Richmond’s soul takes the stage for D’Angelo tribute
Richmond musicians who knew D’Angelo before his rise to fame will join artists carrying the city’s soul tradition forward at this year’s Richmond Folk Festival. “Soul of the City: Richmond Celebrates D’Angelo” brings together mentors, former collaborators and fellow performers whose backgrounds connect to the gospel, soul, funk and hip-hop that shaped his music. The tribute takes place Saturday, Oct. 10, days before the first anniversary of his death.
Vocalist Kia Bennett and drummer Randall Cort are organizing the performance, with trumpeter and educator Bill McGee serving as creative director and guitarist Carl Lester as musical director. Their shared history offers a way to trace D’Angelo’s musical development, beginning in the Richmond community that nurtured him long before his recordings reached an international audience.
Born Michael Eugene Archer, D’Angelo grew up on Richmond’s South Side in a musical Pentecostal family. Gospel remained a foundation throughout his career, shaping his harmonies and expressive vocal delivery. He identified Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes among his early influences. Cort, who played drums with the group, knew him through Richmond’s church music community. The Legendary Ingramettes are also expected to appear in the tribute. JayWhit, another featured vocalist, developed through church singing, Highland Springs High School’s Gospel Chorale and the gospel choir Zion’s Voice.
D’Angelo’s childhood listening also opened doors into soul and funk. He recalled hearing the Commodores and Earth, Wind & Fire on the radio and discovering Prince at age five, fascinated by an artist who wrote, sang and played everything himself. McGee’s career connects to that broader musical world through the R&B group Trussel and recording work with Sugar Hill Records artists. As D’Angelo’s mentor and founder of the JFK Talent Showcase, he also helped provide opportunities for Richmond’s emerging talent.
Tribute singer Rodney Stith shares a gospel-to-soul pathway. The Petersburg native developed through church and gospel groups before shaping a classic soul style influenced by Al Green, Sam Cooke and David Ruffin. His background reflects the older traditions D’Angelo brought into conversation with contemporary R&B and hip-hop on his 1995 debut, Brown Sugar. Bennett and fellow vocalist Shawn Chappelle have a direct connection to that period: their group, 4Pleazure, accompanied D’Angelo during early promotional appearances.
Through Voodoo in 2000 and Black Messiah in 2014, D’Angelo continued expanding that musical vocabulary through collaborative rhythms, funk and rock while retaining his gospel roots. Featured performers Corey El and Sam Reed reflect that breadth in their own work. Corey El blends soul, funk and hip-hop, while Reed draws from gospel, soul, jazz and rock.
Joining them are vocalist B. Musiq, bassist Frank Perkins, vocalist and percussionist Rudy Faulkner, horn player James Gates, keyboardist Lance Dickerson, trombonist Charles Newton and guitarists Chris Beasley and Jared Pool, alongside Cort, McGee and Lester. The tribute runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the Center for Cultural Vibrancy Stage at Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront.
