Parking Lot Party

RPAA's Parking Lot Party
Saturday, April 27, 2019
4 - 8 PM

ABOUT THE PLP

Meet us at Dominion Energy Center for the Performing Arts for RPAA's 2019 Parking Lot Party - an afternoon and evening of bands, brews and bites! Hosted by Richmond Performing Arts Alliance's (RPAA's) Associates Board, proceeds from this event benefit the artistic and educational programs of RPAA. Special performance by headliner Sleepwalkers, special guest star The Congress, and guest star The Whiskey Rebellion! #rpaaplp

About the Parking Lot Party:

• Family-friendly
• Sleepwalkers (headliner), The Congress (special guest star), The Whiskey Rebellion (guest star) + DJ Diesel Music & Entertainment
• Growlers to Go RVA
• Food Trucks: Slideways Mobile Bistro, Goatocado, Pizza Nostra and King of Pops

• Arts Activities with Art180, Art on Wheels, and Visual Arts Center of Richmond

*This event is rain or shine. No refunds.

Pet Policy: No pets allowed except for service animals.

No outside food or beverages. No coolers.

NOTE: ADVANCE TICKET SALES END AT 11:59 PM ON FRIDAY 4/26/19. DAY OF EVENT TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE GATE. (CASH OR CREDIT CARDS)

Lyft is offering a special deal for our Parking Lot Party attendees! Get 50% off TWO RIDES when you use the code RVAPARKINGLOT. The code is geo-referenced within a .2 mile radius of the Dominion Energy Center and will be active from April 27-28.

ABOUT RPAA

Since 2009, RPAA has served more than 1 million patrons and transformed the lives of thousands of students. However, our history goes back to 2001 when a group of community leaders had a vision to create an inspiring environment where the performing arts could flourish and strengthen Richmond's cultural, social and economic vitality.

The downtown performing arts complex, now known as Dominion Energy Center for the Performing Arts, was the dream of many, including arts organizations, business groups, community leaders and countless citizens across Central Virginia. With their support, the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation formed in 2001 to make this dream a reality. After careful planning, aggressive fundraising, and continued development, we purchased the former Thalhimers department store property adjacent to the historic Carpenter Center, which originally opened as Loew's Richmond Theatre in 1928. Our name then changed to Richmond CenterStage Foundation in anticipation of the new performing arts complex. After more than a year of construction, the Thalhimers side of the property had turned into Dorothy Pauley Square, and the newly renamed Carpenter Theatre had undergone a complete renovation. The entire complex opened as Richmond CenterStage in September 2009. The complex includes Carpenter Theatre, Libby S. Gottwald Playhouse, Rhythm Hall, Showcase Gallery, Genworth BrightLights Education Center and the administrative offices of RPAA, the Richmond Symphony, and the Virginia Opera.

Two years after opening Richmond CenterStage, we expanded our family of venues to include the then-named Landmark Theater, formerly "The Mosque." In 2011, the then 89-year-old theater began a once-in-a-lifetime renovation from top to bottom. After completion of the renovation in 2012, the venue was renamed Altria Theater in recognition of the tremendous support from Altria Group, Inc. In recognition of additional support from Dominion Energy (then Dominion Resources, Inc.), the Richmond CenterStage complex was renamed Dominion Energy Center in 2015, which facilitated the rebranding of our organization to RPAA. Although the name changed to better reflect our organization's activities, we continue to work to support today's artists by cultivating diverse arts experiences, to nurture tomorrow's artists through programming and experiences that deepen their connection to the arts, and to provide spaces for the arts to thrive by supporting Richmond's premier historical venues.

Today, our mission remains the same - to provide diverse local and world-class performing arts, transformative arts education experiences for students of all ages, and inspirational venues - all to strengthen the cultural and economic vitality of the Greater Richmond region. No longer a single venue downtown, the new name reflects the inclusive impact we aim to achieve on the performing arts community and the region as a whole.

RPAA Associates Board

This event is brought to you by the cooperative efforts of RPAA's young professional board members.

