For many years, RVA has served as the symbol of the DIY artistic underground that VCU students, dropouts and their peers have struggled to create. Bands, promoters, organizers, artists, filmmakers, supporters, and their peers have fought endlessly to make a name within their city and help give their city a name amongst the other artistic hubs of America. For many the road has been a difficult one; a constant struggle to balance financial, school, work and life commitments with their artistic pursuits. Over five years ago, Tony Harris and RVA Mag set out to become the voice of those fighting the good fight, an artistic propaganda machine for the underground with strong distribution potential and full-color issues.
Since then, RVA Mag and Tony have fought tirelessly to continue spreading the word from the underground. They’ve tried to continually find new avenues to investigate, some more successful than others (and some ultimately, too successful). Finally, in 2011, Tony is finally able to make good on a long-term goal and bring the first music fest for the RVA demographic to Richmond.
Saturday night was chaotically filled with local acts performing at the precious few receptive spaces that the city still has. Revelers hopped from one to another, attempting to see as many bands, DJs and friends as they possibly could before the clock struck two and the party subsided. On Sunday, the Big Event started slowly, as things sometimes happen in Richmond, and a lot of people missed out on some great music. Luggage, The Silent Age, Climbers, Antero, and Goldrush, amongst others, all played to a few dozen dedicated fans. Most of the crowd arrived fashionably late, in time to catch current local favorites The Diamond Center, Black Girls and NO BS Brass Band; and national headliners Best Coast and Girl Talk. For both the people who made a full day of it and those who showed up once the sun set, the response was the same: “This is why I love my city!”
Watching a national act like Best Coast play just as the sun sets over an extremely picturesque setting featuring trains, a turn of the century train station, Interstate 95, and the iconic Richmond skyline was a highlight of my night. From where I stood, which was up front for most sets, the event was an overwhelming success. The DIY, local ethic permeated almost all facets of the event, from the sponsorships by local Shockoe restaurants like Halligans Deli to the WRIR soundstage at McCormacks to the local food vendors. It even ran all the way down to the fact that the beer trucks were all staffed by Gallery 5 volunteers, and the proceeds went to support them. The promoters went out of their way to ensure that the ethos of Richmond was present in any corner of the event that you looked.
Just before 9pm, it was finally dark, and the crowd in front of the Main Stage at 18th and Grace had swelled to thousands. They was ready to fully celebrate the night, but just needed the assistance of their party-leader, Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, to set it off. I remember seeing Gregg at one of his first Richmond performances many years ago, when he played a short-lived First Fridays art and music celebration organized by former Richmond arts rag Slow Education at the now-closed Alley Katz, mere feet from the enormous stage he was now about to take. Of course, back then the crowd was sparse, filled only with the other bands and artists of the night and their friends, but the passion was there even if the city wasn’t quite ready for it yet. Nine years later, it all made sense as the lights went down, the Girl Talk chant started, and Gillis took the stage clad in sweatpants and a headband. Thousands of revelers began to lose their minds to the aural and visual display that erupted with confetti, balloons, and an insanely intricate LED backdrop. For the next hour, Richmond partied and celebrated together. I couldn’t think of a better or more fitting headliner to bring everyone together, and really represent the diversity of the city and the creative transformation it’s undergone over the years. I also can’t wait to be apart of what comes next.
