Butcher Brown Wins 2024 Newlin Music Prize

The Newlin Music Prize announced this morning that Butcher Brown has won the 2024 award for the album Solar Music.

Released this past October via Concord Jazz, Solar Music was a sensational hit for the prolific collective, blending jazz, funk, hip-hop, soul, and more into a transcendent sound. Morgan Burrs, Corey Fonville, DJ Harrison, Andrew Randazzo, and Marcus “Tennishu” Tenney collectively shine on every track, whether in the forefront or supporting the all-star cast of guest performers. It further established Butcher Brown’s status as a pillar in the Richmond music scene, elevating the city’s musical output with their prolific work as a group and as individuals, either with solo recordings or in production efforts behind the scenes with local musicians of all styles and sounds.

“All of us in Butcher Brown are humbled by this award,” the band remarked in a prepared statement. “Our love for Richmond permeates everything we do, especially the Solar Music album. We look forward to representing this city and its incredible music community for years to come. Our deepest thanks and appreciation.”

Voted on by a jury of over 100 local musicians, journalists, artists, photographers, and activists (including members of The Auricular), the Newlin Music Prize sought to recognize the very best from albums in the Richmond-Petersburg metropolitan area. Butcher Brown’s record was previously announced as part of the Newlin Music Prize’s short list alongside 19 other records from the Richmond area, ranging from rap veterans and pop heavyweights to garage auteurs and folk artisans. In winning, Butcher Brown takes home a monetary reward of $2,500, while each of the remaining artists receive $250.

The award was named after Dika Newlin, a musical prodigy who embodied the spirit of the Richmond music scene. In addition to being a cabaret performer, Elvis impersonator, and punk lothario, Newlin was also a respected and beloved professor with VCU in the music department as well as a renowned symphonic composer in her own right. Her career covers the totality of musical performance from lauded classical settings to dingy bar scenes, and the way she embraced both ends of the spectrum are why she was a deserving person to recognize when naming this award.

The Newlin Music Prize aims to raise awareness of the diverse music scene in Richmond, Virginia and to encourage more great musical works to come out of the area. After the short list was announced on February 19th, jury members began casting their ballots up until March 21st. A fan vote was also open concurrently which asked people to choose their top 10 records from the batch of 20. The final fan vote served as one ballot in the final tally.

The 2024 Newlin Music Prize Short List was:

• Ant The Symbol – I Know Who I Am
• Belly Of The Heart – Leech!
• Bonemachine – New And Improved Sleeping Positions
• Butcher Brown – Solar Music
• Dead Billionaires – Disaster Preparedness Coloring Book
• Dorthia Cottrell – Death Folk Country
• DuctTape Jesus – Chester Skate Land
• Eliturite – After Wake
• Hotspit – Memory Of A Mirror Image
• Keep – Happy In Here
• Logos The Poetic – Death, The Fool
• Noah-O x Big No – Richmond Brave
• Ostraca – Disaster
• Righter – Bad Art
• Rikki Rakki – Breaking Skin
• Scott Clark – Dawn & Dusk
• Sun V Set – Curious Wave
• Ten Pound Snail – Tabula Rasa
• Trapcry – This Is Sex Without Touching
• T.R.I.G – Arthur Ashe Blvd

Future prizes will be announced and awarded in the first quarter of each year and the Newlin Music Prize plans to partner with local charities in order to better help, support, and encourage the local music scene.

You can listen to Butcher Brown’s Solar Music above, but we encourage you to check out each of the amazing records that made up the 2024 short list for the Newlin Music Prize.