We are fortunate to have another Staunton creative join us! We welcome Matt Parrish, the Artistic Director for ShenanArts. Matt shares his experience with the folks, the spaces, and the work that make Staunton such a great place for art and community theatre.

We also take a quick dive into how Matt found his way here from Georgia and his interesting backstory growing up in a not-so-well-known religious community with a secretive history. Check out the show notes for follow-up links!

A few mentions:

Join our T-shirt raffle! - https://www.BrothersHowdyshell.com

Restless Moons Brewing - Music, beer, good company - how ‘bout yeah! https://www.RestlessMoons.com/

Ruby’s Arcade - https://RubysArcade.com/

ShenanArts Community Theatre - https://shenanarts.org/

ShenanArts Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/shenanarts/

Music of the Statler Brothers: An Anthology - The Book - https://www.amazon.com/Music-Statler-Brothers-Anthology-American/dp/0881467510

Some I Wrote - The Musical - https://shenanarts.org/someiwrote/

Two by Two Religious Sect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_by_Twos

Hulu Documentary regarding the Two by Two Church - https://www.hulu.com/series/impact-x-nightline-the-secrets-of-the-2x2-church-af1993c5-df67-4d5d-b1e9-85e56676e2f9

BBC article regarding recent controversies - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d5x83gg45o

We welcome Kalela Williams and Davey White to the show! Kalela and Davey tell us about their work in Staunton with Off Center and Staunton Augusta Art Center. Both are creative doers who love what they do and appreciate Staunton as a wonderful home for their art!

We took a deep dive into many of their different projects and included links in the show notes. Do yourself a favor and go check out what these local creatives do with their talents!

A few mentions:

The hub for all our nonsense - https://www.BrothersHowdyshell.com

Restless Moons Brewing - One of the best places on earth! https://www.restlessmoons.com/

Ruby’s Arcade - I had BBQ here tonight.. *chef’s kiss! https://rubysarcade.com/

About Kalela - https://www.kalelawilliams.com/about

Kalela Williams with Virginia Humanities - https://virginiahumanities.org/about/team/kalela-williams/

Tangleroot - A novel by Kalela Williams - https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250880673/tangleroot/

Davey Williams - playwright, director, puppetry artist, and performer - Davey talks about his puppetry work - https://shorturl.at/AZjXn

Staunton Augusta Art Center - https://www.saartcenter.org/

The Off Center - https://www.offcenterstaunton.com/#/productions-view

The Off Center - The Ensemble - https://www.offcenterstaunton.com/team-4#/productions-view

American Mythology According To Staunton - https://visitstaunton.com/event/american-mythology-according-to-staunton-6/

The Hot Mammas - https://www.thehotmamas.com/

Gamelan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEWCCSuHsuQ

Rampokan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMjF42F3TRM

In this episode we welcome Ryan Faraci, local record store owner and music community builder! Ryan tells us about his business in Harrisonburg's Liberty Street Mercantile Building- Rhythm and Vinyl. And the space also affords a listening room known as- The Rhythm Den.

Make sure to check out his venue for a truly unique Harrisonburg musical experience. Ryan is a big fan of our little town and we are lucky to have him!

A few mentions:

Go get a shirt and learn all things Brothers Howdyshell adjacent! https://www.BrothersHowdyshell.com

Restless Moons Brewing - Continuing to create a musical space, one pint at a time! https://www.restlessmoons.com/

Ruby’s Arcade - Rhythm, vinyl, wood fire pizza - makes sense to me. https://rubysarcade.com/

The Rhythm Den -

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579485676794

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/therhythmdenva/

WMRA NPR News: https://www.wmra.org/2025-10-23/valley-record-stores-see-increased-traffic-from-young-people