Josh Ritter, Jaheim, GWAR & More Live in RVA

l to r, cw: GWAR, Josh Ritter, Gills and Wings, Jaheim

By: Christy Sheppard | Richmond.com
Published: June 10, 2010

Here's my list of this week's top shows in RVA - Thursday, June 10 - Wednesday, June 16. They're not always in order of importantance.

1 Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band kick off their summer tour with us Thursday (June 10) night at Lewis Ginter for Groovin' in the Garden.

Ritter's latest album, So Runs the World Away, was released in April of this year. He's an American singer-songwriter and his band plays a nice blend of rock and roll.

Sahara Smith is set to open the show at 6 p.m. Mason Jennings takes the stage next at appoximately 7 p.m. with Ritter and company to go on near 8:30. Details.

2 Quite possibly Richmond, VA's most well-known musical export (Jason Mraz is technically from Mechanicsville), the guys from GWAR will be performing Wednesday, June 16 at the National.

In case you're not familiar with the band they wear sci-fi/slasher film inspired costumes on stage and are known to blast out an expletive or 100 all while making obscene gestures. They call this shock-rock. Hey, it's won the band two Grammy's, they're doing something right.

Dirge Within and Mobile Deathcamp will open. The show starts at 8 p.m. Details.

3 Fridays at Sunset welcomes R&B singer Jaheim to Kanawha Plaza downtown Friday night (June 11).

Since 2001, Jaheim has released five studio albums. His latest, Another Round, was released in February of 2010. His sexy soulful sound has been compared to Teddy Pendergrass.

The opener is Al Hinton. The show is set to start at 6 p.m. Details.

4 Friday, June 11, at Gallery 5, Autocue, SEAS and Long Division join forces in preparation for "conquering" the VA/DC area music scene.

The trio is set to play two more times, with each band headlining their own respective city.

Autocue hail from RVA and do indie/rock; SEAS is indie/rock from DC; Long Division is from Norfolk and they cite Sonic Youth and the Appleseed Cast as influences.

The show kicks off at 8 p.m. Details.

5 Local acts Louisiana Territory and Gills & Wings team up Saturday, June 12, to raise money in the fight against breast cancer. Capital Ale House Downtown Music Hall will host the benefit.

Check out music from indie/pop band Louisiana Territory here. Al Kaufman from Atlanta Music Guide called Gills & Wings "Marlon Brando as a Broadway musical...a helluva lot of fun." Listen for yourself.

The show starts at 9 p.m. Details.

Click here for a complete listing of recommended shows.