Written by: Tyler Blankinship
Earlier this year, iD Jeter and a team of collaborators spent three days isolated in a cabin at Mt. Solon, Virginia. During this retreat, they focused in on mindfulness mantras, strength in the face of adversity, and the importance of community. This focus guided their recording of Reasonings Live over the three days and on November 11, the live album was released to the public. To celebrate the release of Reasonings Live, iD Jeter held a release show at RVA Boombox and brought along the 757's Duce Banx and tyler donavan to round out the concert.
Duce Banx kicked off the show by flexing his lyrical ability, instantly earning the respect of the crowd. He then spent the bulk of his set going through more upbeat and fun tracks, loosely connected by a narrative about a romantic interest sparking and eventually faltering. His charisma was palpable and got everyone into a lively mood for the rest of the night. Then came tyler donavan, whose performance was a barrage of bars that left the audience as impressed by his triumphant content as by his captivating delivery. His set was performed entirely seated on a stool (in 2018 he faced an emergency spinal surgery that nearly kept him from ever walking again), but he rapped with such an electric energy that he may as well have been jumping around the stage. While keeping the crowd hanging on his every word, tyler further impressed by revealing that he had also produced each of his records.
Finally, it was time for the headlining set. As iD Jeter noted very early into his performance: Duce's set had felt like a Friday night getting turnt up, tyler's set had acted as a Saturday full of reflection and revitalization, and now it was time for the Sunday set to take us to church. After a quick introduction by the ROR Band and special guest vocalist Quoyah, iD Jeter ran up onto the stage in a white and green tuxedo. Together they started by performing several tracks from 2021's i.D.entity: Return of the Free to set the reflective, grounded tone. They soon set the ambience even further by lighting incense on stage just before transitioning into Reasonings Live. The most impressive aspect of the performance was how complimentary everyone was, with iD Jeter's boisterous raps, BlackLeonardo's soulful singing, and each instrumentalist's skillful performance blending seamlessly. It was clear that the cabin sessions had brought them all closer together and that this album was incredibly meaningful to each of them personally. The chemistry and shared experience also allowed them to feel free and have unadulterated fun. By the end of the show, they were all jamming so much that iD even launched into an impromptu verse of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" as a solo during "noble king."
What really stuck out the most about this show as a whole was the blend of fun and inspiration that the crowd was left with. Many people hung around after the set to speak with each of the artists and you could overhear countless conversations about the joy of the night, the impact of the music, and the sense of community being brought together for a truly special concert.
You can purchase Reasonings Live on Bandcamp or stream it anywhere.
Blog Author - Tyler Blankinship: What's up everybody! I work primarily as a freelance graphic designer focused on music work (album covers, concert flyers, merch, etc.). I've also got experience in concert planning, radio hosting, music management, and a wide array of miscellaneous music work that I've been able to get my hands on. As far as music taste goes I love a bit of everything, especially local Richmond, VA acts like Fly Anakin, Lucy Dacus, McKinley Dixon, and Benét. Some of my favorite outside acts that I've gotten to see perform in Richmond are Smino, Mac Miller, Robert Glasper, & Courtney Barnett. Supporting independent musicians, especially Virginians, is one of the most important things to me so joining HearRVA felt incredibly natural when I started living in Richmond full time this year.