Events by LAVA Presents have been a staple of the Norfolk music scene for years, and this upcoming weekend at Toast will continue that tradition with the annual Funk and Jam offering, NorFunk Fest on Friday, June 2nd, followed by the savory sounds and snacks of Grilled Out on Saturday, June 3rd. I caught up with LAVA founder Josh Coplon, guitarist Nate Levine from Paper Aliens, and Raise Hell Over The Summer bassist Mark Brown to learn more.

Can you give the readers an idea of what to expect from NorFunk Fest and Grilled Out this weekend?

JC – NorFunk Fest is meant to highlight our local jam and funk community while bringing in some fun headliners such as No BS! Brass Band this year, and TAUK last year. This is the fourth year of Grilled Out, and each year seems to get even more epic. We clearly lean into the name with the menu and of course, the poster.

NL – This is the second year NorFunk is happening at the beginning of the summer, so it feels like a funky ‘kick off the summer’ party. It’s also unique since we are all pretty close as a scene, so it’s really just a bunch of friends getting down and supporting each other! Plus, turnout was solid last year, so it felt quite validating for 757 funk and jam music!

MB – Grilled Out feels like a cookout and a house party with bands. I could spend hours talking about it. We love the bands in our local and regional scenes. Norfolk and greater Tidewater struggled musically for a few years. Folks like Josh were able to put Norfolk back on the musical map. It is a very intimate setting and it connects us with people that normally wouldn’t get exposed to RHOTS or other bands on the bill. 

Nate, I understand that Paper Aliens has been playing NorFunk since the beginning.

NL – Back in 2019, the concept started as a Delirious George album release show featuring other local jam and funk groups, including Paper Aliens. We’re all friends and wanted to play with each other more, but the pandemic slowed that down. When it came time to plot out 2022, we were excited that Josh wanted to bring the concept to life.

Matt, you’ve also played Grilled Out before, yes?

MB – We were fortunate enough to be the opening act in 2019 and it was one of our favorite shows to date. It is a big deal to us! Josh takes excellent care of the artists involved. He’s never put us on a bad bill and we are always blown away by the bands we play with. 

Anything exciting that you can share with us about this year’s show?

MB – Raise Hell Over The Summer became a five-piece in February. We dealt with some lineup changes over the last two years and we brought our guitarist Logan Collette back into the fold along with Jayson Bautista. We’ve added new material to our set and we can’t wait to share it with the world. 

NL – To open NorFunk we’re doing a rotating jam with some of our other friends in the scene as the “NorFunk Allstars”. No BS! Brass from Richmond will also be a killer addition this year and a nice way to close out the evening! Also, Paper Aliens has a new singer, EJ Bollman. We performed with EJ at Something in the Water on the Community Stage, and he killed it. That was only a 20 minute set though, and there were rain delays and uncertainty about performance time, so in a way, this set at NorFunk will be his debut.

JC – Toast will be running their WTF Dog hotdog pop-up (for both NorFunk Fest and Grilled Out) and just for Grilled Out, Pendulum x Toast will be doing a slider collab. Full weekend menu is right here:

What The Frank Menu for Both Fests1) Naked – Dog n Bun, you do the rest2) Freako Chico – Nacho Cheese, Corn Salsa, Pickled Jalapeno, Fried Scallions3) K-Elote – Roasted Corn Cheese, Queso Fresco, Cilantro, Lime, Tajin4) Kimchi Gibbler – Kimchi Mayo, Candied Bacon, Pimento Cheese5) Slam Jam – Smokey Habanero Bacon Jam, Pimento Cheese, Sweet Pickles

Only at Grilled Out:Pendulum X Toast Slider Collab

Sides1) Chips2) Potato Salad3) Tots

Check out the official NorFunk playlist here and the official Grilled Out playlist here. 

Grab Tickets here:NorFunk June 2nd, 2023Grilled Out June 3rd, 2023

Austin Radford

Austin is a writer, actor, and musician in the Norfolk area. 

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