Weekend Plans won the 2026 Newlin Music Prize for their album “After Hours.” (Photo courtesy Weekend Plans)
Weekend Plans is cooking up something for everybody. The two lead voices behind the 2026 Newlin Music Prize-winning group are a classic neo-soul singer and a word-drunk rapper. The rhythm section can lay back or funk out forward. There is a killer horn component, and last but hardly least is a soaring, shredding electric guitarist. It takes a light touch and a lot of experience to blend so many ingredients into a crowd-pleasing sum that’s greater than its parts. After 10 years, the band has the recipe down.
“It is a touch of jazz with a sprinkle of hip-hop, with a lot of soul, some heavy funk grooves and a garnish of rock,” says singer, trumpeter and bandleader Kayen Wilborn of their sound, adding, “It’s a beautiful mix — unique, complex, exciting and fun.”
The group is celebrating its first decade on Aug. 29 with a free concert at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park. There have been changes in lineup and sound over the years, but the ethos remains the same. “The driving force of the band is to bring eight or nine minds together to create music that resonates. It becomes a beautiful amalgamation of complex emotions, whether you want to dance, just chill or do the laundry,” Wilborn says.
There actually is a song about laundry on the band’s winning album, “After Hours.” It works as a metaphor for adult responsibility, a theme of the record that bleeds into the evolution of romance from backseat passion to mature love. The musical journey of the LP is assembled so well, it’s hard to believe the album was created over multiple years at two different studios. The arrangements artfully leave space for each player to shine, while the frontline vocals alternate between Wilborn’s smooth sincerity and Logos The Poetic (Marquis Hazelwood)’s sharper-edged flow.
“It is lovely living in this mini mecca of creatives,” Wilborn says. “And it’s a beautiful thing to win the Newlin Prize. It was unexpected, after competing with so many great musical friends and peers. It’s humbling to know this city rocks with our music. It just makes us want to pour back into the community, to keep pushing that feedback loop of support.”
The Nominees Are ...
Meet local artists who made the Newlin Prize short list for best album
Laura Ann Singh “Mean Reds”
Photo courtesy Laura Ann Singh
A captivating vocalist, Singh is adept across multilingual genres ranging from Burt Bacharach to bolero and bossa nova. The bracingly charming “Mean Reds” album is at once revealing and elusive. “This record is experimental,” Singh says. “I wanted to mix different elements and style. Angst and fragility are what make it compelling.” Working with an A-list quartet of RVA jazz players — drummer Scott Clark, bassist Adam Hopkins, trumpeter Bob Miller and saxophonist John Lilley — the songs are designed so she can improvise a new melody at every performance. “I feel less ownership of my own songs than ones written by others,” Singh confides. Some of the songs, such as “Highway Monster,” chronicling the horrors of driving, and “Counting,” about keeping track of numbers across languages, are funny. Other songs, like “Before You’re Gone,” concerning caring for a declining loved one, are deeply moving. None are frivolous.
Shera Shi “Kneedy”
Photo courtesy Shera Shi
Shera Shi’s “Kneedy” is an exceptionally confident debut EP. Fronted by singer Brittany O’Neill, the alternative indie band has been building a following with live performances since 2022, while recording the album for the past three years. “These songs were mostly tracked in different studios,” O’Neill says. “A lot of the tunes are moody, personal diaries about love gone wrong. It is cathartic to write in a space of heartbreak.” It is also universally relatable, especially when sad lyrics come in multilayered vocals wrapped in tasteful, jazz-tinged pop packaging. The band is comprised of Hunter Pease on guitar tone, Garrett Russell on bass and, after a succession of drummers on the album, ultimately Jon Chadwick, who also mixed the sound. O’Neill is already looking ahead to their next album, and with “Kneedy” under its belt, Shera Shi is a band to keep an eye on.
Pyramid Mass “Gargling Rot”
Photo courtesy Pyramid Mass
The grotesque title, like a medieval church gargoyle, wards off the uninitiated. But beneath the album’s jackhammer rhythms and glottal-rasp vocals hides a cousin of first-generation progressive rock. Pyramid Mass is a passion project, says drummer Matt Wild. “We’ve reached a more soundscape approach to thrash black metal, avant-garde and grindcore,” he says. “[Bassist] Joey Anderson is classically trained, [guitarist] Nick Crider and I play more by ear. It’s cool to see how chaotic we can get, and our styles have some rhyme and reason in a music theory sense.” The “Gargling Rot” EP functions as an aural journey, with slamming intensity followed by melodies floating in ambient mists. Breaking down walls in a genre defined by enclosing dread may seem like a quixotic mission. Chances are that the results are not for everybody. But then again, what mad adventure is?
Catch ’Em All
Newlin Prize short listers take the stage
5/17
Folk rockers Mackenzie Roark and the Hotpants perform at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery from 2 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. hardywood.com
5/25
The fifth annual Daydream Fest at Main Line Brewery features Newlin Prize winner Weekend Plans and short lister Radio B. They’re joined by an all-star lineup of Richmond talent including Bio Ritmo, the Charles Owens Trio and many more. Doors open at noon. Tickets are $40 ($50 day of show). daydreamfest.com
6/1
Brazilian and jazz music take the foreground when Laura Ann Singh is joined by Marlysse Simmons, Bruno Alcalde, the Maddy Curtis Quartet and The BeSides at The Camel. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $15 ($17 at the door). thecamel.org
6/11
Cuban American artist Brookhouse takes the stage at The Camel with Charlottesville-based indie-pop group Theocles & The Muses and local singer-songwriter Gary Luong. The music begins at 8 p.m., and tickets are $15. thecamel.org
6/20
Progressive metal band Pyramid Mass thrashes the house with doom rockers Thunderchief, heavy metal artists Stone Nomads and hard rock group Hellion Child at Bandito’s. The show starts at 8 p.m. Visit the website for pricing. banditosburritolounge.com
8/29
Weekend Plans celebrates its 10th anniversary with a massive show at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park. Visit the website for showtime. Admission is free. rva.gov/parks-recreation/dogwood-dell
