The music of Riverrock: Thursday Edition

Blues Traveler and American Aquarium!

May 14, 2015; 9:11 AM • by Ross Catrow

Dominion Riverrock brings crazy outdoor sports and a ton of music to the shores of the James River this weekend. The event is free and filled with about a billion things to see and do, so don’t miss out. Check out our ongoing coverage of the sports angle here, and check back each day for more on the music tip.

For more information on schedules, parking, that kind of thing, head on over to the Dominion Riverrock website.

— ∮∮∮ —

Weather & Waves

Friday, May 15th • 6:30 PM

Weather & Waves (née PGrass) opens up the Dominion Riverrock Experience™ (not a ride at Kings Dominion nor an actually ™’d thing) at 6:30 PM with their acoustic jam band new grass sounds. This is a thing that I wanted to actively dislike, but the tune “Three Weeks” is totally rad and did in fact turn my afternoon entirely around. Will you forgive me, Weather & Waves?

— ∮∮∮ —

Greensky Bluegrass

Friday, May 15th • 7:45 PM

Greensky Bluegrass has a song that starts out with a guy wanting to be a silent film villain! Then they proceed to play a banjo all over your face. I’m into it, and when I picture Brown’s Island covered in folks, and each of those folks has a beer, I see what looks like a stunningly good end to a Friday night.

— ∮∮∮ —

Manatree

Saturday, May 16th • 1:00 PM

Manatree used to be Herro Sugar, and I’m trying to figure out if their new name is a Secret of Mana reference or a manatee joke (note: I could use more of both). If poppy beach-inspired rock is your jam, then these dudes are probably also your jam!

— ∮∮∮ —

Sam Reed Syndicate

Saturday, May 16th • 2:15 PM

  • Genre: Soulful R&B, but, like, with a healthy mix of other stuff
  • Sounds kinda like: Someone who is so much cooler than me
  • Listen on Soundcloud
  • Facebook

Sam Reed is the super talented vocal lead of Richmond’s Photosynthesizers and has recently started her own jam over on Jellowstone Records (the label run by NOBS Brass’s Reggie Pace and DJ Harrison). She does a cover of “Creep,” which is great and wonderful and you should listen to it right now:

Honestly, just queue up her entire Soundcloud, sit back, and relax.

— ∮∮∮ —

Mighty Joshua and the Zion #5

Saturday, May 16th • 3:30 PM

You guys! Mighty Joshua is one of my favorite Richmond musicians, and here he is right on the Saturday Dominion Riverrock lineup! Something about his soul-filled voice and uplifting lyrics just makes me feel so dang good. I’ve listened to his self-titled 2013 album about a zillion times, and you should too. Or just dive into this YouTube of a live performance:

— ∮∮∮ —

The Shack Band

Saturday, May 16th • 4:45 PM

From Richmond via Blacksburg, The Shack Band is here to funk you up (my words, not theirs)! A little bit funky, a little bit loungy–their brand of musical tunes is definitely something you can sway to while beering on Brown’s Island.

— ∮∮∮ —

American Aquarium

For lovers of the Wilco and the National, this band can jam a little, rock a little, and blow a few horns while they’re at it. They’ll make you want to bite your lower lip, close your eyes, and swivel your head a bit on your neck. It might make you turn to your neighbor and say, knowingly, “Yeeeeah.”

— ∮∮∮ —

Blues Traveler

Suck it in, suck it in, suck it in
If you’re Rin Tin Tin or Anne Boleyn
Make a desperate move or else you’ll win
And then begin to see
What you’re doing to me
This MTV is not for free
It’s so PC it’s killing me

So desperately I sing to thee of love
Sure but also rage and hate and pain and fear of self
And I can’t keep these feeling on the shelf
I’ve tried, well no, in fact I lied
Could be financial suicide but I’ve got too much pride inside
To hide or slide
I’ll do as I’ll decide and let it ride till until I’ve died
And only then shall I abide by this tide
Of catchy little tunes
Of hip three minute diddies
I wanna bust all your balloons

I wanna burn of all your cities to the ground
But I’ve found, I will not mess around
Unless I play then hey
I will go on all day
Hear what I say
I have a prayer to pray
That’s really all this was
And when I’m feeling stuck and need a buck
I don’t rely on luck

Photo by: AxsDeny

  • error

    Report an error

Ross Catrow

Founder and publisher of RVANews.

May 14, 2015 9:11 AM 0 4 updates

There are no reader comments. Add yours.