Every place in the world has its own distinctive soundscape, and Richmond is no exception. The city’s rich history, diverse neighborhoods, and artistic spirit give Richmond a flavor all its own. This project examines how music, including Richmond’s ever-shifting community of street performers, adds to the culture of the city. By Charlotte Dowell, Jack Nicholson and Marissa Parker.
What do you get when you cross The Killers, Tron and the 80s? You get Heartracer, a born and raised Richmond electronic trio, made up of brothers Chip and Chris Cosby and Bryan Reyes. “We are the antithesis of Richmond music,” Chris Cosby said. This trio of passionate electronic musicians has found themselves in a Read more about Heartracer[…]
Street musicians are something we come across all the time when walking through a city. Whether ragged and homeless looking or polished and professional, or anything in between, Richmond has its own slew of street musicians, or buskers. But playing music on the street with a bucket or guitar case open doesn’t guarantee success. What Read more about Busking 101: How to Be a (Successful) Street Musician[…]
Ask anyone under 30: Record stores are obsolete. Walking into a record store and scanning the racks of vinyl records is a vintage pastime that is now mostly practiced by modern-day hippies and hipsters wearing horn-rimmed glasses and skinny jeans. However, some stores across the country have been able to keep their doors open, and Read more about Vintage Sounds[…]
In thinking about the unique sounds of Richmond, VA, we have explored the local and on-the-street sounds of the city. But how does Richmond compare in the music we listen to at home? Does Richmond prefer chart-topping hits, or do we listen to underground, eclectic sounds? How is our local preference scaled up to and Read more about RICHMOND’S PLAYLIST[…]
WALKING CARY STREET in Richmond, I’ve met a number of street musicians, who generally range in skill from primitive (homeless guy with ukulele) to moderately talented performers on guitar, banjo, fiddle, trumpet, clarinet, and harmonica. Samantha Pearl is in a different category altogether. She too plays on the sidewalk with her guitar case open for Read more about THE PEARL[…]
NATHAN AND TERESA have no permanent residence, no mailing address. Their sleeping locations vary night to night. They are, no doubt, house-less. But Nathan, a lanky man with long dreadlocks, a worn face and dirt-stained hands, and Teresa, a tattoo-covered woman with huge ear gauges who had not showered in days, reject the H-word that society Read more about “DON’T CALL US HOMELESS.”[…]