Flipturn Makes a Familiar Tour Stop in Richmond VA

by Claire Johnson | October 17th, 2024

All images are from Flipturn’s - Out of Bounds Charity Show in Richmond, VA on 10/17/24.

Photo by Claire Johnson | @clairejellocreative

Flipturn, stylized in all lowercase letters, returned to Richmond, Virginia on October 17, 2024 to headline the “Out of Bounds” concert presented by Dominion Energy Charity Classic as part of the LiVE LOUD concert series on Brown’s Island. Originally from Fernandina Beach, Florida, flipturn is a five-piece band composed of Dillon Basse, Tristan Duncan, Madeline Jarman, Mitch Fountain, and Devon VonBalson. The band chose its name after a swimming technique since Madeline used to swim competitively in high school. Flipturn has performed in Richmond many times over the years, the last being June 30, 2023 for the city’s Friday Cheers summer concert series. Dillon made a note of how much they love playing in Richmond and how they have every intention of continuing to return to the great river city.

Sharing the Out of Bounds stage at Thursday night’s show was popular indie rock band Colony House along with University of Richmond’s very own Dogpark. Dogpark was formed by former University of Richmond students Eamon Moore, Will Harford, Chris Conte, Declan Harris, and Billy Apostolou. Their love of 90’s rock is evident throughout their current collection of music, specifically their single “Now It’s Over” from their latest EP, Breaking in Brooklyn, which they played in full at the show as well as their newest single “Caviar.” During their last song, Dillon made his way from the stage down to the front of the pit, where he ended up tripping, followed by saying, “If you saw that, no you didn’t,” creating a funny, relatable memory to remind the audience that we are all human and shouldn’t take life too seriously. For the first band of the evening, Dogpark held their own and showed great potential for a flourishing career in the music industry with their vivacious performance.

Colony House, formed by brothers Caleb and Will Chapman from Franklin, TN, graced the stage with a high energy-filled performance consisting of fan favorites from their extensive discography. Opening with “Landlocked Surf Rock” off their 2023 album, The Cannonballers, the band’s signature sound of electrifying instrumentals filled the entire island as fans cheered for the brother duo. Joining them onstage for the show was long time friends Scott Mills and Parke Cottrell. With an eleven-song setlist, Colony House had plenty of time to show off their incredible talent as highly skilled musicians and performers. Before singing “Julia,” Caleb dedicated the song to his wife for which the song was named after, delivering a wonderful performance full of love and emotion. Some of my personal favorite songs that were played over the course of their set include “Silhouettes, Learning How to Love, and Waiting for My Time to Come,” all of which are on their very first album, When I Was Younger.

As the sky got darker and the air started to chill, fans remained unbothered by the colder weather waiting for flipturn to take the stage. At exactly 8:45pm, the opening notes to “Churches” were heard over the monitors and Dillon’s voice cut through the darkness as concertgoers began to shout with excitement. Attempting to do my due diligence, I listened to flipturn’s music before attending the concert. I was expecting a mellow, laid back vibe as their music feels like it should be the soundtrack to a cinematic movie scene. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the added layer of vibrancy to their live show compared to their studio recordings. One moment where the energy was exceptionally noticeable was during the second verse of Sad Disco when the band completely stopped playing their instruments to let the crowd scream the line “What the f*** is up with my life?” back to them. At that moment, I knew the show was going to be way different than I first anticipated. I continued to feel the passion radiating among the audience as I weaved my way in and out of the crowd all night.

At one point during the show Dillon acknowledged his other bandmates and made sure to mention how flipturn’s drummer, Devon has been a long time fan of Colony House and they were honored to share the same stage. One of Dogpark’s musical influences also happens to be flipturn, creating a fulfilling full circle moment as each artist on the bill shares an appreciation for one another. Concluding the show with an older favorite, “Nickel,” the crowd maintained the same amount of energy and spark from the beginning of the show to the end. As they continue to tour across the country, Flipturn will always have a devoted fan base to come back to in Richmond.