Classic Soul
Petersburg, Virginia
Photo: Dave Parrish
Born and raised in nearby Petersburg, Virginia, Rodney Stith is quickly becoming one of Virginia’s most beloved up-and-coming classic soul and R&B artists. Petersburg has traditionally been better known for gospel music than soul or R&B, although local Petersburg record shop owner Ben Allen recorded several local doo-wop and R&B groups in the late 1950s for his Nu-Kat Record label, including The Velvatones, The Five Roses and, most prominently, the Continental Five. Still, the musical heartbeat of Petersburg’s African American community remained in the church, which is where Rodney first cut his musical chops, singing and playing bass guitar with his uncle in several local gospel groups and later joining a gospel quartet where he gained an appreciation for singing with great emotion, passion, and soul.
Rodney recognized the same emotive force in the American classic soul and R&B his father would always play from the local soul AM station and his expansive collection of 8-track tapes. Rodney soon gravitated to the works of the Reverend Al Green, Brook Benton, Sam Cooke, David Ruffin, and other singing giants of the era. He learned to master these artists’ singing styles while also developing a sound that is all his own, along the way capturing the heart and soul of some of the all-time greats while building a bridge to a new generation of listeners with each scintillating live performance.
Rodney is a multiple award-winning artist of the Grand Jury of Music at the Richmond International Film and Music Festival and a recent Critics Choice Award winner. His newly released EP, The Soul Chronicles of Rodney Stith, on Richmond’s own Shockoe Records, has reached #2 in the UK Soul Charts. He will be bringing a big sound to the 2023 CCV Stage, with a powerhouse band that includes Kenneth McDaniels on keys, Dante Owens on drums, Aaron Booker on guitar, Trevon Jones on bass, and Micheal Prealeau and Shawn Chappelle on backing vocals. The 804 is still abuzz over Rodney’s recent standing room only performance at the storied Hippodrome Theater, and we can’t wait to catch his Richmond Folk Festival debut.