Francine, a well-known shop cat at Lowe’s in Richmond and a beloved fixture of the community, has gone missing, sparking a cross-state search effort. A dedicated Instagram account, @wheresfrancine is sharing updates and ways the community can help, alongside the hashtag #WheresFrancine.

Nothing but crazy bangers this week. These are all pretty big shows but it’s some of the best of the best in their respective genres, all in Richmond this week. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at [email protected].

A coalition of Richmond-based groups is calling on ASM Richmond and the Dominion Energy Center to cancel an upcoming appearance by Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade, scheduled for Saturday, September 27.

Turnstile returned to Richmond on Wednesday, and it felt like Brown’s Island could barely contain them. The Baltimore hardcore outfit has long since broken past genre borders, crafting songs that reach across generations of music fans.

Richmond will come alive with color, music, and community as Virginia Pride Fest 2025 takes over Midtown Green on Saturday, September 27. The day caps off more than a week of events organized by VA Pride to celebrate Richmond’s LGBTQ community, culminating in the state’s largest LGBTQ festival.

Richmond’s drag scene is often associated with glitter, glamour, and camp but for Qing Imzadi, known on stage as Qing Blaze, drag is also a tool of survival, storytelling, and defiance.

In 1975, Richmond was a conservative city by any measure, but it was also home to a small but determined group of women ready to carve out space for themselves.

Richmond’s art scene has no shortage of voices, but few speak as boldly, or as vulnerably, as Justice Dwight. A queer Black artist whose work spans painting, sewing, screen printing, and mixed media, Dwight is intent on reframing how we see Black and queer beauty.

When Matt Narsinghan, along with husband Nafis, opened Gold Lion Community Cafe in Manchester in October 2023, he wasn’t just starting a café. He was creating a community hub built on empathy, activism, and inclusion.”

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic brought his Bigger & Weirder tour to the Allianz Amphitheater earlier this week, turning Richmond’s newest stage into equal parts circus and cultural mirror.

At just 32, Delilah Truck was diagnosed with breast cancer, and suddenly faced life-changing decisions about surgery, reconstruction, fertility, and treatment. “In a very short amount of time, I found out that I had to have surgery and quickly had to make decisions,” she said.

In 2018, Marc Rebillet showed up at The Camel in Richmond, a 200-cap room with sticky floors and a knack for producing nights that linger longer than they should. He wore robes then silky, gaudy, ceremonial things and improvised entire sets out of loops that seemed pulled out of nowhere.

Cadence Theatre is staging Long Day’s Journey Into Night at Firehouse Theatre from September 26 through October 11, 2025. Hailed as one of the greatest American plays of the 20th century, it untangles the knots of family, addiction, love, and regret across the span of a single summer day.

It took almost two years for the city to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) in late 2022 for what is known as the City Center Plan. But since receiving those proposals in early 2023, the City Center plan has gone into the witness protection program and barely heard from since.

Whether it was by casual interest or a lifelong dedication, baseball had somehow found its way into the hearts and minds of everyone in attendance. They were there to watch The Diamond as it tipped its hat and said thanks for the memories during its curtain call to a city which has loved it so.

Nothing but crazy bangers this week. These are all pretty big shows but it’s some of the best of the best in their respective genres, all in Richmond this week. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at [email protected].

Japanese art-punk trio TsuShiMaMiRe headlined Get Tight Lounge, showcasing their unpredictable blend of punk, pop, and noise honed over two decades of global touring. Richmond’s Steelboy opened with a furious set, while Tear Dungeon performed the night before with their blood-spitting theatrics.

... and other classic tales of similar stature, the endgames are telegraphed, the resolutions anticipated. What we’re left with is the opportunity to watch it all unfold in comfort and a gleeful nudge and whisper of “this is the best part” to whomever you’re watching it with.

Join us for Salon de Résistance on September 25 at Black Iris for a conversation about science in America.

Richmond native and indie rock troubadour, Ali Thibodeau, also known as Deau Eyes, has been making the rounds this month with a city-wide musical celebration called Tour de Richmond playing 14 shows in 14 days in the city’s most iconic venues, galleries, and hidden spots. #rva #richmondva

The murder of Charlie Kirk will have far-reaching consequences. They’re already starting to come into focus. A universe of disinformation and conspiracy theories is one of them. Regardless of the truth, the damage is already done.

Sierra Ferrell took over Brown’s Island earlier this week, transforming Richmond’s riverfront into fantasy. Surrounded by oversized mushrooms, flowers, and a stage dressed like an Appalachian fever dream, Ferrell delivered a set that moved easily from honky-tonk stomp to hushed ballad.

Nothing but insanely stacked bills this week. Indie, hip hop, alternative, it’s all popping off, and I can’t wait to be part of it. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at [email protected].

Salon de Résistance is a live interview series. Each salon will confront the forces reshaping American life right now through conversations with guests whose insights come from deep subject expertise, lived experience, and creative practice.

On Sunday afternoon, the last baseball game will be held at The Diamond after 40 years of service to a city and region and two baseball teams in what was, when it opened, “a major league park in a minor league town.” Between opening night in 1985 and the last game on Sunday is a span of 14,761 days.

Virginia Rep is kicking off its new season the way any sensible theatre should: with a train, a murder, and a detective who’s just trying to make sense of it all. Murder on the Orient Express is Agatha Christie’s great reminder that people are both awful and fascinating, sometimes in the same hour.

