Wednesday, August 19th, 2026

Spectrum

HOTPANTS finds its sound in Richmond rock scene

August 19, 2026

Rachel Nicholas,  Assistant Spectrum Editor In a city full of creativity and booming artistry, Richmond rock band HOTPANTS has spent the last few years finding their place in the city’s music scene, pulling inspiration from classic rock, indie and psychedelic music.  Although they gather ideas from a multitude of places, the band agrees that assigning a genre to their sound is not so simple. “People will ask us, ‘What kind of music do you play?’ I’m just like, ‘I don’t know,’” frontwoman Mackenzie Roark said.  HOTPANTS formed after Roark released her first album in 2022 and wanted to bring the songs to a live audience. The band’s current lineup came together through years of connections between Richmond musicians, eventually becoming what Roark considers the “core of HOTPANTS.” Roark first met guitarist and bassist Billy Bacci around 2017 at an open mic event she was running. Bacci previously played with drummer Drew Barnocky and bassist Matt Moran through another band they were in together. “Paint on it was a band that me, Matt and Drew were in,” Bacci said. “We made three albums together and I met Matt through his brother and Drew was playing for Mackenzie at the time.” When

Buzz-worthy day at Pollinator Palooza

August 19, 2026

Aaliyah Sharrock, Contributing writer What brings people together to learn about native plants, butterflies and bees? For the attendees of Pollinator Palooza, the answer may be as simple as curiosity or even a desire to better understand the ecosystems around them.  That connection was on display at Pollinator Palooza located at Studio Two Three on Aug. 16, where educators, vendors and community members gathered to learn about pollinators, native plants and the relationship between people and nature. The free event offered visitors an opportunity to learn about pollinators, explore native plants and interact with local businesses and educators.  Yelena Avigail, an educator at the event, is a butterfly expert who showcased artwork, stickers and watercolor paintings while teaching visitors about moths and butterflies. “My favorite pollinators are moths and I think they are very misunderstood because people think that they are here to eat our clothes, but most beautiful moths don’t even have mouths,” Avigail said. One of Avigail’s favorite pollinators is the snowberry clearwing moth, a daytime-flying moth that mimics the appearance of a bee. Visitors were also particularly interested in the Atlas moth at her booth.  The moth came from Southeast Asia and was raised through its entire

Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making an improv show!

August 19, 2026

TJ Parrillo, Contributing Writer Richmond’s Coalition Theater, located at 8 W. Broad St., wants to bring out not just the actors, but the audience’s creative side in their upcoming “Phineas and Ferb” themed improv show. “Phineas and Ferb” is not just about two boys navigating the boredom of summer, it is also about imagination and collaboration.  When adapting any series from pre-recorded and scripted to live and improvised, one must consider the many trade-offs of the respective mediums. To elevate their source material, Richmond Coalition Theater uses features including audience interactions and a live band providing music for improvised musical numbers. With no two episodes the same, each performance echoes the line “So Ferb, what do you want to do today?” with a twist of audience interaction. When audience members arrive at the theater, they write down an invention they would like Phineas and Ferb to build, said cast member Blake Vail-Rhodes. The director, Preston Bradsher, then picks two suggestions, which become the episode titles and the inventions. The show is PG and there is veto power for any inappropriate suggestions. “Our actors bring their own voice and interpretation to the characters, but when casting we purposefully prioritized casting people

Culture takes center stage at Richmond’s 3rd annual International Dance Festival

August 19, 2026

Sadie Porter, Contributing Writer Traditional dancers from over 18 countries, spanning from India to China to Mexico, congregated at the Cultural Arts Center at Glenn Allen on Aug. 15 for the 3rd annual Richmond International Dance Festival as a celebration of diversity and community. From only representing a mere five countries at the first festival, to 16, to finally this year representing a total of 18 countries, the Richmond International Dance Festival has reached its largest audience yet.  Culture Encounters presented the event — a nonprofit organization that aims to bring immigrants in the Richmond region together. The immersive experience includes community dinners, school visits and workplace programs. Amma Gatty, founder and executive director of Culture Encounters has seen the changes firsthand, starting out as an art summer camp for kids before shifting its focus to the exploration of cultures. “The idea is for immigrants and locals to have spaces where they can truly connect and engage with each other,” Gatty said.  As culturally diverse as Richmond is, ethnic groups are separate into their own communities, isolating different cultural groups, according to Gatty.   The dance festival highlighted the importance of multi-cultural appreciation within the city of Richmond with community members

