Hasset found her community in RVA through music
The VCU student and R&B singer-songwriter is bringing that connection to a sold-out Backyard Session on Oct. 22.
Hasset moved to Richmond for school, but finding her place took longer. During her first two years, the Virginia Commonwealth University student struggled to make lasting connections. Pursuing music began to change that. Now, the Richmond-based R&B singer-songwriter is preparing for a performance built around the kind of closeness she has come to value. Her Backyard Session, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m., is free and, according to Hasset, already sold out.
The idea came from attending a house party. A backyard offered a setting she could imagine working for her own songs, with listeners gathered outside beneath the night sky.
“I had thought being under the stars would be a great atmosphere for the kind of music I make,” Hasset said in an email interview. “The intimacy of a backyard performance is so special and I genuinely appreciate that I’m able to execute it because I’m not as big of an artist.”
For Hasset, who remains a full-time VCU student, the performance follows a personal shift that began when she started pursuing music in early 2025. It gave her a way to meet people and build the community she had struggled to find.
“I think Richmond is such a diverse city that thrives off authenticity and finding your niche is what brings the people that are meant for you closer,” she said.
That experience has affected how she approaches life beyond songwriting. Hasset said she has learned to be more vulnerable, take chances and reach out to others, lessons that have carried into her personal relationships as well as her music.
Hasset’s sultry alto gives her music a warmth that suits the intimate setting. Her delivery carries a smooth vibrato, adding texture to songs that draw from her own experiences with love and connection.
That willingness to examine her own experiences shapes “tiana,” a song she is particularly excited to perform at the Backyard Session. The song has wonderfully simple piano, smooth background vocals and a classic boom bap drum track, which gives her voice the space to cut through and tell a story. Its premise draws on the familiar fairy-tale promise of a frog becoming a prince, then considers what happens when someone takes on the work of trying to change a partner. “I think some women (including myself) have a desire to transform the men they meet from frogs to princes but in reality, it’s just like the movie,” she said. “You kiss a frog, you become one.” Writing the song helped her make sense of her own love life. She hopes it can offer listeners some of that same clarity.
Hasset would like people to recognize themselves in her songs and feel understood. Still, she is careful about making that an expectation she must meet every time she performs. Giving people an enjoyable night together matters, too.
“I just tell myself my biggest hope is that people leave with a fun memory!” she said.
The backyard gathering will bring that hope into a small, shared space. For an artist still building her audience while attending school, it is also an opportunity to bring people together through the work that helped her find her own footing in RVA.
“Richmond and the wonderful people in it have given me the opportunity to pursue what my heart used to dream of,” Hasset said.
Hasset’s music is available on Spotify. Information about future performances can be found on Instagram at @hasset444.
