extent of Tennishu’s prowess within all genres. How these two artists will come together to lead a small group, and what direction they will want the group to take, are questions that remain up in the air, but what can be known for sure is that, no matter what direction they go with this show, you the listener will be in good hands. With a quintet lineup that includes not only Moses and Tennishu on saxophones and trumpets but also heavy hitters like Spacebomb affiliate Cameron Ralston on bass and jazz drumming wunderkind Kofi Shepsu on drums, we’re sure to experience a wild musical ride, regardless of which direction these folks choose to take once they’re all on stage. You have only to show up, order a drink or a charcuterie board, then sit back and await the magic. It’ll happen — we guarantee it.
Saturday, April 11, 7 PM
Dumb Waiter, Mast Year, Ultra Bleach, Future Mantis @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance, $15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Shit’s gonna get heavy as fuck this Saturday night over at Gallery 5 — as, indeed, it must from time to time if we are all to retain our sanity and not go exploding apart in a funnel cloud of nervous tension. Plenty of catharsis is coming for us on this lovely evening, and it’s mainly courtesy of two excellent quartets — Richmonders Dumb Waiter and Baltimore residents Mast Year. Which is not a typo, by the way — this band named themselves after a natural phenomenon that occurs every few years where tons of trees will all saturate the world with their fruit and nuts in hopes that more of their offspring will survive predation and carry the bloodline forward. Interesting, right? I didn’t even know that phenomenon existed, much less that it had a name. I DID know that Baltimore was capable of producing some pretty goddamn heavy bands from time to time, but Mast Year was a forceful and powerful reminder, evoking thoughts of bands like Young Widows, Jesus Lizard, and Unsane in my febrile mind. Their latest release, a two-song single called Get Inside, came out last fall and finds this band railing, raging, roaring and screaming for all they’re worth over pounding midtempo riffage that is equal parts noise-rock and post-metal.
As for Richmond’s Dumb Waiter, this inimitable instrumental jazz-metal quartet continues to bravely soldier on, finally working in earnest on the follow-up to their 2022 LP, Gauche Gists, though who knows when it’ll be out. It does seem a safe bet that you’ll hear a few great new tunes at this show, since they’re apparently already recording a batch of new material. But whether their set leans heavily on old tunes from years past or brings us a passel of killer new material, you can expect a wild dose of heavy jazz metallic intensity to clear the cobwebs out of the corners of your brain and put you on high alert. Support on this bill will include raging punk rockers Ultra Bleach, whose self-titled 2025 EP is a raw yet catchy punk n’ roll ripper of the highest order. As for Future Mantis, this sludgy, dramatic duo carries on the legacy of the members’ previous slowcore bands (Canary Oh Canary, Manzara) but in a heavier, more doomed-sounding fashion — likely due to the dropping of guitars in favor of a bass-drum duo lineup. Their set will set the tone for the sheer power the other bands will bring later on — and each new band will only up the ante, until by the end of the night you feel like you’ve been crushed by the power of the world… in the most loving way possible.
Sunday, April 12, 7 PM
Reek Minds, Yambag, Subjects, Siphon @ Cobra Cabana – $10
There’s a sort of dichotomy in all genres that descend from punk rock, one that was sort of described a decade or so ago when people started talking about whether bands were “egg punk” or “chain punk.” That same split exists within the hardcore world as well, but I’d define it a little differently: some hardcore bands are angry, and some hardcore bands are crazy. I’ve always been on the “crazy” side of this split, which is why I’ve appreciated the growth in recent years of hardcore bands who unapologetically label themselves as “for the freaks” (shout out Gel). Locally, bands like that tend to end up playing in living rooms of houses in sketchy neighborhoods, so they don’t end up in this column very often. But this is an exception: a duo of crazy hardcore bands, on tour from other parts of the United States, pulling up to Richmond and getting a Sunday night gig at Cobra Cabana — a place that’s used to having things get kinda hectic at times, where the staff won’t get into an uproar if a band’s performance gets a little wild. It’s gonna be great.