HOTPANTS finds its sound in Richmond rock scene

Executive Editor August 19, 2026

Rachel Nicholas,  Assistant Spectrum Editor In a city full of creativity and booming artistry, Richmond rock band HOTPANTS has spent the last few years finding their place in the city’s music scene, pulling inspiration from classic rock, indie and psychedelic music.  Although they gather ideas from a multitude of places, the band agrees that assigning a genre to their sound is not so simple. “People will ask us, ‘What kind of music do you play?’ I’m just like, ‘I don’t know,’” frontwoman Mackenzie Roark said.  HOTPANTS formed after Roark released her first album in 2022 and wanted to bring the songs to a live audience. The band’s current lineup came together through years of connections between Richmond musicians, eventually becoming what Roark considers the “core of HOTPANTS.” Roark first met guitarist and bassist Billy Bacci around 2017 at an open mic event she was running. Bacci previously played with drummer Drew Barnocky and bassist Matt Moran through another band they were in together. “Paint on it was a band that me, Matt and Drew were in,” Bacci said. “We made three albums together and I met Matt through his brother and Drew was playing for Mackenzie at the time.” When it came time to build the band, the existing relationships made the process easier. The answer later evolved into the group HOTPANTS. The name, a throwback to the retro term for short shorts popularized in the 1970s, took a bit longer for the band to settle on. Roark wanted something that captured the band’s style while also giving them a name they could incorporate into their stage presence.  “I’ve been drawn to music from the ‘60s and ‘70s since middle and high school,” Roark said. “I think the rock genre is more home for me. It’s what I grew up listening to and the reason I wanted to start making music myself.” Roark remembers watching “School of Rock” in sixth grade and immediately wanting to start a band. The idea had already existed when she was younger, when she and her friends would talk about becoming musicians.  Bacci also cited the movie as a source of inspiration, even having a hypothetical childhood band titled Space Dudes. The band members bring different musical influences to the group, something they said has helped shape its sound. Roark draws from older rock and folk music, while other members bring influences from indie, noise

HOTPANTS finds its sound in Richmond rock scene

August 19, 2026

Rachel Nicholas,  Assistant Spectrum Editor In a city full of creativity and booming artistry, Richmond rock band HOTPANTS has spent the last few years finding their place in the city’s music scene, pulling inspiration from classic rock, indie and psychedelic music.  Although they gather ideas from a multitude of places, the band agrees that assigning a genre to their sound is not so simple. “People will ask us, ‘What kind of music do you play?’ I’m just like, ‘I don’t know,’” frontwoman Mackenzie Roark said.  HOTPANTS formed after Roark released her first album in 2022 and wanted to bring the songs to a live audience. The band’s current lineup came together through years of connections between Richmond musicians, eventually becoming what Roark considers the “core of HOTPANTS.” Roark first met guitarist and bassist Billy Bacci around 2017 at an open mic event she was running. Bacci previously played with drummer Drew Barnocky and bassist Matt Moran through another band they were in together. “Paint on it was a band that me, Matt and Drew were in,” Bacci said. “We made three albums together and I met Matt through his brother and Drew was playing for Mackenzie at the time.” When it came time to build the band, the existing relationships made the process easier. The answer later evolved into the group HOTPANTS. The name, a throwback to the retro term for short shorts popularized in the 1970s, took a bit longer for the band to settle on. Roark wanted something that captured the band’s style while also giving them a name they could incorporate into their stage presence.  “I’ve been drawn to music from the ‘60s and ‘70s since middle and high school,” Roark said. “I think the rock genre is more home for me. It’s what I grew up listening to and the reason I wanted to start making music myself.” Roark remembers watching “School of Rock” in sixth grade and immediately wanting to start a band. The idea had already existed when she was younger, when she and her friends would talk about becoming musicians.  Bacci also cited the movie as a source of inspiration, even having a hypothetical childhood band titled Space Dudes. The band members bring different musical influences to the group, something they said has helped shape its sound. Roark draws from older rock and folk music, while other members bring influences from indie, noise

