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Travis Harris, Giles Scott and Mark Redmond are the soul power behind Hot Mix VA.
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Hot Mix VA connects with and promotes the local community and businesses through their’s and others’ events. Their team also provides a platform for independent artists to promote themselves.
The internet radio station broadcasts 24/7, playing the top R&B and hip-hop, while also featuring local independent artists who don’t usually get mainstream airplay. Hot Mix VA launched in 2014 and hosted their first event, NNK Summer Jam, later that year. It wasn’t until 2017 that Travis Harris, Giles Scott and Mark Redmond, aka DJ Och, met in Lively at a Summer Jam. Right away, they realized what they could accomplish if they banded together and put their skill sets—marketing, promotion, DJing—under one umbrella.
Hot Mix VA moved to Tappahannock in 2020 with a plan to be more than a radio station. Although their first event had to be canceled because of the pandemic, the trio didn’t let that affect their energy or long-term plans. “Instead, we started doing live in-studio performances here and streaming them on Facebook and Zoom,” explains Redmond. “It was a way for us to provide a service to listeners, not to mention a platform for artists to promote themselves when everybody was stuck in their houses and doing everything on their phones.”
The station provides multiple services to artists in and out of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. They welcome guest DJs to create their own shows and local businesses to come on the air and talk about their products and services. They go out and do live broadcasts at community events such as Back to School drives, chili cook-offs and job fairs. Beginning every April, they broadcast live monthly from the Tappahannock Farmers’ Market and have hosted the town’s annual Christmas parade for the last two years. “We offer opportunities to all,” says Harris. “Let us know what your ideas are and let us make it happen for you.”
Artists looking to record or shoot a video can book studio time, models needing pictures can schedule the photography studio and anyone who needs help promoting themselves can sign on for marketing expertise. Hot Mix VA also produces podcasts, including the weekly Northern Neck Sports Talk Live with hosts Will Lewis, Thomas Roane and Sammy Mills discussing the local sports scene.
On Sundays from 2-3:30 pm, the station does a program of gospel music and Christian hip-hop, a show that features an array of independent artists and is geared for the after-church crowd. Another podcast is devoted to inspirational speakers. “We’re here to help people market their art,” says Scott. “One of our strengths is helping artists make their dreams happen.”
The station’s premiere event is the annual Soul by the Rivah, which is held at Rappahannock River Park in Tappahannock and attracts hundreds of music lovers for a day of community. This year’s event will be May 13 from 3 pm into the evening. The festival features food trucks, vendors and a full afternoon and evening of all kinds of music from every decade: soul, R&B, neo-soul, gospel, independent and local bands. Acknowledging the wide-ranging ages of the crowd, the DJs steer away from playing anything especially heavy.
Family-friendly, the festival is free, with guests asked only to bring their own lawn chairs. “It’s an event that lets us support the artists and give shout-outs to local businesses,” says DJ Och, who always spins for Soul by the Rivah. “And it allows us to stress our pride in the community.”
Every summer, Hot Mix VA along with Elevation for Success takes on a high school intern with an interest in radio, production, marketing and promotion. Students come from Essex and Westmoreland High Schools and learn how to do just about everything from photography and recording music to shaking hands with business owners and community members. “We take them to events and show them how to do it all,” Scott says. “We’ve had girls and guys, all eager to learn about the business. At the end of the summer, we take them out to Compass Entertainment to show our appreciation.”
The team behind Hot Mix VA is aiming to become the top media outlet for independent artists, models and DJs across Virginia and their goal is to accomplish that within the next five years. Along the way, they’re hoping that one of the independent artists they represent gets big and goes on to national fame, much the way R&B singer Chris Brown did.
Beyond that, the future remains to be seen. Or as Harris puts it, “Ten years from now, who knows how big we’ll be?”
Regardless of their size, one thing’s for sure: Hot Mix VA will still be putting out soul by the rivah.
Hot Mix VA I 201 Church Lane, Tappahannock I hotmixva.net