Lights! The strobe lights rock back and forth, illuminating the decked out musicians on the stage. Camera! Grotesque zombies walk through the streets of Carytown, working hard to finish filming the final scenes of The Walking Dead while an actor gets ready for their first performance at the Altria Theater. Action! A bustling convention center, overloaded with anime characters, celebrities, and gamers gets ready to celebrate the vast breadth of pop culture. This may seem like it could never be a reality—how could so many people be joined together by pop culture in one place? Yet, one city, a place we all know and love, houses each and every one of these events. Richmond, Virginia, is one of the greatest cities to experience a captivating film, theater, and music scene due to the many concerts, performances, and pop culture events that bring the nerds of the city together.

Richmond’s musical scene is built on the abundance of concerts that allow those living in the city to have an excursion often. Freshman Berkeley Crane claims that she often takes part in these concerts with her friends and family. She notes that, “[her] favorite venue is Brown’s Island. . . . It’s right next to the river and brings the entire city together.” One of the largest concert events that bring the city together is the Friday Cheers, “a summer-long lineup of concerts every Friday night.” These events, hosted every year, represent a variety of smaller artists and showcase their work in a family-friendly atmosphere that gains a lot of traction. Not only are small artists represented, but Crane states that “big artists have come to tour in Richmond as part of the festivities, including Chappell Roan, Brandi Carlile, and Sexyy Red.” This allows those that may not otherwise get a chance to see a larger artist in a communal way. Crane also notes that food trucks are a popular sight during these events, “provid[ing] a vast array of dishes to try.” These trucks are an important way to encompass a variety of cuisines, bringing a diverse audience together to have fun. Another proctor of the musical scene in Richmond is our very own Richmond Symphony. Since 1957, the Richmond Symphony has been drawing in those from both inside and outside the city to enjoy a wonderful performance together. Their offerings continuously reflect a diverse audience; from playing soundtracks over live movies to musical circus shows, the Richmond Symphony has something for everybody. In conclusion, the variety of concerts that showcase large and small artists help to bring the city together through their inclusive manner.

Richmond’s film & performance scene is also amplified by the popular national musical comedy tours in the Altria Theater and film history based on the number of movies filmed in Richmond. To begin, the Altria Theater’s large presence in Richmond contributes to the grasp of the performance scene. The Altria, originally known as the Mosque Theater after its construction in 1918, has since been home to a variety of musical performances, broadway shows, and comedy showcases. One of its more recent shows, SIX, about the six wives of Henry the 8th, was attended by freshman Nate Stevens. Stevens remarked, “I really liked the Six performance! The music, lights, set, and costumes all worked together really nicely to produce an amazing show.” Nate notes that this was his first time seeing a show at the Altria, but freshman Scarlet Wharff has been to many: “Hamilton in the 2022-2023 season, and Frozen, SIX, and Beetlejuice in the 2023-2024 season.” She notes that, “[her] favorite performance to see was Frozen … and it was really magical to see everything that closely.” With the vast repertoire of Richmond shows that Wharff has attended, it’s easy to see why the Altria is so popular: “it’s become a gather[ing] place for people of many backgrounds from all over Richmond.” It’s obvious to see that the presence of the Altria Theater is important to bringing diversity in not only content, but watchers as well. One of the emblems of Richmond film history is the renowned Byrd Theater. Constructed in 1928, it has since represented not only the long presence Richmond has had in the film community, but the city’s commitment to bringing an affordable movie experience to all. Richmond not only sports film diversity through their engaging performances and rich film history, but through the movies that have been filmed in Richmond, including Mission Impossible III, Harriet, and Walking Dead: World Beyond, representing a variety of genres. Among those, the Walking Dead series was quite recent, with the show’s second season premiering in 2021. According to the state’s website, this series was filmed at the Science Museum, VCU Student Commons, and Bryan Park, among other Virginian locations. All in all, Richmond will continue to be a place where film can evolve and grow through performances, showings, and filmings.

The film scene in Richmond is not only supported by the large breadth of performances by others, but by those living in Richmond themselves. The largest proponent of this is the Greater Richmond Convention Center, the host for numerous conventions throughout the year. The film and pop culture scene in Richmond can be scarce, with only two main conventions. The Richmond Comic Con is the first; it hosts numerous exhibitions and cosplaying contests, but it doesn’t come close to Galaxy Con. GalaxyCon is a comic convention where pop culture, anime, and film enthusiasts join together for a great time. Spanning eight locations, GalaxyCon comes to Richmond every March, falling on the 29th of this year. Freshman Jaanvi Kanda says that what she loves most “is the fun and welcoming atmosphere of the place … everyone is really nice and willing to help.” She notes that her favorite part is “seeing everyone dressed to the nines for the occasion [as it] makes the place seem almost magical with people coming as superheroes, mythical creatures, and more!” The diverse cosplays at GalaxyCon really represent the strong culture that is brought to these get-togethers. The cosplayers are representative of various film, comic book, and video game characters, as are their celebrity counterparts. Every year, GalaxyCon hosts a variety of famous film actors, voice actors, and artists. Personally, I was able to meet the actor Jacob Romero who played Usopp in the One Piece live action remake, and it was a great experience that I never would have had otherwise. In the end, the culture that pop culture conventions bring to Richmond really helps enhance the film and performance scene.

Richmond’s film and performance scene has a lot of history, built by the various theaters and movies filmed here, but that isn’t stopping Richmond from progressing to the new age of film. Events like GalaxyCon, the showcasing of up-and-coming musical artists, and a diverse presentation of musical comedy showings are drawing in the younger generation to bring a diverse and new audience to the world of film and performance.

Information gathered from Altria.com, ByrdTheater.org, VaComicCon.com,GalaxyCon.com, Virginia.org, IMDB.com, and RichmondCenter.com