Christone "Kingfish" Ingram plays to a sold-out Southern Cafe & Music Hall Saturday, August 31. Photo by Rory Doyle
Breakout blues: At 20 years old, blues artist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram wanted to do what no one else was doing. While most of his music-making peers turned to rap, Ingram embraced the rich tradition of the Mississippi Delta where he was raised. His crossover appeal is apparent in the range of musicians who consider themselves fans—from funk legend Bootsy Collins and rock star Dave Grohl to rapper The Game and blues forebearer Buddy Guy. While known for his covers, his debut album, Kingfish, features many originals.
Saturday, August 31. $12-15, 8:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
Richelle Claiborne reprises her "Black Music Excellence Through the Ages" show at The Southern Cafe & Music Hall on Friday. Photo by Tristan Williams
More excellence: When Richelle Claiborne first staged Black Music Excellence Through the Ages in March she told C-VILLE, “It’s not the history of black music. It’s my history through black music—how all these different genres have impacted and affected me, or represented me, is the thread that ties it all together.” The singer, actress, and poet is back by popular demand to reprise this arresting historical showcase, filled with personal stories and backed by a talented band of locals.
Friday6/21. $18-20, 8:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
The Rainbow Girls and The Oshima Brothers fill a double bill at The Southern. Publicity image.
New folk: Based in San Francisco’s Bay Area, The Rainbow Girls explore vibes of peace, love, and the pursuit of social justice through tight harmonies backed by guitar
and keys. The Oshima Brothers, real life brothers hailing from rural Maine, offer a crisp blend of folk vocals and soft, poppy looped instrumentals, bringing a contagious joy to their live show.
Tuesday6/25. $12-15, 6:30pm. The Southern Cafe & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
Keyboard player PJ Morton is at The Southern on Wednesday. Publicity photo
Savory hooks: When he’s not on tour or performing at the Super Bowl with Maroon 5, keyboardist PJ Morton can be found playing his own gigs to promote the recent Grammy-nominated album Gumbo. Accompanying Morton (who is fresh from the 50th annual NOLA jazz fest) on his Keys & A Mic Acoustic Tour are Jakiya Ayanna and Shaina Aisha, who make up the sister duo The Amours, and elevate the harmonies on Morton’s R&B tracks, including his sultry cover of the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love.”
Wednesday5/8. $20, 8:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
Accomplished singer-songwriter Sean
McConnell plays the Southern on Sunday. Publicity photo
Growing up with musician parents made songwriting a natural part of life for Sean McConnell, who penned his first song at age 10. That one didn’t make it to the recording studio, but others he’s written have been put out by Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Meat Loaf, Jake Owen, Christina Aguilera, Buddy Miller, and more. With 13 albums of his own, you’d think McConnell would be a household name, but he’s content to let others go big while he works his latest record, Secondhand Smoke, in rooms where people can hear every vivid lyric. “Fewer and fewer people are taking the time to sit down and really listen to a song,” says McConnell. “I hope people give this record that space, and then just go on that journey—whatever that journey is, because it’s going to be different for everybody.”
Sunday, March 10. $12-15, 8pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
Gold Connections plays songs from its upcoming EP, Like A Shadow, at The Southern Cafe and Music Hall on Thursday. Publicity photo
Gold Connections’ upcoming EP, Like A Shadow (due in March), benefits from the camaraderie that Will Marsh found with his touring bandmates while on the road last year. Going into the studio with familiar players allowed Marsh to move past his former indie-rock associations and forge a path of his own musical volition on songs “about the struggle to move forward into a world that seems both infinitely precarious and abundant.”
Thursday, January 24. $10, 8:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
Natalie Prass aimed to cut through the chaos with 2018’s The Past and The Future. “It’s a challenge writing catchy, danceable [tracks] about these deep, heavy subjects that are so nuanced, so multilayered,” she says. Publicity photo
Singer-songwriter Natalie Prass is camped out at a friend’s warehouse space in Richmond, Virginia, enjoying some down time before she embarks on the next leg of her tour, and she’s going through her morning routine, which includes making coffee and throwing on Janet Jackson’s “Pleasure Principle” from the 1986 album, Control.
“Janet [Jackson] has always been an artist that I’ve looked up to,” says Prass. “The whole Jackson family was played a lot in my household growing up, which I’m very thankful for.”
Music has been a creative channel throughout Prass’ life. In 2016, she had her second album written and ready to go. And then came the presidential election. The collection of songs she had compiled no longer felt relevant, so she scrapped them and started anew, writing what would become The Future and the Past.