The first of the two touring “crazy hardcore” bands on this bill is Reek Minds, who come from Portland and released an LP called Malignant Existence in 2024 on Iron Lung Records — one of the two biggest labels in the crazy hardcore world. That album is full of blurry guitars, hyperspeed drums, and roaring growling vocals that are so out-of-control it feels like the singer is leaving spit and drool all over the insides of your speakers. If you like classic 82 Boston bands like Negative FX and Jerry’s Kids, there’ll probably be a lot about this band’s runaway-truck energy that will appeal to you. As for Cleveland’s Yambag, their wildness comes through in full-throttle songs that last 90 seconds or less and feel like they’re going to spin out of control and completely collapse at any second. They somehow never do, though, instead maintaining that “tapdancing on a razor’s edge” feel of classic early 00s fastcore bands like Tear It Up or Total Fury, but with the same classic rock n’ roll sensibility that shone through their Clevo ancestors 9 Shocks Terror. Both of these bands are primed and ready to rip your fucking head off, and they’re joined on this bill by two Richmond bands that approach the same levels of intensity. Subjects have a new EP on Youth Attack Records — the other flagship label of the crazy hardcore world — which finds them racing pell-mell through six originals and a cover by Detroit’s The Fix (who did not do “One Thing Leads To Another”). The effect is downright terrifying even as it remains alluring as heck, so grab a good vantage point for these guys’ set, and get ready for the pit to absolutely lose it. Starting things off will be a set from Siphon — veteran Richmond musicians of the biker-crust persuasion unleashing their latest furious effort. Get there on time and get familiar with a new local powerhouse. Then stick around all night — and get ready to get crazy.
Monday, April 13, 7 PM
Motherfuckers JMB & Co, Hard Copy, Cold Toast @ Gallery 5 – $15 (order tickets HERE)
I’m a simple girl with a simple mind, and that’s why any band name with a swear word right in the middle of it is sure to get my attention. So yeah, you tell me a band called Motherfuckers JMB & Co. is coming to town and immediately I think “well, whatever night they’re playing, it’s theirs to lose.” Because bands with the word “motherfucker” in their name are just better. But then it turns out there are other amazing things about this MF-named band as well. For example, they are an instrumental trio that brings together former Animal Collective member Brian “Geologist” Weitz, former GWAR and Alter Natives drummer Jim Thomson, and former Third Eye Lounge bassist Marc Minsker. With Thomson holding down the drum kit; Minsker moving back and forth between bass, guitar, and harmonium; and Weitz soaring overtop of it all with strange sonic blasts from the mechanical violin-keyboard hybrid instrument known as the hurdy-gurdy; Motherfuckers JMB & Co produce glorious instrumental cacophony that pulls together influences from German cosmische music, Eastern drones, and wigged-out psychedelic acid rock.
The result lands somewhere in the territory of Grails but also brushes up against Hawkwind at their most far-out and Popol Vuh’s strangest film soundtrack moments. The band’s semi-improvisational nature and tendency to draw out jams and explore ideas to their fullest may also remind some true Richmond heads of the long-departed trio known as Caves Caverns. Ultimately, this is music for astral jaunts, to either be blasted at full volume through headphones by space explorers having out of body experiences without ever leaving their beds — or, in this case, cause strange, improvisational dances to break out all around the darkened performance room of Gallery 5, as everyone loses their mind a little bit amid the delightful chaos. Local postpunkers Hard Copy and bizarre folk experimentalists Cold Toast will get this one started off, but it’s really all about what the Motherfuckers JMB & Co. have to bring to us. Once you hear it, you may never be the same.
Tuesday, April 14, 6 PM
Gaffer, Horse Intercom, Sorry Excuse @ The Camel – $10 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I love a show full of young local bands on the come-up. This is exactly what off nights are for — heading out to some smaller spot on a night when the big venues are closed and no national touring bands are in town. Nothing left to do but go see all the new young bands starting to make an impact on the local scene — and let me tell you, while not every band will be a hit, doing this kind of thing is always rewarding. When a new band has a fresh sound and a ton of enthusiasm, you’re the first to know, and you get to enjoy the process of watching them grow, pulling in more fans and playing bigger and bigger spots. There’s no way to know which of the bands on this bill will manage to do that, but I will tell you one thing — they all have a ton of potential to do so.
Gaffer are at the top of the poster, and this quartet of high school students has a lot of energy and enthusiasm. They attack their instruments with vigor as vocalist Eli York-Brown unleashes a Title Fight-style bark with a melodic undercurrent. If you enjoy bands like Touche Amore or Fiddlehead, these folks will definitely grab your attention with their brand new single, “Jimmy Winters” (premiered elsewhere on The Auricular yesterday). They’ve got a good grasp on songcraft, especially for a bunch of 15 and 16 year olds, and one would imagine they’ll only get better from here. Sorry Excuse, another young Richmond band, have released one EP, Caveman, which came out last December and finds them playing mid-90s style grunge that reminds me of bands like The Toadies, Hum, and Local H. They’re young and energetic, and they like to rock, so expect some loud grunge-rock riffage from these boys. The evening is rounded out by Horse Intercom, who have a truly random name and apparently play space rock, though they’re too new at this point for me to have heard any of their music. With a name like Horse Intercom, though, it’s worth showing up just to see what they’re bringing to the table.
Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): rvamustseeshows@gmail.com
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