RIVERROCK 2013: #RVA, THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT OF AWESOMENESS
I have to admit, it took me a while to feel comfortable posting about Dominion Riverrock 2013. As you know, one bad actor can ruin an otherwise awesome event. In this case, the “bad actor – clown – hater…etc.” really marred the headlines on an amazing weekend. Most people know this but I have to write, the embarrassment that happened in no way reflects this area, this festival, or the amazing people that worked so hard to make Riverrocks 2013 and awesome weekend. And it was an awesome weekend.
Now what that soapbox speech out of the way, on the the awesomeness of Riverrocks. It was a weekend of great events, food, friends and music. My favorite being Toots and the Maytals (I’m a huge fan), Photosyntheziers (Fam to the core), and the slackline event (I just love it).
Love is the name of the game people. Thanks to everyone that made Riverrock 2013 great.
Local climber Ian Chavis advance to the finals of the Boulder Bash!
Toots rocked the main stage before you know….Toots has played RVA a number of times prior to this trip, I hope he does come back.
Toots rocked it
Alex “The Machine” is currently the #1 ranked slackliner in the world. He is 15.
Josh B (Photosynthesizers) is a rock star.
Sky high – Sam Reed (Photosynthesizers)
Reggie Miller to my Spike Lee – My brother Bar Codez ripping it
ALABAMA SHAKES + FRIDAY CHEERS = SO GOOD!
Thanks to Stephen and the great people at Venture Richmond, I was able to cover one of the most anticipated Friday Cheers of the year. The Alabama Shakes battled the elements last night and rocked Brown’s Island.
I had never seen them play live before but I was hearing the hype for weeks. Well, the hype is real! They were amazing! Lead singer Brittany Howard is the real deal.
She carried the night with her powerful southern rock voice and surprisingly strong guitar playing. Most of the audience on Brown’s Island knew every song and sung along.
The few that didn’t became instant fans. I found myself dancing to every song and really captivated by their sound. 
It was a great show. I am now a new loyal fan. Check out the Alabama Shakes Facebook page here. And Check out the Friday Cheers Facebook page here….like them both!
THE CHEATS MOVEMENT DOING WORK AT THE STONE SOUL MUSIC FESTIVAL! [PHOTOS]
What a blessing it was to cover the Stone Soul Music Festival on Saturday at Brown’s Island. I have to again thank Community Clovia for her help allowing me to cover the amazing day. Stone Soul was fantastic! Great weather, live performances, and friendly people made for a spectacular event. I know a lot of photographers covered the festival but I was able to really get some strong work done backstage (mostly stalking the new love of my life Melanie Fiona). Parliament killed it and George Clinton is just a great dude. Tank is wonderful guy. And my man Special Ed…true hip hop history. Boyz II Men were very friendly and professional.Travis Porter and V.I.C were great backstage. I really didn’t see Fabolous backstage because of his bodygaurd …that all I will say about that. Always good to see my sista Mimi and Black RVA…luv to them for all they do.
I will say that all the on air personalities at Radio One were great to me. I was humbled to be there and hope I can do more to cover these types of events in the future. No one is doing it quite like The Cheats Movement Blog – and I need your continued support. I’m not saying that I’m doing it better by any means…just a different look. A look that relates directly to the city that I love. #WE SEE IT! and it’s all for RVA! PLEASE KEEP SUPPORTING THE CHEATS MOVEMENT ON FACEBOOK
CLICK HERE TO LIKE CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF THE PHOTOS FROM THE STONE SOUL MUSIC FESTIVAL
Melanie Fiona and George Clinton Backstage at Stone Soul.
SATURDAY PHOTOS FROM DOMINION RIVER ROCKS – CRUSHING THE SCENE!
The crowd far exceeded what was anticipated last Saturday at Dominion River Rocks. There is no doubt the attendance was helped by another glorious RVA day. I must say, as much as RVA is a trending hippster town, there has always been strong support for hiking, climbing, running, and all the outdoor events that River Rocks brought to Browns Island last weekend. I was extremely impressed with the slack line competition. Slack line is definitely a reminder that I’m getting older and there is a generation of kids that are growing up with cool things that I never had. In addition to slack line, competitive wall climbing, and bike jumping, River Rocks brought a ton of cool things to RVA: air dog competition, mud runs, food vendors, and of course, live music. One of the best live bands in the world closed out Saturday night, the one and only Galactic from New Orleans. I was unable to make it back down to the island on Sunday so my photos are from all day Saturday. Check them out and let me know what you think.