“It was my mission to try to make the most compelling music I can about what’s happening right now—something I feel so many emotions about,” she explains. “I’m sure that if I’m feeling this way, there has to be a ton of other people that feel the same and they probably need music, you know, and I needed it.”
Gospel music was another source of inspiration for The Future and the Past, as was the ever-present Jackson, whose revolutionary Rhythm Nation 1814 turns 30 this year.
“She balances the political message with femininity with danceability so effortlessly, and it’s very sexy and modern and it’s all her own,” Prass says. “She’s always been very political and outspoken about human rights and our country, but then doing it in this package where it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m gonna still be positive and I want to dance.’ It’s music that’s for everybody. It’s music that stands the test of time.”
Prass successfully struck the same balance, with songs like the feminist anthem “Sisters,” which reframes the phrase “nasty women.” It’s an album that oozes soul, groove, and even love (look no further than the catchy lead single, “Short Court Style”). To harness that signature sound, Prass once again teamed up with Spacebomb Studios founder Matthew E. White.
Prass and White both grew up in Virginia Beach, and initially crossed paths in high school at a Battle of the Bands competition, where Prass’ band covered—you guessed it—Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”
“I was in ninth grade and I was wearing fake leather orange-red pants and a Sid Vicious T-shirt and neon green shoes,” Prass recalls. “And I don’t even know if I really talked to [Matt] but I distinctly remember…being like, ‘Look at that hippie.’ I’m pretty sure he was wearing either a ratty T-shirt or a polo shirt and khaki pants and Birkenstocks…a puka shell necklace or a hemp necklace but he says he wasn’t.”
Years later, when Prass was trying to make it as a musician in Nashville, a friend suggested she reach out to White about recording an album. In founding Spacebomb, White’s influences were Stax, Motown, and The Wrecking Crew. Prass, meanwhile, was looking to make an “old-school, Dionne Warwick-style record.” Collaboration seemed like a no-brainer.
The result was Prass’ 2015 self-titled debut, on which she plays guitars, drums, and keys. But she has largely shedded those instruments on this tour.
“I wanted to experiment with being a frontwoman. Sometimes I feel constricted on stage by playing instruments—I feel like I can’t connect as much to the audience,” she explains. “I’ve been really enjoying playing with these monster jazz musicians that are in Richmond. They’re incredible and it’s just a fun ride getting to build the sound with so many skilled people at my side.”
It’s a musical ride that captures the present, owns the past, and will endure in the future.
Natalie Prass aimed to cut through the chaos with 2018’s The Past and The Future. “It’s a challenge writing catchy, danceable [tracks] about these deep, heavy subjects that are so nuanced, so multilayered,” she says.
King Tuff plays The Southern Cafe & Music Hall Friday, January 18. Publicity photo
Kyle Thomas, known by his moniker King Tuff, hit rock bottom last year—and it was exactly what he needed. With his most recent album The Other, he’s traded in his “party monster” persona for an authentic, vulnerable musician who refuses to stick to one particular sound. His sax lessons come through when he veers into jazz, harmonica when he goes for folk, and the quick flurry of bongos shines in his reggae experiments, as he reconnects with a love of music that began in childhood.
Friday, January 18. $18-20, 9pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
Catch rising Americana musician Caitlin Canty at the Southern on Saturday night before she outgrows the small venue setting. Publicity photo
Caitlin Canty is a weaver—and her threads are folk, blues, and country music. Loyal to no genre, Canty creates listening experiences with her 1930s Recording King guitar, while her “casually devastating” vocals shape dark poetry into dreamy alternative folk tunes. The young but wise songstress’ latest release, Motel Bouquet, features fiddler Stuart Duncan and vocalist Aoife O’Donovan, and is produced by Punch Brothers’ Noam Pikelny.
Saturday, January 12. $15, 8:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St., Downtown Mall. 977-5590.
Susie & The Pistols is one of the local acts playing the Six Pack Songwriter Series at The Southern on November 20.
Susannah Hornsby heads the locally assembled bluesy supergroup Susie & The Pistols for a PACEM benefit that also includes Rob Cheatham, Chlöe Ester, Andrew Neil, Rusty Speidel, and Justin Storer. The roots-tinged, Americana-laced lineup is part of Jason Burke’s Six Pack Songwriter Series, and a testament to the spoils of living in a talent-rich music community.
Sunday, November 18. $10-12, 7:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
