Virginia Man is a 5 piece Indie Rock Group of recent college grads from Fredericksburg VA. Since the August 2016 release of their first single, “Paper Shields”, Virginia Man has seen incredible growth and success. Their single charted on Spotify’s US Viral 50 playlist and has accumulated over 250,000 plays. Virginia Man has gained quite the following at universities all around Virginia and out of state in cities where they have played such as NYC and Charlotte. They are known for their timeless Indie pop songs that deeply resonate with their fans as well as for their magnetic personalities that shine on stage through their organic charismatic performances.
Thanks Andrew, from Virginia Man, for taking us on your journey!
Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsy! Virginia Man just dropped their first music video and you absolutely must view it! (Read on and watch it below.)
If by some chance you haven’t heard of these guys by now, chances are you will very soon. They are taking over the area and are extending their following at a rate Fredericksburg may have never seen before.
Here’s a bit of their story….
Virginia Man unofficially began their music careers in the summer of 2015, when one cool night front man – Kristian Lietzan, guitarist – Andrew Burlingame, and their good friend, Josh Honaker, decided to head over to Market Square with their acoustic guitars to enjoy the evening and jam some tunes.
At the time, they were perfectly content just being and carrying on their normal lives while enjoying playing music. That changed abruptly when, while jamming, they were approached by a Fredericksburg Talent Scout who set them up with their very first local gig. The next weekend the boys were playing live on stage and the rest is history.
What’s truly remarkable about these guys’ story is what has happened to them since that first summer night.
In the Fall of 2015, they picked up permanent band members, Jack Rutherford (drums), Jacob Keller (keys), and Jason Ross (bass). Quickly, they proceeded to record and release their first single – “Paper Shields” – on iTunes, Spotify, and everywhere else (thank you to Taylor Rigg).
To their surprise, “Paper Shields” took off like they never expected. Today it’s garnered over a quarter million hits on Spotify and has been found on renowned-curated playlists including Spotify’s US Viral 50!
After the release, Virginia Man knew they needed to give their fans more and they launched a successful Kickstarter campaign that allowed them to head to Atlanta to record their debut album “ Let Us Be” in the winter of 2015. It was released in the spring of 2016. (Do yourself a favor and stream it now.)
Between the awesome releases and the incredible experiences they’ve had playing shows locally and in various cities up and down the East coast, Virginia Man has often expressed that one of – if not their top experience as a band – was creating their first official music video in March 2017 for their “Let Us Be” single – “Mud Tires.”
“I think what we loved about doing the music video was that the process really represented what Virginia Man’s whole story has sort of culminated to so far. Both experiences are marked by stories of people coming together to hold us up, opportunities we never dreamt of, and big nights of celebration and joy.
We’ll never forget the sole donor who made the video feasible, the kindness of the Glasgow’s to allow us to use their barn for free, Raul Serpas and his crew for showing up and crushing our expectations with their proficiency and creativity, or and especially not, our 150+ fans who showed up from all over the place to bring the whole thing to life. It was overall one of the most fun and humbling nights of our lives.”
– Andrew, Virginia Man
Check out the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOqggmFj2yU
“Mud Tires, the song and video is a piece of thanks and determination through times of gritty messy hardship. In the video, Kristian is seen struggling with grief and depression in his bedroom holding a gun. His best friend, Jacob, is persistent and present with him through his loss and pain and urges him not to be alone. They’re then seen driving in a truck to pick up the rest of the band to head to a show.
In the end, Kristian faces the difficult choice of whether or not to play. In a broader sense, this choice is meant to be about whether he would be able to move on and into celebration or whether his pain would immobilize him. Despite not being a clear cut right or wrong answer, Kristian goes through with the show and celebration.”
To find out more about Virginia Man –
Social Media (Insta, FB, Twitter): @virginiamanband
Where to listen: Spotify: 100,000 monthly listeners, Apple Music, iTunes…
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2SHS7BBj7Rv0UjsWwlkFEt
Website: www.virginiamanband.com
