Richmond Counterculture / Shockoe Sessions
Richmond Counterculture/Shockoe Sessions Episode 31
Shockoe Sessions Live! is a weekly show highlighting Richmond’s music scene. Every Tuesday a different local act plays for an intimate studio audience of up to 50 people.
Shows are recorded and streamed live to YouTube.
We gearing up for 804 Day 2026! So enjoy music from The Maddy Curtis Quartet, Weekend Plans, Leslie and The Dots, Willie Williams Band, and Vexine.
About the Bands
Jazz vocalist Maddy Curtis has been singing her entire life. Her tone and phrasing harken back to the great jazz and old Hollywood vocalists of yesteryear like Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, and Doris Day. Critics have described her performances as “hauntingly beautiful” (DC Metro Theatre Arts) and “soulful beyond her years” (Simon Cowell, American Idol Season 9).
Maddy’s quartet for the evening (and that she performs with on the reg) includes herself on vocals & ukulele, Jack Byrnes on bass, Quincy Harmon on piano & trumpet, and Stephan LaRue on drums.
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The Weekend Plans creates an electrifying blend of funk, hip-hop, jazz, and soul that has captivated audiences since 2016. Hailing from Richmond, VA, this eight-piece group has come together to express their love of music, old and new, in a way that adds a brand new flavor to the musical melting pot of their hometown. Weekend Plans consists of Kayen Wilborn, Jordan Mason, Logos The Poetic, Forrest Link, Justin Ott, Chet Frierson, Nathanael Clark, and Wynton Davis. After releasing their debut, all original album “State of Nine” in 2019 with Elephant Ear Studios, their latest songs illustrate their sonic evolution as they embark on their second album.
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Leslie Lilburn is a Northside singer-songwriter who grew up in scenic Front Royal, VA and moved to Richmond in 2021. His vocation was thrust upon him in his youth as a result of constant and intense exposure to the music of the British Invasion; later in life, a love of the country music of the 60’s and 70’s seeped into his brain. The powerful synthesis that resulted produces songs of joy, beauty, and heartbreak that would make a fine addition to the soundtrack of a Tarantino film. He passes his time in a well-appointed garage studio, Murphy’s Pocket, with his band, The Dots.
The Dots came to be through serendipitous occurrences, years of friendship, and frequenting a delicious RVA staple of a restaurant, Dots Back Inn. Consisting of Michael Lamp, Robin Liebenthal, Robert Whitehead, and Kevin Vorhis, The Dots bring a plethora of varied musical influences together to help create something beautifully unique, yet complimentary to Leslie’s songwriting.
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First take some homegrown vocals drenched in Carolina twang and Memphis soul. Then add a healthy dose of blues and bluegrass influenced guitar. Now finish it off with top notch showmanship and storytelling, and you’ll begin to get an idea of what Willie Williams is all about. With influences that range from Merle Haggard to Al Green, Willie’s music is as familiar as it is fresh. When he’s not on the road, Willie is a fixture of the Richmond, VA music scene where his current projects includes Solo Acoustic (https://www.williewilliamsmusic.com/booking) performances and Allman Brothers Tribute band SKYDOG (https://www.skydogtribute.com/).
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VEXINE is a 4-piece band based in Richmond, VA . They describe their original music as “southern rock noir”. Formed in 2012, the group features front woman Sarah Frances Santamaria on vocals, Paul Pearce on lead guitar and vocals, Michael Skiffington on bass, and Jorge Santamaria on drums.
VEXINE’s self-titled debut was released in 2013. It has been described as “taking sultry to bodacious levels, combining rock and roll attitude with country soul”. Their follow-up record, “Live from Nashville” was recorded at The Rutledge in Nashville, TN by renowned sound engineer Frank Sass. In 2016, VEXINE’s third release was met with much acclaim.
Vexine took a sabbatical from 2020 – 2022, when Sarah and Jorge moved to New Orleans and Paul and Mike pursued other musical avenues. Sarah and Jorge returned to Richmond, VA in late 2022 and “the band got back together”.
Vexine’s most recent release entitled “the light and the dark in everything” was released on vinyl and digitally in December 2025 on the Shockoe Records label.
Show archive
Playlist
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Maddy Curtis Quartet, “I Should've Kissed You (A Long Time Ago) (Live)”
Shockoe Records - 2026
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Willie Williams Band, “Before It Gets Better (Live)”
Shockoe Records - 2025