But as we sat down that day, Melissa, myself, and Bridé Baker, who will be stepping into the role of executive director, there was an edge of gravity beneath her boundless energy. Melissa is facing down metastatic breast cancer, a fight that has spread into her liver, bones, and spine. #rva

In 1909, they captured one of the first interracial recording sessions in American history: Polk Miller, a white Confederate veteran with a banjo, performing alongside a Black vocal quartet. Even though he broke ground with that recording, Polk Miller was no civil rights activist.

We’ve all read the headlines about tariffs and trade rules, but those stories can feel abstract until you see how they land on a business close to home. To bring it into focus locally, we spoke with Ledbury, a Richmond-based shirtmaker, about how these changes are reshaping the way they operate.

Before the beer taps and condos, before the buzzwords about ‘revitalization,’ Scott’s Addition’s future passed through the hands of a single man: Justin Glynn French. A convicted felon whose empire collapsed in scandal, he set the stage, even if unintentionally, for the neighborhood we know today.

Sat beneath a shifting sun and a canopy teeming with chittering cicadas, Madison Turner and I ran the gamut. I first heard of her while I was covering the local music scene for a VCU student publication, and her angsty, self-critical, maniacally upbeat tunes spoke to my brittle emo heart. #rva

Writer’s Block is RVA Magazine’s Sunday series highlighting contemporary writers working in Richmond and across the Commonwealth. Each week, we feature original poems, short stories, or essays. Just real voices writing right now. #rva #richmondva

“This playlist isn’t tied to any one form, just good music and diverse energy,” Jones says. “The artists featured here have made their mark by putting sound, production, and artistry first. It offers a glimpse of the catharsis that awaits at the Southern Gothic Festival.” #rva #richmondva

“Welcome to Stooping RVA. In 2020, an avid lover of Richmond decided to start an Instagram page to share her passion for all things lost, repurposed, secretly awesome—and best of all, free.” — host, Harrison Christy

Got a couple icons of the American alternative scene in town, which pairs well with some local killers in the same realm. Some chill, some not, some right in the middle. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at [email protected]. #rva #richmondva

On September 2, 2025, Vicky Hester, the longtime owner of Babe’s of Carytown, passed away at age 71. For nearly five decades, Hester kept the doors of one of the nation’s oldest lesbian bars open and in doing so, she helped hold a community together. #rva #richmondva

For 35 years, Richmond hairdresser Rick Bridgforth has been quietly transforming a forgotten alley in The Fan into something remarkable. The catch is, Rick doesn’t own the land. A new owner does, and he has plans. Legally, that’s his right. But maybe there’s room for compromise. #rva #richmondva

A GoFundMe has been launched to support Baby Saphire and the family of Johnnita Russell, who was killed the night before what would have been her 34th birthday. Just nine days earlier, she had given birth to her daughter, who has spent her first weeks in the NICU. #rva #richmondva

Most Richmonders haven’t heard about it, but the City of Richmond is rewriting the rules that will determine what can be built, and where, for decades to come. It’s called the Zoning Code Refresh, and right now, it’s quietly moving through the public comment stage. #rva #richmondva

At the intersection of pulpy horror and a coven-like sense of inclusive community is Good For Her: Richmond’s preeminent destination for femme monsters, wretched women, and nasty displays of the (not so) divine feminine. #rva #richmondva

The event, which kicked off at 4:30 PM, brought together community members, activists, and labor advocates to highlight the fight for fair wages, healthcare, and protections for working people. #rva #richmondva

"When I first got the opportunity to witness Nate performing as GULL, I was so pumped. One man show. So many different instruments, all at once, he’s like an octopus creating beautiful chaos. It’s a must-see." — host, Harrison Christy #rva #richmondva

Richmond has always produced world-class talent and just as often, watched it leave. That cycle was exactly what Warren Jones, performer and co-founder of Prison Religion, and Christian Detres, filmmaker and longtime RVA Magazine contributor, set out to change. #rva #richmondva

Feeling warmer today, not the weather, just the shows. Got a lot of calming stuff on the doc, but even the harsher stuff can be calming if you’re into all that. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at [email protected]. #rva #richmondva

The new coming-of-age feature Griffin in Summer is already drawing attention for its Tribeca wins and upcoming theatrical release, but for producer Bobby Hoppey, the film carries an extra layer of meaning: it was made in Richmond. #rva #richmondva

But if you listened closely, and especially if you listened to the small business owners and advocates who showed up, the conversation wasn’t really about weed. It was about who gets to win in a market that doesn’t exist yet. #rva #richmodnva

For Sims, art isn’t just decoration, it’s an entry point. She recalls her own early activism against the ACP, where the signs and visuals at protests helped her feel less overwhelmed. Clear, simple imagery drew her in, made her curious, and gave her the confidence to ask questions and dig deeper.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will host Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys from November 22, 2025 through March 1, 2026. #rva #richmondva

Elyza Reinhart has been shooting shows since she was twelve, before she had a photo pass, before she even really knew what she was doing. That early start, and the nerves that came with it, still shape how she works today. #rva #richmondva

One of the most interesting cultural developments of the 2020s is the way the word “unprecedented” has seemingly lost its meaning. #rva #richmondva