I've started to break down Philly's music scene into two categories: big and small. I love the household name bands who always find a way to make it back home to Philadelphia to play in the bigger venues, but lately, I've started to feel more at home among the basement crowds and local bands. I love all of the coincidental connections we've made in such a short amount of time. Remember when we saw Del Water Gap at The Stoop last month? Turns out, that's RFA frontman Dan Cousart's house. Weird, right? And RFA happened to play a house show at Saint Joe's last fall. Weirder, right?

So, seeing RFA has been a long time coming, considering they've been in our circle for longer than we thought. They're a household name on our campus, and they've certainly left their mark on Philly.

But it's only just the beginning.

For our first time seeing these guys, I can absolutely say that they didn't disappoint. RFA has a really fun, groovy sound that reminds me a little bit of The Walters, who - funnily enough - headlined the SJU house show I mentioned earlier. They're a great jam band with a hint of edginess that definitely adds them to my list of new favorite local bands.

RFA opened their set with a crowd favorite, "I'm Not Telling You," and closed with "Just Don't Turn the Lights On." They previewed a few new songs, "Down Your Street," "Farewell," "Goodbye, Stranger," and "Right Now." The crowd was so completely into it and it made me so happy to see such a great turn out at PhilaMOCA. Everybody was dancing. The band was smiling. It was a really great time and I'm happy we were asked to be a part of it. These new songs make me excited for future RFA releases.

After an absolutely killer show, I spoke with Dan about the beginning of RFA, where they are now, and where they expect to be:

"The band formed at the lunch table during sophomore year of high school at Saint Joe's Prep. The lineup was originally Christian Turzo (guitar), Alec Powell (drums), and myself. We used to play 50's covers and more blues-based kind of music. We went through a series of bass players and eventually started to play the music we do now, which I guess you can call Indie Rock or Rock n' Roll or whatever you prefer. Brendan McHale (bass) ended up joining the group when we got to college and we've been playing in basements/bars/backyards/living rooms, etc., ever since. We've done two small tours and have played with Lucy Dacus, Rhett Miller of Old 97's, the Walters and Vundabar and we've put out four EPs. We enjoy long walks on the beach, illegal substances and frequently cheesing."

As for later, Dan said RFA plans on playing more shows, releasing a "Down Your Street" single, and HOPEFULLY graduating college.

You can keep up with RFA here, and stream their music on Spotify and BandCamp! We love working with you guys and can't wait to shoot more in the future.

RFA Headlines PhilaMOCA

PHILLY LIVE

Powered by Squarespace