Chair - Michael Hinchcliffe, Dominion Energy

Caitlin Boyd-Hartwig, Union Bank & Trust

Catherine Brown, Freelance Writer

Rachel Cannon, Virginia Court of Appeals

Chrissie Carrera, Bank of America

Jamarr Daniels, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Patrick J. Fanning, Troutman Sanders LLP

Kim Ford, SteelHead Management, LLC

David Gustin, McGuireWoods

H. Scott Kelly, Troutman Sanders LLP

Ashby Price, Juno Financial Group

Megan Miller, Aspera Insurance Services, Inc.

Claudia Muth, Destra Designs

Richard Sowers, Patient First

Brian Wright, Apple Hospitality REIT

Ashley Yavorsky, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Event Management: Jessica Corbett, Echelon Event Management

Headlining Artist

Sleepwalkers

The treatment. Act 1. The York brothers. Richmond, Virginia. Completely saturated in rock and roll dreams,
young Austin and Michael attend countless shows up and down the east coast with an older sister. Driven to
start bands of their own, success comes early but remains incomplete. Major labels knock on the teenagers'
door for big city showcases even as the music industry slides into chaos. When the light of "getting signed"
grows dim, the group falls apart and the brothers tumble into a creative funk. Enter a wise old friend with a
massive record collection, serving as guru, nurturing them into wider musical appreciation, and providing a
clear head space to start over. Cut to the farm, a gem of a rural studio, where they meet audio engineer and
drummer Alex De Jong, kindred spirit and equally intuitive musical force. Something clicks as they work
together to demo new material, nightlights go off above their heads, and Sleepwalkers is born screaming.

Sleepwalkers delivers a parallel aural experience, shifting narratives populated by heroes and villains, lost love
and love found, neon landscapes and windswept skyscrapers. The follow-up to Sleepwalkers' '60s fantasia,
cult-favorite debut, Greenwood Shade (2014), "Wake Up" and "Reasons To Give Up In You" feel equally
effortless, backed by the band's facility with the structures and language of pop music. These specific
references, from Whitney Houston to Thin Lizzy, come so furiously fast and from so many different angles-
production, singing, writing, arrangement, engineering-that the songs are never weighed down or
overshadowed by their inspirations. An aesthetic based primarily on exhilaration.

Sometimes when you let go of a dream, it comes back to you, and you realize that you weren't ready for it
before. It is significant that Spacebomb, a label built on production and musicianship is releasing a record they
have no direct hand in making. No need to improve on this maximalist pop masterpiece. In the Yorks and De
Jong, the label recognized peers, with a unique process of their own, an equal love and knowledge of recording
history, appreciation for all those high-watermarks across genre, an astonishing live band possessing a sound
both stadium-filling and soul-nourishing, proven over tours supporting J. Roddy Walston & The Business, The
Lumineers, and The Shins. Fantastic natural songwriting, personal experience amplified to a broad lyricism,
uncompromising sincerity and uncompromising commitment to 'having a fine evening,' all of it steeped in the
vernacular culture of Richmond. Cue the theme song, play the montage. Sleepwalkers is the story of some
hard-working boys, whose talent and love of music sustained them, whose belief in each other carried them
through.

Special Guest Star

The Congress

With the release of their sophomore album, The Game (September 9, 2016, on American Paradox), The Congress progressed further along a career path that's taken them from Denver, CO, where they first formed, back to their hometown of Richmond, VA. They followed a circuitous route, one that found them touring with high profile bands like Lake Street Dive, the Tedeschi-Trucks Band, and Hard Working Americans, while still remaining focused on their singular sound, a dynamic mix of riveting rock 'n' roll, old school soul, classic country, and searing psychedelia.

