Happy Birthday, RVA Playlist!

Between the high of No BS! Brass Band’s record release show on Friday and the low of the Toots & The Maytals incident on Saturday, I spent a fair amount of time this week talking about the Richmond music community. I still consider myself somewhat new to that community, and I definitely don’t make it out to as many shows as I’d like, but the musicians who call Richmond home have come to mean a great deal to me, as have the bloggers who work hard to shine a light on the city’s amazing pool of musical talent. This coming Wednesday, May 29, at The Camel, we’ll have an opportunity pause and say thank you and happy third blog birthday (Blirthday? Yeah? No?) to a blogger who truly understands the meaning of the word “community” — Andrew Cothern of RVA Playlist.

Through his dedication, generosity and genuine love for Richmond, Andrew has contributed more to the well-being and success of our city’s music scene than one night can possibly repay… but we can certainly have a kickass time trying. He’s put together a dynamite lineup, with sets by Anousheh, Long Arms and Horsehead on tap, and the fun doesn’t stop there. There’s so much to get excited about, I’m clearly going to have to switch to bulleted list mode:

• Before the show even starts, a special, acoustic set will be performed by James Menefee of Long Arms and Ward Harrison of The Hackensaw Boys. Fun fact about Harrison — he once did a substantive interview about music on a podcast called “It Burns When I Pee.” It’s a great interview, well worth a listen if you have a few minutes.
• Prizes are involved, meaning that you could walk away from someone else’s birthday party with gifts. Not a bad deal, right? Contributors to the prize pool include Blanchard’s Coffee, The Camel, Friday Cheers, Triple Stamp Press, Steady Sounds, and more. (The “more” part is crucial, because who knows what it includes. Maybe the estate of Elvis Presley contributed a golden toilet or something. I haven’t heard that they did, but I also haven’t heard that they didn’t. It’s best you show up, just in case.)
• Wednesday’s show will double as a record release show, as Horsehead will be releasing their 2012 album Sympathetic Vibrations on vinyl. Attention record nerds — this is no ordinary album. The cover is glow-in-the-dark. I repeat. The cover is glow-in-the-dark. As a sucker for creative packaging, this makes my heart do a little dance, wholly independent of the fact that the record itself is a fantastic collection of rock and roll songs. In short, I want.
• Cake. No explanation needed.

I’m sad to say I’ll be out of town on Wednesday, so I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to Andrew for all that he does. From keeping us informed about album releases and concert dates to helping bands get their names out there and always being that friendly face in the front row at shows, he’s been a true friend to the Richmond music community — and to me — and I hope you head to The Camel on Wednesday and thank him in person for me.

Here’s the event’s Facebook page, in case you need a reminder of the start time (9 p.m.) or the cover charge, which doesn’t exist, because this is a free event.

Happy third birthday, RVA Playlist!

Anousheh — “Halos For Hellfire” [Spotify/iTunes]

Long Arms — “Leave The Best Behind” [Spotify/iTunes]

Horsehead — “God Damned The Rain To Fall” [Spotify/iTunes]