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2019 Friday Cheers Lineup

 

May 3, 2019

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real with Landon Elliott

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real – sometimes referred to as POTR – is an American country rock group based in California. The band consists of Lukas Nelson, Anthony LoGerfo, Corey McCormick, Logan Metz, and Tato Melgar. Lukas is the son of country music legend Willie Nelson, Promise of the Real is the backing band for Neil Young and both played major roles in the music for 2018's remake of "A Star is Born."

  • If you like Neil Young, Derek Trucks or The Wood Brothers, you'll like Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real

With a commanding voice that floats between the spirits of Chris Stapleton and Thrice, singer/songwriter Landon Elliott delivers earworm melodies and sobering lyrics drawn from his upbringing in small-town North Carolina to his move to Richmond in 2013. Elliott is ever in search of the human common denominator, pushing and pulling on stories with hooks and guitar riffs that call to mind early Kings of Leon recordings and Bruce Springsteen sonics. His debut LP will be released in early 2019 on American Paradox Records.

  • If you like Chris Stapleton, Huey Lewis or Kings of Leon, you'll like Landon Elliott

May 10, 2019

Chicano Batman with Mikrowaves

Chicano Batman source their high-spirited alternative Latin synthesis from tropicália, West Coast psychedelia, and late-'60s/early-'70s soul, among other styles. They have been the opening acts for Alabama Shakes and Jack White, performed at Coachella and released Freedom Is Free, their third album, in early 2017.

  • If you like a mixture of soul, Brazilian tropicalia, 1960s rock & cumbia, you'll like Chicano Batman

It’s like a beach party in space and everyone is best friends. Mikrowaves, based out of Richmond, VA, combine explosive grooves and trance-like rhythms with cathartic melody, setting them far above and beyond the herd.

  • If you like Fishbone plus Neil Young with a hint of Santana, you'll like Mikrowaves

May 24, 2019

RVA Night featuring Illiterate Light with Calvin Presents and Tinnarose

Formed in the summer of 2015, Illiterate Light transcend expectations of typical rock music through their limitations as a duo. Gorman elevates his gritty guitar melodies and honest lyricism by stomping out thunderous synth bass with his feet as Cochran layers lush vocal harmony and explodes with body convulsing energy around his minimalist standing drum kit. Gorman and Cochran’s incessant writing, commanding live performance, and near constant touring promise a bright future as they finish their debut album with Vance Powell (Jack White, Kings of Leon, Chris Stapleton) and Adrian Olsen (Foxygen, Natalie Prass).

  • If you like Black Keys, Post Animal or Raland Baxter, you'll like Illiterate Light

Calvin Present's original music, performed by his dynamic seven-piece band, deftly synthesizes the best of his roots in jazz and gospel music with neo-soul, hip-hop, alt rock—and even trap music—forging a relentlessly adventurous and soulful live experience. “Music is a place for me to be free,” says Calvin, “a place where I don’t have to have all the answers. I just try to be as honest as I can.”

  • If you like Thundercat, D'Angelo or Cory Henry, you'll like Calvin Presents

Austin’s Tinnarose fashions psych folk rock with vintage roots; blending elements of indie rock with a homage to 70s singer-songwriter virtuosity. Comprised of songwriter/vocalist Devon McDermott, guitarist/songwriter Morris Ramos and bassist Drew Schlegel, the band formed in 2014 and released a self-titled debut later that year on Nine Mile Records. Their 2016 record, My Pleasure Has Returned, received acclaim for it’s inventive, youthful sound --rooted in modern nostalgia. The band’s latest release, Wynd Palace, arrived in September of 2017.

  • If you like Donovan, Joanna Newsome or T. Rex, you'll like Tinnarose

May 31, 2019

Colter Wall with Thorp Jenson

A singer/songwriter whose work is a literate but rough-hewn variation on classic country styles, Colter Wall and his second album, "Songs of the Plains," is a thematic collection of originals and a few choice covers honoring his Western Canadian heritage.