Ultimately, The Congress is a band that shows reverence for their roots through both cohesion and creativity. "It's hard to pigeonhole us one way or the other," says guitarist/vocalist Scott Lane. "We do what comes naturally, with a lot of focus on song and arrangement, and very little on genre. We're not great at putting ourselves in one box." That's borne out on The Game, even on an initial listen. From the mournful sway of "Home Again" and "Farewell," to the jazzy, soulful sound evident in "When I Got the Time," it's clear The Congress is as versatile as it is unpredictable. The slow, steady glide of "Poison and Antidote" and "This Ain't Livin" finds a perfect mesh with spry rockers like "Ain't It Easy," "September" and the title track, ensuring a subtle change in tone and tempo throughout.

The Game follows the band's two EPs (one self-titled, the other dubbed The Loft Tapes) and a full-length debut (aptly titled Whatever You Want). The new record was recorded primarily at Denver's Macy Sound Studio with occasional sessions at Montrose Studios in Richmond. Bassist/vocalist Jonathan Meadows remembers, "'This Ain't Livin' came really quickly. We ran through it in 20 minutes and the first take turned out to be the best. It felt very spontaneous." To keep that fresh feeling throughout The Game, the band stripped down their sound, relying only on the basics -- guitar, bass, piano and drums -- the latter courtesy of band members Chris Speasmaker and Mark Levy, respectively. (The newest member of the fold, drummer Raphael Katchinoff replaced Levy earlier this year.)

Guest Star

The Whiskey Rebellion

Skillful picking and expert three-part harmonies are just part of what you can expect from the Whiskey Rebellion, who have been plying their brand of high-energy acoustic music across the Southeast (and as far west as the Pacific Ocean) for the last eight years. The band has recorded two regionally-acclaimed original albums, shared the stage with the Sam Bush Band and Carolina Chocolate Drops, and had their 2011 tour of the Pacific Northwest captured by filmmaker Tony Morin for a forthcoming concert film & documentary.

Drawing on their diverse musical backgrounds, The Whiskey Rebellion mix the spontaneity of bluegrass, the collectiveness of jazz, and the urgency of rock and roll to create their own unique take on everything from traditional bluegrass to anthemic party favorites. The band covers a wide array of artists ranging from The Beatles to The Talking Heads to Guns 'n' Roses, but their approach is always steeped in their acoustic roots and uniquely lends itself to being both listenable and danceable.

Community Cubes Project - Art On Wheels

Art on Wheels will be presenting the Community Cubes project! This project will create cube benches made from castings of everyday objects that people carry with them. These benches will be a fascinating look at the daily ephemera of our lives and simultaneously reflect both our individuality, and our shared experiences.

Join in the fun of this community project at the Parking Lot Party!

• Everyone is invited to participate by pressing something into the clay (provided by Art On Wheels). It can be something you are carrying or something specific that you bring with you to the Parking Lot Party.
• The clay will be used as a mold to cast into a side of a cube.
• Art On Wheels will join the castings together to make a bench.
• Benches will be installed in the communities in which they are created and at locations in need of seating. Examples may include, parks or bus stops.

See an example of a Community Cube below:

Art on Wheels brings comprehensive arts programming to communities with limited access to the arts.

Art180

Art180 gives young people ages 8-18 living in challenging circumstances the chance to express themselves through art and to share their stories with others. Teen Leaders from Art180 will lead a collective mural art project during the Parking Lot Party. Attendees will be able to contribute to this piece during the course of the event.

Visual Arts Center of Richmond

The Visual Arts Center of Richmond (VisArts) has helped adults and children explore their creativity and make art since 1963. Each year, VisArts offers more than 1,000 visual and creative arts classes in clay, wood, fiber, painting, photography, printmaking, glass, metal, drawing, writing, decorative arts and other visual media. At the Parking Lot Party, under the direction of artist Amelia Blair Langford, attendees will help create a comic strip! Each panel will be created by a different person at the PLP and the story in the comic will grow over the course of the event.

PLP Fan Club:

Bait & Wait Outdoors

Birdstone

Matthew & Jennifer Bruning

Patrick Fanning & Will Kennedy

Michael & Beth Hinchcliffe

H. Scott & Ashley Kelly

Felicia Moon

One Eighty, LLC

Randall & Mary Lloyd Parks

Stoplight Gelato Cafe

The Yavorsky Family