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CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE CHEATS MOVEMENT PHOTOS FROM DOMINION RIVER ROCKS SATURDAY
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE CHEATS MOVEMENT PHOTOS FROM DOMINION RIVER ROCKS SATURDAY
“HI HO FIDDLE I DAY” CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS – A HIT AT FRIDAY CHEERS!
Last night could have been the best weather day of 2012 and to top it off RVA was buzzing with tons of fun things to do. After some discussion with my friends, I decided on Carolina Chocolate Drops performing at Friday Cheers. I’d photographed CCD last year at the National and remember them being one of the best live shows ever…not of last year but ever. CCD and Sharon Jones are two of my favorite live bands of all time. About halfway through the first song I realized that I was crazy for even thinking about missing CCD. They brought the house down again last night! They have a new record, “Leaving Eden” and it’s really good. It’s amazing to see them win new fans at ever show. When they come back to RVA — make sure you check them out!
One of the nice ladies beside me leaned over and said, “(Rhiannon Giddens) is so beautiful.” My response was, “Yes, she really talented.” and her response was, “Yeah, she’s talented too.” There are truly no words to describe how awesome Rhiannon Giddens is. The world is at a loss.
Don Flemons doing his thing! He always has a great time on stage.
400 Umbrellas in Richmond (World AIDS Day – Brown’s Island, RVA)
On December 1, 2011, RVA Remembers held a breath taking ceremony on Brown’s Island (Richmond, Virginia) in observance of World AIDS Day. 400 red umbrellas opened up at 12:00 PM in the formation of a ribbon. The volunteers stood in solidarity for 9 minutes and 30 seconds, symbolizing the time period that an American is newly infected with HIV. Please watch this video and share it with as many people as possible because 30 years is simply long enough. We must do what we can to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Congrats to the Fan Free Clinic and RVA Remembers for such a powerful display. Thanks to all participated in this video and helped make it happen. The Cheats Movement is proud to present: 400 Umbrellas in Richmond.
Photo: Rafting on the James! [Richmond, VA]
I’m learning new skills in Adobe Lightroom working with color and light. I took this photo a while ago with a Nikon point and shoot (Nikon Cool Pic). Lightroom editing really helps to bring this photo to life.
New Photo: Yesterday in Richmond – Part I [Brown's Island, RVA]
Brown’s Island [shot from the bridge] Canon T2i -41mm – f/5.6 – 1/100 – iso 100; Edited in Adobe Lightroom – Soundtrack: Night Train Remix Joell Ortiz & Novel ft. Bun B & Tech N9ne.
Saturday Morning Popular Post: Reflection in the Quarry
From the Picture Series: The Cheats Movement Invades Belle Isle. Click here to see the entire series. Thanks for all the positive feedback regarding this project. Stay Focused – more to come.
New Picture Series: The Cheats Movement Invades Belle Isle
Yesterday I headed out to Brown and Belle Island to take some photos of the river. What I discovered was a very fun – super active day on the James. It was a great scene and I really enjoyed being out in the fun. Click here to see my new picture series, The Cheats Movement Invades Belle Island (and Brown too). Summers in RVA are amazing! Enjoy the photos and hit the Cheats Movement on Facebook by clicking here.
PHOTO: Wake Up Richmond: Brown’s Island (RVA)
Brown's Island is tricky becasue the sun rises over the city and it doesn't make for great morning pictures but - the lesson was learned. Shooting the river is always great and I had fun seeing so many joggers in the morning.
Morning Sky Photo: Wake up RVA!
The last two days have been amazing for morning sky shots. I headed out early the get the sky near Brown's Island. There were so many people out running - I wonder does anyone sleep.
Amazing: Trombone Shorty X Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On [Cheats Movement]
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue did their thing at Friday Cheers. Listen to Shorty blaze Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. He also treated the crowd to James Brown and Louis Armstrong. Treme was in RVA last night – Amazing!
The Cheats Movement
