Chris Legget & The Copper Line

Erin & The Wildfire

at The Camel

Friday, June 21st, 2024

Doors at 9, Music at 9:30

Chris Leggett & The Copper Line

Here’s how one listener put it after a Chris Leggett & the Copper Line set at the Broadberry: “Your sound encapsulates Virginia.”

Leggett was born and raised in Richmond, absorbing the influence of storied Virginian songwriters like Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz, as well as timeless favorites like James Taylor and John Prine. He started out playing drums but was drawn to the guitar, and soon followed in the footsteps of a father who wrote songs in his spare time. “He always expressed to me that songwriting was a divine thing, and there’s always songs in the air.”

So much musical inspiration drifts around Richmond, and Leggett has moved closer to the source with each release. First came a pair of EPs, both on his Mush Brain Records label: 2017’s self-titled effort and its 2018 follow-up, Some Odd Years, where he renewed the partnership with guitarist Matt Elgin that started with their middle school garage band.

Leggett’s debut full-length, From the Idle Mind, marks the start of an exciting new chapter. The Copper Line took shape as a fully fledged rock group in 2019, when bassist Tucker Dean – a middle and high school bandmate of Elgin’s – and drummer Dave Pierandri joined up, allowing early pop-punk and jam influences to shine through Leggett’s sharp Americana songwriting for a unique sound that harkens back to alt-country’s raucous inception.

Recorded in Richmond at the Ward with production by Andrew Carper (Palm Palm, the Southern Belles) and engineering by Zach Fichter (Turkuaz, Chicano Batman), From the Idle Mind is a journey in and of itself — into a drunken haze (“Whiskey Breath”), through the heartbreak and resulting songwriting sprint Leggett experienced during the pandemic (“Eight Weeks”), and out into a wide-open, hopeful future (“Extra Blue”).

Things are similarly looking up for Chris Leggett & the Copper Line. Since playing his first gig at Alley Katz when he was just 14, Leggett and his bandmates have progressed to stages like that of the RiverRock festival on Brown’s Island and the Beacon Theatre in Hopewell. They’ve supported the likes of Neal Francis, Cris Jacobs, the Steeldrivers, and the Wood Brothers, though you’re as likely to find them playing to loyal crowds of their own at the Broadberry and the Camel. “I’ve been in Richmond for so long,” Leggett says, “and now I’m finally breaking into the scene a little bit.”

Erin & The Wildfire

Virginia roots, powerful vocals, and an indie-pop soul.

Erin & The Wildfire started as four college kids in Charlottesville, Virginia making music just for fun, but has grown into a flourishing, decade-long musical relationship among four best friends. E&TW, who now call Virginia’s capital city of Richmond home, have evolved their sound over the past ten years to where it currently stands firmly in the soul and indie-pop genres, drawing influences from a wide range of artists including Emily King, D’Angelo, YEBBA, Vulfpeck, and Donny Hathaway.

The band blends the expressive, powerhouse vocals of frontwoman, Erin Lunsford, with the pop, funk, and indie sensibilities of bandmates Ryan Lipps (guitar), Nick Quillen (drums), and Matt Wood (bass). In addition to the core four, E&TW has recently found a kindred musical soul in keyboardist Stephen Roach, who has played with the band since 2019.

Lunsford’s lyrics are often deeply personal, focusing on her journey through struggles with body acceptance and self-love. With a passion for songwriting running through her veins from an early age, Lunsford endeavors to connect with fans of all ages by sharing her lived experiences with climate change and fighting the patriarchy in music. E&TW aim to make their shows a space where the audience will feel safe and accepted.

“Each show feels like it’s the next and last chance to explain ourselves –another chance to connect with the audience to speak our truth. We hope that people seeing us for the first time (and repeat viewers!) feel appreciated and comfortable and we hope they feel inspired by the tunes.”

Their second full-length album, Touchy Feely was released April 1, 2022 and recorded in the Summer of 2021, after nearly a year and a half of virtual songwriting and collaboration during the global pandemic. The new release, named one of Style Weekly’s most-anticipated local albums of 2022, was produced by acclaimed songwriter and producer Matthew E. White (Natalie Prass). The meticulous production, impeccable songwriting, and sensual vocals are present as ever on an album that polishes the signature style introduced by their popular single “Shape” in 2020.

Erin & The Wildfire’s first live show back, after a pandemic-induced hiatus in 2020, was an exciting sold-out event at Richmond, Virginia's Friday Cheers in 2021. The band also made their debut on NPR’s Mountain Stage in 2021 alongside Amy Helm, Chris Pierce, and Christian Lopez, airing to 200+ stations nationwide. E&TW has provided direct support for national tours including Sammy Rae & The Friends’ 2022 Follow Me Like the Moon Tour, Maggie Rose’s Summer 2022 Tour, and The Dip’s Fall 2019 Tour. They have shared the stage with other dynamic acts including Oh He Dead, Marcus King Band, Natalie Prass, Jill Scott, Butcher Brown, Mighty Joshua, The Village People, and Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds.

E&TW have also made appearances at some of the largest festivals on the East Coast including Suwannee Rising, LOCKN’, FloydFest, CMJ, RoosterWalk, and more. In 2019, Garret Woodward for Rolling Stone cited Lunsford’s vocals as the peak moment of FloydFest’s 2019 Buffalo Mountain Jam writing, “The jam reached its peak when Erin Lunsford (of Erin & the Wildfire) howled into the heavens.”