Thursday, Sept. 11
TsuShiMaMiRe w/steelboy at Get Tight Lounge
This all-female “emotional art punk rock trio” from Tokyo has been active since 1999. You may have heard their song “Break the Curse” if you play the popular video game “Fortnite.” Richmond punkers steelboy are also on the bill. 7:30 p.m. 21 and up.
Austyn Wohlers Book Tour at Fountain Bookstore
Georgia-born, Brooklyn-based author Wohlers will be in conversation with the beloved bookstore’s general manager, Andi Richardson, at the shop’s new location, just across the cobblestone street from the original. Followed by a Q&A opportunity with the author, this event can serve variously as the amuse-bouche, palate cleanser or perfect chaser for readers yet to start, or in the middle of finishing her debut novel, “Hothouse Bloom,” published last month by Hub City Press. Some may already be familiar with Wohlers’ musical output with the inventive pop group, Tomato Flower, which supported Melt Banana not that long ago at The Broadberry. I’m barreling through this one in hopes of getting some “As” directly from Wohler, in person, to the lofty and many eternal “Qs” she poses on the page. Picture a more agrarian “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” meets “Bartleby the Scrivener,” styled by her own savvy prose chops. Conversation starts at 6 p.m. followed by the Q&A. The event is free and open to the public at 1307 E Cary.–Tim Abbondelo
Mighty Joshua at Révéler Experiences
Richmond’s friendly ambassador to the reggae world at large, Mighty Joshua, turns the spotlight on the great guitarist Ras Mel Glover (who some of us used to hear back in the ’80s in high school when he was with RVA reggae legends Awareness Art Ensemble). Since then, Ras Mel has played with The Wailers, Eddy “Electric Avenue” Grant, and of course, Mighty Joshua, whose music helps share his influence. Tonight’s show is billed as a tribute to his artistry and legacy. Tickets are $17-$27. Doors at 7 p.m. and music at 8 p.m. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
Friday, Sept. 12
Widespread Panic at Allianz Amphiteater (Also Saturday, Sept. 13)
One of the nation’s biggest jam bands, uniquely Southern flavored out of Athens, GA, and featuring Richmond’s very own Dave Schools (far left in this photo) as its longtime bassist, returns for a two-night stand down by the rivah. Tickets will surely be sold out, but hey, you may have your ways – or maybe you just want to go hang out on Brown’s Island Way in a folding chair and toe tap. Do you. 7 p.m.
Soccer Mommy with Dummy at The National
The pop-influenced singer-songwriter from Nashville, also known as Sophia Regina Allison, brings her candid songs to town. Doors at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m.
Kia Bennett with special guest Cecily at Dogwood Dell
A night of warm and groovy vibes with the sweet local sounds of soul, R&B and jazz. 8 p.m. Free.
Saturday, Sept. 13
The 34th annual 43rd Street Festival of the Arts
A fundraiser for CARITAS, whose mission is to provide shelter and restore dignity to those experiencing homelessness in Richmond, this venerable festival offers a juried show of fine crafts and art, limited to 75 artisans, and featuring local and regional artisans, music and food. Among the bands: Tin Can Fish Band plays at 11 sa.m., The Grateful Dads are at 1 p.m. and Haze and Dacey at 3 p.m. W. 43rd St. and Forest Hill Avenue.Runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Festival of India at The Greater Richmond Convention Center (Also Sept. 14)
Since 1982, celebrating the beautiful traditions of Indian culture through dance, music, clothing, jewelry and of course, the delicious cuisine. Saturday the fest runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, it runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Free to enter. 403 N. 3rd St.
Family Day: Celebrate the art of Latin America at VMFA
Explore galleries, enjoy performances and hands-on art activities and community projects. Free. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Free to attend and no registration required. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
OUT OF TOWN PICK: Old School Cider House opening in New Kent
Head out of town a little bit for the grand opening of Old School Cider House in New Kent, featuring live music all weekend, Smokey Meadows food truck on site. There will be limited indoor seating so bring lawn chairs for the outdoor area. Both days 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. 9302 East View Lane. Also takes place on Sunday, Sept. 14.
Virginia Distilled at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture
Try samples from up to 15 different craft distilleries (from the more than 80 in Virginia) including local faves like Reservoir and Virago Spirits, with music by Weldon Hill Trio as well as food trucks on hand. Tickets start at. 6 p.m.