Buzz-worthy day at Pollinator Palooza

August 19, 2026

Aaliyah Sharrock, Contributing writer What brings people together to learn about native plants, butterflies and bees? For the attendees of Pollinator Palooza, the answer may be as simple as curiosity or even a desire to better understand the ecosystems around them.  That connection was on display at Pollinator Palooza located at Studio Two Three on Aug. 16, where educators, vendors and community members gathered to learn about pollinators, native plants and the relationship between people and nature. The free event offered visitors an opportunity to learn about pollinators, explore native plants and interact with local businesses and educators.  Yelena Avigail, an educator at the event, is a butterfly expert who showcased artwork, stickers and watercolor paintings while teaching visitors about moths and butterflies. “My favorite pollinators are moths and I think they are very misunderstood because people think that they are here to eat our clothes, but most beautiful moths don’t even have mouths,” Avigail said. One of Avigail’s favorite pollinators is the snowberry clearwing moth, a daytime-flying moth that mimics the appearance of a bee. Visitors were also particularly interested in the Atlas moth at her booth.  The moth came from Southeast Asia and was raised through its entire

Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making an improv show!

August 19, 2026

TJ Parrillo, Contributing Writer Richmond’s Coalition Theater, located at 8 W. Broad St., wants to bring out not just the actors, but the audience’s creative side in their upcoming “Phineas and Ferb” themed improv show. “Phineas and Ferb” is not just about two boys navigating the boredom of summer, it is also about imagination and collaboration.  When adapting any series from pre-recorded and scripted to live and improvised, one must consider the many trade-offs of the respective mediums. To elevate their source material, Richmond Coalition Theater uses features including audience interactions and a live band providing music for improvised musical numbers. With no two episodes the same, each performance echoes the line “So Ferb, what do you want to do today?” with a twist of audience interaction. When audience members arrive at the theater, they write down an invention they would like Phineas and Ferb to build, said cast member Blake Vail-Rhodes. The director, Preston Bradsher, then picks two suggestions, which become the episode titles and the inventions. The show is PG and there is veto power for any inappropriate suggestions. “Our actors bring their own voice and interpretation to the characters, but when casting we purposefully prioritized casting people

Culture takes center stage at Richmond’s 3rd annual International Dance Festival

August 19, 2026

Sadie Porter, Contributing Writer Traditional dancers from over 18 countries, spanning from India to China to Mexico, congregated at the Cultural Arts Center at Glenn Allen on Aug. 15 for the 3rd annual Richmond International Dance Festival as a celebration of diversity and community. From only representing a mere five countries at the first festival, to 16, to finally this year representing a total of 18 countries, the Richmond International Dance Festival has reached its largest audience yet.  Culture Encounters presented the event — a nonprofit organization that aims to bring immigrants in the Richmond region together. The immersive experience includes community dinners, school visits and workplace programs. Amma Gatty, founder and executive director of Culture Encounters has seen the changes firsthand, starting out as an art summer camp for kids before shifting its focus to the exploration of cultures. “The idea is for immigrants and locals to have spaces where they can truly connect and engage with each other,” Gatty said.  As culturally diverse as Richmond is, ethnic groups are separate into their own communities, isolating different cultural groups, according to Gatty.   The dance festival highlighted the importance of multi-cultural appreciation within the city of Richmond with community members

Punks, ravers come together for moshing, mutual aid

April 29, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor It was a normal day in Scuffletown Park, the birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming and the punks and ravers were moshing and dancing.  Femmefest, a festival of DJs and hardcore punk bands, celebrated feminine-presenting people, both in and out of music.  Miles Dillahunt, vocalist of PlutoniumWomb and creator of the fest, wanted there to be a space for newcomers to become involved in the scene.  “I wanted to create a safe space for people who might be nervous to get involved with activism or shows due to their queerness or femme identity, just so that way they feel less alone and encouraged to go to more shows,” Dillahunt said.  A big motivator for the event was the reaction to a previous story by The CT about women in the hardcore scene in Richmond. The comments under the article spoke volumes to how many men in the scene feel about women speaking out against issues they face within the hardcore community, Dillahunt said.  “The comments were vile,” Dillahunt said. “Both Judas and Lexi received death threats for speaking on their lived experiences. A lot of the people in the comments aren’t even authentic punks,

