They say a prophet is unwelcome in his own hometown. Tell that to the musicians who fuel Richmond’s original music scene. They get a whole lot of love from the outside world – festival appearances, industry plaudits and whatnot — but not always from the neighbors.

 

The following is by no means a definitive list of all of the great bands currently making inspired noise in neighborhood venues, but you should grab an earful of these while you can:

 

 

1. White Laces: Landis Wine’s melodic brand of indie rock rewards your attention with cool riffs and chameleonic, edgy arrangements. The Laces’ fine sophomore disc, “Move,” is available from their site and they’ll play a free show at RVA Earthday on April 20.

 

2. Long Arms: James Menefee is a helluva songwriter, and he’s not a bad front man either. The tuneful singer-guitarist and his rocking Partridge Family of song will perform at the RVA Playlist anniversary party at the Camel on May 29. Also on the bill are two more area standouts– the engaging Americana group Horsehead and exotic singer-songwriter Anousheh Khalili.

 

 3. Sports Bar These wise guy punk poppers grow up, sorta, on the excellent new “Tyler Perry’s Sports Bar” EP.

 

4. Exebelle and the Rusted Cavalcade A shape-shifting country rock combo who never disappoint, Exebelle is slated to release a long-simmering new disc any day now. In the meantime, get caught up to their cosmic twang on their site.

 

 

5. The Trillions: My favorite local disc of last year was Tritones by the Trillions, a group of scrappy garage-rockers who well utilize their Big Star and Small Faces fixations. The Charlie Glenn-led combo will perform at the Camel on May 1 with another fine local act, Warren Hixon.

 

 

6. The Diamond Center: The area’s predominant psychedelic band, they can conjure up that retro-narcotic late ‘60’s vibe while also being totally distinctive in their (trippy) approach. The band is on a live hiatus but a new disc, Crystals for the Brass Empire, is coming soon.

 

7. Photosynthesizers: One of the area’s best showbands, melding funk, soul and hip-hop in exciting, booty-shaking ways, the Photos have been out of action for a spell, wrestling with their debut CD. They make a triumphant return to the Camel on April 27.

 

 

And did I mention No BS! Brass Band? RPG? Matthew White? Dead Calm? Snowy Owls? The Low Branches? Noah-O? Zac Hryciak and The Jungle Beat? Canary Oh Canary? And how about the always-great Bio Ritmo and all of its offshoots? I could go on and on, and that sort of proves my point. You need an extra set of ears to live around here.