Richmond, VA - Oct 2018

Pop-up concerts are always interesting, because there are so many unknowns involved. For our VOTESart residencies outside of NYC, most of our pop-ups are in locations that we have never before visited. Alex, cellist Alan Richardson, and I would drive to each venue, find our contact, briefly look around the space, and make some quick decisions. Where will there be a decent amount of foot traffic, but we will not be in the way? Where are the louder/quieter areas? Is there an outdoor space? If so, is there too much direct sunlight for our instruments? How busy is the place? Based on that, how often should we reintroduce ourselves and point out our voter registration materials? Where can we put our voter registration materials, so that they are close enough that we can answer questions, but not so close that people feel like they are encroaching on our performance space? 

We had all this (and more!) in mind each time we entered the venues who had generously agreed to host us. In Richmond, this included coffee shops, breweries (thank you again, The Veil Brewing Co., for sponsoring our house concert hosted by my childhood friend and fantastic violinist, Ellen Cockerham!), farmers markets, and an excellent barbecue joint called ZZQ.

When I was cold-calling various potential pop-up venues in Richmond, I tried doing a bit of research - asking my future sister-in-law for recommendations (she lives in Richmond), doing some Yelp picture stalking to get a sense of the size and layout of each place, and then figuring out the best way to contact the various venues. ZZQ in particular looked perfect for a pop-up. It has a wonderful open layout, picnic tables in an open backyard, and the owners were excited to have us come. 

As we arrived at ZZQ, the owners and I decided that the best area to play was outside in front of the smokers. There are some things that we aren’t taught at music conservatory, and one of them is trying to predict wind direction so that barbecue smoke does not blow on your instrument. We set up, briefly announced who we were, pointed out the voter registration materials we’d brought, and began to play. 

For pop-ups, we typically play short sets, so that we can chat with people in between pieces. Alex wandered over to a table of young adults, who all enthusiastically declared that they were already registered to vote. At the end of our hour-long pop-up, two of the people from that enthusiastic table got up and wandered over to our voter registration tablet. They explained that they were registered to vote at their previous residence, but hadn’t had a chance to register at their new address in Richmond. 

Life is complex (obvious statement of the day), and there are many reasons why someone might not be on top of updating their voter registration. We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for people who can vote to be able to vote in their local communities, and our experience at ZZQ was a great reminder of that. Sometimes people need a little reminder, a nudge, or the ease of having a tablet in front of them, whether it’s to register to vote for the first time, or to make sure they’ve updated their voter registration to vote in local elections at their new address. Whatever it is, we can all help each other stay on top of voter registration, so that everyone can be as civically involved in their own communities as possible. 

- Becky

VOTESart Pop-Up at Veil Brewing Co.