Professor teaches VCU’s first Asian American history class 

April 29, 2026

Burke Loftus, Staff Photographer VCU’s Department of History now offers a new course, Intro to Asian American History, the first of its kind in the university’s history.  Second-year political science student Trina LaFortune is a Filipino American from Annandale, Virginia. Growing up in Northern Virginia, she said most of her knowledge of Asian American culture came from conversations with her family, who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in the early 2000s, and other Asian immigrant families. “We only highlighted ‘Asian studies’ in junior and senior year, and that was the extent of it,” LaFortune said. “There [are] a lot of Asian people in NOVA. Even then, my education just had a narrow scope of what Asian American history was.”  In the fall of 2025, LaFortune’s focused inquiry professor, Frank Cha, announced to the class that he would be teaching an Intro to Asian American History course in the spring — asking students to email him if they were interested. “Part of me was like, ‘Oh my god, this is representation,’ but also part of me was like, ‘No, I think I’m just more curious to see what else I can learn,’” LaFortune said. “I wanted to see

Fourth annual Animation Festival brings international film to Richmond

April 29, 2026

Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer    The Richmond Animation festival started as a creative initiative of three artists and animators — Zack Williams, Jordan Bruner and Dash Shaw. This year marked their fourth festival, celebrating short films from artists all around the world and Q&As with awarded animators.  Williams enjoyed animation from a very early age and studied traditional animation, worked in commercials and later realized working in 3D allowed more creativity and gave more freedom. “We both got interested in animation when there wasn’t much awareness of animation and independent films, we just wanted to recreate those instances where people would come out and see films and share our passion, which is very important,” Williams said. “I looked into animation as another medium, pushing it into the fine art space. We are taking our shared appreciation for that kind of animation into the festival.”  Bruner, a VCU alumnae and Williams’ partner, started as an illustration major but transitioned into animation. Bruner discovered the work of Martha Colburn, an artist whose work was based on puppetry, animation and stop motion which Bruner found fascinating.  “I felt like those two worlds fuse together in a way that felt exciting,” Bruner said.  The husband

Lesbian Field Day enriches Richmond

April 29, 2026

Alessandra Caceres Mendoza, Contributing Writer Pink and orange hues decorated all corners of Abner Clay Park as queer spirit radiated among the smiles of lesbian participants, while cheerleaders dressed in their unique outfits applauded those in the midst of a decisive round of tug-of-war. Lesbians of diverse backgrounds gathered at the park Saturday for Lesbian Field Day, an outdoor community gathering organized by VCU first-year students Denisha Chisolm, Samaya Waldo and Danny Williams. Chisolm, Waldo and Williams have hosted other events centered around strengthening community. In October studs, mascs and butches faced off in Monroe Park for their Performative Stud Competition, and just this month they hosted Sapphic Baby Oil Wrestling at Babes of Carytown. This butch vs. femme-themed event featured competitive activities like tug-of-war, potato-sack racing and a water-balloon fight. These two prominent lesbian identities teamed up and clashed in friendly competition throughout the day in pursuit of prizes, notably carabiners — a simple object that has become a recognized symbol within the community.   Participation in the activities required attendees to be 18 or older. Although catered towards lesbians, the event was open for all to enjoy. Abner Clay Park is within walking distance of the Gladding Residence

Summer events in Richmond to look out for

April 29, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer Summer is coming full blast to Richmond and there are many things to do across the city. Whether you are planning ahead or just taking things one day at a time, something is always happening.  From VCU and its surrounding neighborhoods to across the James River, there is an event for everyone. Here are a few to start with. Dance the night away at Maymont Park Celebrating 100 years and hosting its annual summer concert series, Maymont’s spokesperson Melissa Abernathy said the goal is to “create a space where people can slow down and experience both music and landscape together.”  Expect picnics spread across the lawn accompanied by a plethora of musical talent — upcoming shows to include the Punch Brothers and Carbon Leaf — as well as different tours of the gardens that surround the Gilded Age mansion.  More information about their events can be found on their website, maymont.org. Refresh and relax with local watermelons It would not be summer in Richmond without the Carytown Watermelon Festival. Organized by Three One One Productions and held every August, the festival has grown from a neighborhood gathering into a citywide tradition with arts and craft vendors,