RVA Music Fest – Local Artist: Black Girls

Mark Robinson
Assistant Spectrum Editor

A fixture at house parties and local venues since 2010, local glam outfit Black Girls has gained notoriety over the past few months, earning them a spot on the bill at the inaugural RVA Music Festival.

Though the name Black Girls may be misleading (all five members of Black Girls are Caucasian males), no one who has seen them perform would question the group’s funk influences or the soulfulness of the four vocalists.

“We’ve played a lot of shows,” Fletcher Babb, Black Girls’ multipurpose guitarist and vocalist, said. “But we just started playing some festivals this summer. This is probably going to be our biggest exposure yet.”

Without a doubt, Black Girls is ascending the ranks of relevant Richmond bands. After all, their July gig at The National is a far cry from the typical night at Strange Matter or Balliceaux.

“I feel like we really started to pick up momentum after we were named Best Rock Band in Richmond by Style Weekly this past summer,” Jeff Knight, Black Girls’ bassist, said. “It has been a real treat to play bigger venues.”

Further bolstering their local legend, Black Girls released a split 7-inch vinyl this past July with their Worthless Junk Records brethren, No BS! Brass Band.

The hype doesn’t start and end in the 804 though; the boys of Black Girls, all of whom are current or former VCU students, already have September shows booked in D.C. and New York City, and aspire to take their surf style overseas to tour in Europe in the near future.

Credentials aside, Black Girls’ brand of “snuff rock” just makes people want to dance, hence their house party roots.

“When people we barely know come out to our shows and really enjoy themselves – that’s all we can really ask for,” Babb said.

According to inside sources, Black Girls will be playing an unofficial show on Saturday night at an undisclosed location dubbed “The Yerb.”

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This article is a part of The CT’s RVA Music Festival artist profiles