Richmond Counterculture / Shockoe Sessions
Richmond Counterculture/Shockoe Sessions Episode 8 – feat The Sunslingers, Brady Heck, and Justin Golding & Devil’s Coattails
This week we’re featuring music from The Sunslingers, Brady Heck (from Holy Roller), and Justin Golden and Devil’s Coattails
From the heart of Virginia and packing the heat of the American spirit comes a band that trades bullets for ballads and gun smoke for golden harmonies. The Sunslingers are blazing trails through the Americana landscape with fiddle fire, the rolling thunder of the upright bass, drums to bring the rain, and guitar lines that cut cleaner than a desert horizon.
Rooted in storytelling and raised on the rhythms of country, gypsy jazz, and roots rock, The Sunslingers bring you songs about love and loss, brotherhood and betrayal, glory and grit. These are not just songs—they’re saloon doors swinging open on your soul, and they’re best experienced live. When The Sunslingers take the stage, you’re not just watching a show—you’re stepping into a new frontier. One where the only thing outlawed is ennui, and every chord carries the weight of redemption.
The Sunslingers on Shockoe Sessions Live!
Photo by Dave Parrish
Brady Heck is just country. No two ways around it, he was just brought into the world that way. He lives it, and you can hear that in his songs. His songs are both clever and conversational, but also deeply sincere and striking. He writes the way he speaks and sings about the world he knows. The Virginia native released his debut EP, Ain’t It Cruel, on Richmond’s own Vocal Rest Records in 2022. He then followed up shortly after in 2023 with two singles, Grey Fox (a truckers tale and tip of the hat to classic country songs of the 70’s, with the smile and wink appeal of Burt Reynolds à la Smokey and the Bandit) and Watermelon Seltzer, a country blues song that reminds us that poor boy can still live the good life. Now in 2025, Heck, who is most known for fronting the Richmond based southern rock group, Holy Roller, is looking to expand himself further with new music, a new group, and a clear focus on the only thing that really matters: the song.
Brady Heck on Shockoe Sessions Live!
Photo by Dave Parrish
Justin Golden and Devil’s Coattails
“Vibe over everything.” That was folk-blues singer-songwriter Justin Golden and producer Trey Burnart Hall’s mantra heading into the studio in mid-November 2023 to record “Golden Country, Volume 1” with Virginia bluegrass supergroup Devil’s Coattails. The idea of a record featuring mostly traditional music had been rattling around Golden’s head since well before the 2022 release of his critically acclaimed debut album Hard Times and a Woman. Hailing from coastal Virginia, with strong familial roots in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ohio.
It was vital for him as an artist to make a name for himself under his own name and original songs before spotlighting his influences. That patience paid off in immeasurable ways. Being on a world stage taught many lessons about the music industry and being a working musician. “I learned that folks would see me billed as ‘Blues’ and either expect me to play like B.B. King or Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.” He was flattered by the comparisons, but much of Golden’s influences harken back to the early days of the acoustic roots of Blues, Bluegrass, and Country music. Think more “people playing house parties or barn dances” than “ripping lead electric guitar solos”.
In August 2023, Golden was set to perform at a showcase for local Richmond, VA record label, Vocal Rest Records (The showcase was called Vocal Rest Fest). The idea for this show was to team up with Devil’s Coattails and do a four-song set with the full band. Devil’s Coattails consists of members of Richmond, Virginia’s top bands Trey Burnart Hall (mandolin, tenor banjo, electric guitar), Chris Gatens (upright bass, clawhammer banjo), Drew Barnocky (drums, washboard).
Justin Golden & Devil’s Coattails on Shockoe Sessions Live!
Photo by Dave Parrish
Show archive
Playlist
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Justin Golden & Devil's Coattails, “The Rain Done Fell on Me”
Shockoe Records - 2024
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Justin Golden & Devil's Coattails, “Bad Luck Blues”
Shockoe Records - 2024
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Justin Golden & Devil's Coattails, “Riverboat Blues”
Shockoe Records - 2024
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Justin Golden & Devil's Coattails, “You Don't Know”
Shockoe Records - 2024
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Justin Golden & Devil's Coattails, “Papa's on The House Top”
Shockoe Records - 2024
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Justin Golden & Devil's Coattails, “Bye Bye Baby”
Shockoe Records - 2024
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Justin Golden & Devil's Coattails, “Downtown Blues”
Shockoe Records - 2024
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Justin Golden & Devil's Coattails, “When I Lay My Burden Down”
Shockoe Records - 2024