Rosie Soul and the Rock & Roll Cowboys are badass – by design. It’s a design that works very well indeed. About 200 faithful saddled up Friday night for a hard rock evening at Uptown Alley. Rosie and the band promote crowd involvement: In the first set alone she had 2 audience members come up to sing with her (one shooting selfies while on stage) and asked a known fan to swap her “ears’” batteries while she kept singing. Combined with their tight high-energy show, this crowd love makes for a damned good evening.
The band formed in 2010 and has been voted Favorite Richmond Rock Band by “Style Weekly” readers the last 2 years running. They feature classic rock, heavy metal and even some R&B. For this show they did a mash-up of AC/DC and Stevie Wonder that worked seamlessly. Rosie even incorporated bagpipes – something I doubt any other band is doing. However, it’s Rosie’s soulful power vocals, wrapped in her on-stage tight black leather persona, which sets this band apart. Although based in RVA, they play more dates out of town than in the area, so an RVA show is always a party.
Rosie’s been singing since she was 8, had paying jobs in Nashville before becoming a teenager and released her first singles by age 15. Rosie says she was a shy overweight girl in the beginning, who eventually got “tired of hiding.” She credits her mom with supporting her pursuit of music and keeping her focused. After graduating high school she moved to Nashville to write for Reba McEntire’s publishing company and go to college. Those experiences taught her about being a performer and how tough the world can be. Those lessons included sexual abuse and doubts about her sanity. She’s totally open about her journey, chronicling it in a video on her website. It took 13 years for her to figure herself out. Today the Rosie persona is still a work in progress – including “shy girl” check-ins from time to time.
One of those “that works moments” came early in the band’s history at a Cullen’s Cove Halloween show. Rosie wasn’t sure how she could augment her already dark sorceress-like look until someone suggested devil’s horns. It was a big hit. So much so that people starting asking her where the horns were at subsequent shows. Regrettably, she was without horns Friday night, although a handful of female fans were wearing theirs. For the band’s part they always dress in flame-laced shirts and black cowboy hats. The bottom line for the band is delivering a fun night by giving their fans more that they ask for.
Even though their sets are heavy with covers, the band has released a 5 song EP of originals (“Cowgirl Fever”) and is currently producing a full length CD. Doing original music has always been part of the plan, but as Rosie says, they had to do the covers to build a following. It must have worked. Rosie’s local fan-base is large and dedicated. The next chance to catch their show locally will be 8/16 at the Hanover Firefighters’ Crab Feast.
[toggle title=”Watch Video”]
[/toggle]
– Rosie Soul: vocals
– Jamie Lloyd: guitar
– Stevie Shred: guitar
– Kenny Stockman: bass and keyboard
– Eddie Buchanan: drums
Odds and Ends:
RVA’s the Green Boys played the Telluride Bluegrass Festival the end of June (as reported in Sifter) and placed third in their competition. On July 24th they’ll play the Music at Maymont festival opening for Emmylou Harris.
The Camel has cleared a big hurdle in their long effort to extend the hours for hosting live music shows. In a 5-1 vote, Richmond’s Planning Commission voted for a one-year trial period, which allows for live music later at night. Over 20 of the Camel’s supporters attended the meeting last Monday. City Council still has to approve the decision.