Jazz musicians Weldon Hill, Victor Haskins, Steve Wilson and James “Saxsmo” Gates gather during a 2024 performance at Révéler. (Photo by Peter McElhinney)
“I don’t know where Godzilla is now; I think it’s in the storage locker,” says Tom Illmensee, co-founder of Orbital Music Park.
He and his longtime musical collaborator Morgan Huff started OMP as a place where Richmond musicians could gather and host intimate performances. He refers to a small plastic Godzilla figurine that guarded the front desk of the former OMP site, located in a still-operating industrial warehouse near the Sauer’s Gardens neighborhood of Richmond from 2019 until 2022 (two years prior, it launched as a pop-up experience at city venues). The establishment offered rehearsal rooms for local music makers, a feature that will return when OMP opens a new space in Jackson Ward this summer.
“We think there are about 35,000 adult music makers in Richmond, and there are almost 100,000 apartments where you can’t make a sound,” Illmensee notes. “So, they need a place to go.”
The former hybrid practice and performance space served more than 600 members.
“That was our first prototype of what this could be,” Illmensee explains, “and we outgrew it.”
The search for a new space — with AC, plumbing and a more accessible location — led OMP to Révéler, a Carytown music and event venue with an ambiance a bit like someone installed a bar and stage inside a magician’s walk-in closet.
“Révéler is kind of the music venue we always dreamed of having,” Illmensee says. OMP currently hosts nightly jams and performances there. But while he sings its praises, he notes the building would have required major renovations to accommodate the addition of rehearsal spaces.
Illmensee secured two investors with a building ready to house the project; the new OMP site will occupy the rear of 210 W. Marshall St. “We’ll have a back-alley entrance, like a speakeasy,” he says. Members will enter via the Lunar Lounge, which is a library of books and instruments. Down a hallway will be two stage-sized practice rooms, suitable for a full band, modeled after the original space. New to this location will be two smaller rooms for individual practice and music lessons. Illmensee calls it “a radical refinement of the last space” that will serve a greater diversity of uses.
Two key features make the upcoming venue unique among local rehearsal options. Each room will be equipped with a full array of amplification devices with instruments available. This enables music makers to use heavy and expensive equipment they may not own or be able to haul around. It’s also a site designed for gatherings.
“Our invitation is for the whole rainbow of Richmond to be in the space and making music,” Illmensee says. “We really need to do our best to create a community space that feels safe and inclusive.”
With the Jackson Ward venue focusing on practice sessions, OMP will remain in operation out of Révéler for its performance offerings. On April 15, Americana musician Caroline Vain takes the stage (tickets are $15), and on May 23, jazz group the Peter Bernstein + Mike Hawkins Trio perform (tickets are $25).
On April 5, OMP will present a TEDx talk at Virginia Commonwealth University, where they will discuss their strategies “to get people out of the audience and onto the stage.” The event will be livestreamed for the general public.
Looking towards a long-term goal, Illmensee says, “Our big plan is to build music parks in lots of ZIP codes all over the country and all over the world.”
