Giles McConkey with Don Fredrick

GILES MCCONKEY

Giles McConkey is a rock band that focuses on creating original music and weaving that with thoughtful tributes to iconic bands of the past. The band is constantly experimenting with their sound and in result, every show becomes different and constantly evolving. Giles McConkey's goal, as a band, is to try to bridge the gap between performing tight compositions and throwing caution to the wind and playing true improvisational music. This is not a band to miss, with every show producing different results that all remain uniquely Giles.

Giles McConkey found their start in the fall of 2013 in Blacksburg, Virginia. With years of extensive gigging around Virginia and surrounding states, Giles has become known for seamlessly weaving experimental and uplifting jams with accessible and funky originals. Fans of the band who attend live shows have experienced everything from progressive and technical hard rock resolving into uplifting and peaking jams, to tight and focused bluegrass tributes, to loose and funky jams and everything in between. Due to this diversity of sound, the band attracts fans of many genres of music that keep returning to experience the band and their constantly evolving sound.

DON FREDRICK

Starting in the dorm rooms of VCU, Don Fredrick began as an offbeat Southern Rock band playing DIY gigs in living rooms, garages, basements and the like.

Released in February 2017, the debut self-titled EP from Don Fredrick shows off their Southern Rock roots, with four tracks that have become anthems of the DIY venues they frequent.

Don Fredrick has greatly evolved since the release of their EP, now frequenting the hottest venues in Richmond, such as Strange Matter, The Camel, the Broadberry, Emilios, Sound of Music Studios, and more. The band has cultivated a sound from a combination of heavy influences from Psych Rock, Funk and a little bit of just about everything else. Taking queues from great artists such as The War On Drugs, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Kurt Vile, they have cultivated a unique cross-genre mood to the jams they play. This development lead to the release of Lombo, the groups first full length. Written collaboratively by all members, it features tracks they played live over the year the it was recorded. Patrick Rhoads and Kate Kistlet joined the group for some of the recording process, adding a powerful new dynamic to Don Fredrick's sound with saxophone and vocals respectively.