Brent Baldwin

2 weeks ago | styleweekly.com | Brent Baldwin

Walk by the colorful Blackwell Drip Mural on Hull Street this Saturday night and you may begin to feel like the walls are breathing. Don’t worry, nobody spiked your drink. Instead you’ll be witnessing Flow, an immersive, one-night-only event centered around this public mural created by artists Heide Trepanier and Chris Visions, who combined imagery of Yemaya, an Orisha queen from the shores of Africa, with the visage of Richmond hip-hop artist, Cole Hicks (formerly Lil Nikki from South Side).

4 weeks ago | inforum.com | Brent Baldwin

Sugar is incredibly important to the Red River Valley. Sugar beets support our family farms, supply our factories, provide good jobs and power our local economy. That’s why I was disappointed to read a recent column in The Forum written by out-of-state authors that peddled false claims about U.S. sugar policy that, if taken seriously by policymakers, could devastate my farm and our rural communities. It’s important to set the record straight: U.S. sugar policy doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime.

1 month ago | styleweekly.com | Brent Baldwin

Presence is Gardener’s gift. The hard to pin, ever evolving, music project of Dash Lewis—half-way through its second decade, and ninth year based in Richmond—is ready for a new era, and requests your presence. [Full disclosure: Lewis is an occasional contributor to Style Weekly as a freelance music writer, mostly covering hip-hop]. After a season away from performing, Gardener will debut new material next week, when he opens for BASIC.

1 month ago | styleweekly.com | Brent Baldwin

I grew up on the music of Athens, Georgia band R.E.M., so maybe I’m biased. They first blew up in the early ‘80s with the catchy song “Radio Free Europe” that was extremely popular around these parts. With a distinct melodic style, jangly guitar and the cryptic, heartfelt singing of Michael Stipe, it felt like the band arrived fully formed from the gargoyle head of some Gothic backwater burg.

Oct 30, 2024 | styleweekly.com | Brent Baldwin |Don Harrison

City leaders love to pitch Richmond as an arts city that’s friendly to creatives. Part of that characterization has been due to the spreading footprint and dominance of Virginia Commonwealth University, but it’s also because growing cities with thriving arts and culture scenes are the ones that attract young people to live there, as well as steady tourism dollars; they keep new talent in the city instead of sending college grads packing.