Richmond, Virginia is home to a thriving local music scene. When I first came to the area in fall of 2021, the community was re-starting post COVID-19. In the three years I’ve been in Richmond I’ve seen new house show venues pop up, sold merch for bands, and volunteered at a couple one-day festivals.
To celebrate going into my fourth year of living in Richmond, I wanted to share some of my favorite Richmond based bands.
Flight Club
Photo From Flight Club Instagram
Flight Club was the first Richmoand band I had the chance to see. I found them through a friend of my sister who, when I posted about going to Blue Ridge Rock Fest in 2021 (a story for a later time), they suggested going to their set. I went, I saw, and I was hooked. Since then I’ve seen them somewhere between 4-5 times.
Flight Club is a rock band with 1,919 monthly listeners on Spotify and 4,753 followers on Instagram. They have two albums out Flight Club and Until The Sun Drowns and their most recent release is an EP titled Dog Days. Give them a listen on Spotify! Catch them in Richmond on August 2nd at 804 Day
Baby Bugs
Photo From Baby Bugs Instagram
I found Baby Bugs while working merch for a different band at one of their shows at The Camel (a classic venue in Richmond). I was still pretty new to the scene at the time so I had no clue what Baby Bugs would be like. I’m going to be honest, I don’t remember much about their set because I was working at the merch table, but I thoroughly enjoyed hearing them play and just had to add them to this list.
Baby Bugs has 347,954 monthly listeners on Spotify and 67.3K followers on Instagram. Bowie (they/them), the singer of Baby Bugs, uses their life experiences for musical inspiration which allows the band to connect with so many people out there. If you’ve watched Netflix’s show Ginny and Georgia you may be familiar with their song Hey Bunny which was featured in season two episode 5.
Baby Bugs will be going on tour starting September 15th and you can catch them in Richmond, VA at The Canal Club on September 28th.
Get ready for the tour by listening to this playlist!
Sleave
Like Baby Bugs, I found Sleave while working the merch/drink stand at the Halloween Ralley In The Alley event in 2022. They had an amazing energy and got the whole crowd hyped up and moving. Though I wasn’t in the crowd, I could feel their energy from the merch/drink stand and all of us back there were having our own little pit during their set.
Sleave has 2,579 monthly listeners on Spotify and 13K followers on Instagram. On Spotify, they describe their music as taking elements of “. . . alternative rock, punk, and American hardcore while also being reminiscent of the American grunge and emo movements of the 90’s.” They dropped a new album in April of 2024 titled How To Get Over and the band will be playing at The Fest in Gainesville Florida in October 2024.
Check out their newest album here
Saturn Death Cult
Photo from GFYMagazine Instagram
Before I get too far into saying how fun a Saturn Death Cult show is, I have to warn you that they are not performing anymore. Despite that, I had to include them on this list. Their shows were so hype every time they performed, be it in the middle of VCU Campus with five people moshing, or at local venues with people in the crowd being sacrificed to the music.
Saturn Death Cult was a sludge metal band that put interactive, storytelling performances. They currently have 77 monthly listeners on Spotify and though they have wiped their Instagram mostly clean, they still have 1,556 followers. Be sure to check out their story highlights to see clips of past performances.
Check them out here!
And experience a live set here!
As students and new artists land in Richmond, the scene will get bigger and bigger. Keep an eye on Richmond scene to see what comes next.