McKinley Dixon at Richmond Music Hall
“It’s so easy to write about death / when none of y’all n—– is really alive,” raps McKinley Dixon over a soft bed of flute folk on “Watch My Hands,” the first track on “Magic, Alive!” the Richmond-raised hip-hop provocateur’s fifth and most recent album. Dixon’s wordy flow and eccentric musical underpinnings are alive in the best sense — with jazz (“Crooked Stick”), symphonic pop (“Could’ve Been Different”), and horn rock (“F.F.O.L”), among other things. Over the past decade, the former VCU student has created a bold body of dense, cerebral hip-hop and soul that pointedly sends up genre conventions, and this latest work, as well as previous LP “Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?,” shows he’s only getting better and bolder. This hometown appearance from Dixon, now based in Chicago, is the perfect opportunity to see him perform up close and personal before he blows up. 8 p.m.–Don Harrison
Richmond Symphony with Cody Fry at Altria Theater
Cody Fry is a singer-songwriter in an updated Simon (and, vocally, Garfunkel) mode. The difference is that every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a full symphony orchestra. He had some success with a more conventional approach in the early rounds of Season 14 of “American Idol,” but broke through to a wider audience through online streams of his original “I Hear a Symphony” – over 16 million views – and a cover of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby, about the same. (He’s also done a version of Simon’s “The Sounds of Silence.”) His orchestrations are cinematic, with huge dynamic ranges from acapella vocals and acoustic guitar, to full ensemble crescendos. He has the crowd-pleasing arranging chops to pull it off. The result is that instead of playing mid-sized venues he is traveling the world, performing popular music elevated by classical sonorities. It’s not as erudite as Beethoven, or as raucous as Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven,” but it is richly polished and totally accessible. Hard to imagine anything more perfectly crafted for pleasant evening at the Pops. Tickets are $40-$80. 7:30 p.m.–Peter McElhinney
Sunday, Sept. 14
Kennanee Native Arts Festival at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
From the online description at Lewis Ginter: “Celebrate Indigenous culture, community, and connection at Kennanee Native Arts Festival, a vibrant gathering … in collaboration with the Virginia Native Arts Alliance and Indigenous voices from across the East Coast. Rooted in the spirit of ‘Kennanee’—the Powhatan Algonquin word for friendship — this event uplifts Native traditions through art, storytelling, food, and play.” 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The Mischlinge Exposé” by Carolyn Enger at the Virginia Holocaust Museum
In this immersive documentary presented through live music, video clips and audio testimony, New York pianist Carolyn Enger takes a long look at a little-explored aspect of life under Nazi rule. Engler’s own family, living under the Third Reich, was labeled as “Mischlinge,” a slur for those of mixed Jewish/German blood. Enger’s “The Mischlinge Exposé” interweaves testimony from her godmother and father with period piano music to illustrate what it was like, as she says, “to be between worlds in Germany in the first half of the 20th century.” Free. 5 p.m. –D.H.
Monday, Sept. 15
Phantogram at the National
It’s been 15 years since this Saratoga Springs, New York duo entered the indie rock bloodstream with “Eyelid Movies,” a now-cherished set of stirring and melodic dance pop that has been (lovingly and not) labeled as “triponica.” Trading airy lead vocals, multi-instrumentalists Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter exude an unabashed love for ’80s beats and Cocteau Twins-like synth textures, and the band’s new “Memory For a Day” release, a bit more polished than usual, continues to fuse dance music with slacker pop to interesting effect. At their best, Phantogram can be both anthemic and ethereal at the same time. A live dose of their surging electro pop may be just what you need on a Monday night. 7:30 p.m.—D.H.
Tuesday, Sept. 16
“The Passenger” (1975) dir. Michelangelo Antonioni at the Byrd Theatre
Even in the annals of existential ’70s art cinema, “The Passenger” takes up rare oxygen. In this tale of alienation and displacement, directed and co-written by Michelangelo Antonioni (“La Notte,” “Blow Up”), Jack Nicholson stars as a disenchanted TV reporter who, deep in the African Sahara, decides to assume the identity of a dangerous arms dealer. The movie has atmosphere to spare — this is Antonioni, after all — plus it includes an understated performance by Nicholson, a rare thing indeed. But Maria Schneider almost steals the show as the mysterious woman (simply known as “Girl”) who crosses his path. The finale is stunning, a gravity-defying, 7-minute single take that opens up the film to larger possibilities. 2 p.m. $9.—D.H.
“Exploring Civil War Sheet Music and Richmond’s Music Publishing Industry” at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Center
We may have mixed feelings today about Civil War-era Confederate songs such as “All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight” and “General Lee’s Grand March,” but they were the byproduct of a specific time when Richmond was an important locale for music publishing. University of Richmond music librarian Linda Fairtile will give a presentation at the Modlin Center that brings this brief era into detail, highlighting the composers, performers, publishers, and original owners of some of the 32 pieces of rare Civil War sheet music that survive at the school’s Boatwright Library collection. This includes some fascinating obscurities, like “When This Cruel War is Over,” that weren’t exactly rebel propaganda. Noon. Free.—D.H
Wednesday, Sept. 17
“Stop Making Sense” film screening with former Talking Head Jerry Harrison at The National
Former Talking Head Jerry Harrison will be on hand to present what is generally considered one of the greatest concert films of all-time, “Stop Making Sense,” by Jonathan Demme and the Talking Heads. Read our interview with Harrison here. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
