Bill Text: VA HJR134 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending 49 Winchester.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-15 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ134ER) [HJR134 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HJR134-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, 49 Winchester, a Russell County-based band that released its fourth studio album in 2022, has gained fans throughout the Commonwealth, the United States, and the world through its unique blend of country, rock and roll, alternative, folk, and soul music; and
WHEREAS, 49 Winchester formed on Winchester Street in Castlewood as a neighborhood jam band shortly after lead singer and guitarist Isaac Gibson and bassist Chase Chafin graduated from high school in 2013; and
WHEREAS, 49 Winchester added Castlewood natives Brandon Shelton on guitar and Noah Patrick on pedal steel guitar, as well as Tim Hall on keyboards and Justin Louthian on drums; the band released its first album, 49 Winchester, in 2014; and
WHEREAS, 49 Winchester followed up with two more self-released albums, The Wind, in 2018 and a third album III, in 2020, then signed with the Nashville label New West Records and released its fourth album, Fortune Favors the Bold, in 2022; and
WHEREAS, 49 Winchester's style has evolved both sonically and lyrically over the past decade, growing from a softer country sound to a grittier blend of genres that allows for more creative freedom but never strays far from the band's Appalachian roots; and
WHEREAS, despite signing with a Nashville-based record label, 49 Winchester has recorded all of its albums in either Bristol or Charlottesville and takes pride in its deep connections to Southwest Virginia; and
WHEREAS, 49 Winchester's songs are rich with timeless tales of pushing beyond one's limits toward an unknown horizon while developing an appreciation for one's heritage and longing for home, themes that are essential to musical Americana, but that appeal to listeners all over the world; and
WHEREAS, 49 Winchester has played at small venues throughout the Commonwealth, along the East Coast of the United States, and has even performed a show in London, England, earning a reputation as an engaging and energetic live act; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend 49 Winchester for its continuing success in the music industry; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to 49 Winchester as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the band's achievements and best wishes for the future.
