Richmond Battery Shows: Disseminating Sound & Breaking Paradigms
Written by Piper Lynch for Ink Magazine
Photography by Kylie Newcomb
September 24, 2019
About The Piece
As a frequent listener in the DIY music scene of Richmond, VA, during the summer of 2019 I became captivated by a new outdoor music series called “Battery Shows,” which were completely battery powered music shows in the outdoors in various and discrete locations in Richmond. These were established and organized by two experimental artists, Will Mullany and Brandon Hurtado.
I found its conception intriguing and wanted to get a closer look, so I pitched the idea at Ink Magazine, as my first music coverage, for an interview article with its founders as well as a feature of one of the shows which occurred in an open garage in Scuffletown Park.
This was an important experience as it was my first attempt at interviewing for a publication, and I stumbled and learned a lot. I found the challenges of interviewing come with flow and conversation. It’s easy to stick to a script, stuck in fear that you won’t be able to speak candidly or ask something unplanned. While I still was happy with the outcome and success of the show, it was a system of trial and error that led me to modify and rethink the interview process for future projects.
“The decision of impromptu and mobile-powered outdoor events allowed for total self-reliance, and leaving much up to nature. “Playing outside, especially with this kind of music, is really interesting. It’s open to things like people driving by, or bugs, or birds, or helicopters,” says Brandon. In the planning process of these shows, they believe that context matters, and it’s often that the choice of location, artists, and their work are relative; as Will explains, “I think that the people we have on these shows informs the location, and the location informs the people we have on the shows.”