  • If you like Sturgill Simpson, Waylon Jennings or Tyler Childers, you'll like Colter Wall

Richmond, Va.-based guitarist Thorp Jenson creates the kind of music that makes you want to spend all night in a Southern dive bar and wake up the next morning just to drive across the country—and his songs are at home in either scenario. Jenson’s self-produced debut, Odessa, encapsulates the free-spirited heartland-rock ethos of Tom Petty with a healthy dose of storytelling and singer/songwriter introspection. The record features Jenson’s rich, soul-warming vocals and bright lead guitar supported by musicians and co-writers who have worked and toured alongside artists like Foxygen, Matthew E. White, Natalie Prass and more.

  • If you like John Mellencamp or John Moreland, you'll like Thorp Jenson

June 7, 2019

The War and Treaty & The Teskey Brothers

As The War and Treaty, Michael and Tanya Trotter serve up healing and pain robbing with freewheeling joy on their new full-length album, "Healing Tide." Funky bass lines, keys, lap steel, acoustic strings, and stripped-down percussion create a swampy Southern soul bed for the couple’s transcendent vocals. A tour-de-force produced by Buddy Miller, the collection swaggers with confidence only gained by artists who are wholly, proudly, themselves.

  • If you like Mavis Staples or St. Paul & The Broken Bones, you'll like The War and Treaty

Honouring that old school Motown sound and working it into something of their very own, Australian four piece The Teskey Brothers stunned many in 2017 with their gorgeous debut album "Half Mile Harvest."

  • If you like Otis Redding, Leon Bridges or Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, you'll like The Teskey Brothers

June 14, 2019

The Budos Band with Piranha Rama

Two decades of playing together since their early days in Staten Island have resulted in five studio albums, a raucous live show that has taken them across four continents and an unbreakable musical kinship among the nine members of The Budos Band. Their sound has evolved since their Afro-soul beginnings, but no matter how many new influences get mixed in over the years, they remain in sync.

  • If you like Lettuce, Charles Bradley or Antibalas, you'll like The Budos Band

"It's like a party with a bite." Piranha Rama is a musical amalgamation of spaghetti Westerns, lucid psychedelic rock and '60s action-adventure romps. The group operates on the same killer wavelength that drew it together and that shows on its self-titled debut full-length.

  • If you like the SNL Band, the Ronettes or Link Wray, you'll like Piranha Rama

June 21, 2019

Robert Glasper with Kenneka Cook

Robert Glasper is a 3-time Grammy winner artist who has been described as being "equally comfortable in the worlds of hip-hop and jazz." Having worked with Kendrick Lamar, The Roots, Common, Maxwell & more, Robert Glasper has crossed genres and created a gateway to jazz for the hip-hop audience.

  • If you like Snarky Puppy, Lalah Hathaway or Brad Mehldau, you'll like Robert Glasper

Richmond local, Kenneka Cook, debuted her first record, "Moonchild," in 2018 that bridges the gap between beat-driven sonics and melodic jazz in a brazenly colorful debut album. In recent news, Kenneka was just featured as a back-up vocalist on Natalie Prass's NPR Tiny Desk concert!

  • If you like Jill Scott, Moses Sumney or Erykah Badu, you'll like Kenneka Cook

June 28, 2019

Lucy Dacus & Deau Eyes

A Richmond native, Lucy Dacus's homecoming concerts has been a long two years coming! Her newest album, released one year ago this month, "Historian" is a remarkably assured 10-track statement of intent. It finds her unafraid to take on the big questions — the life-or-death reckonings, and the ones that just feel that way. It's a record full of bracing realizations, tearful declarations and moments of hard-won peace, expressed in lyrics that feel destined for countless yearbook quotes and first tattoos.

  • If you like Julien Baker, Big Thief or Superchunk, you'll like Lucy Dacus

Richmond’s Deau Eyes is an indie rock group fronted by powerhouse singer/songwriter, Ali Thibodeau. With soulful siren-like melodies and cleverly crafted lyrics, Thibodeau takes you on a sonic romp laced with courage, confidence and general bad ass-ery through loss and leaving.

  • If you like Neko Case & Brandi Carlile you'll like Deau Eyes