Hunter at Sunrise is a Sunday morning show on WHRV’s HD-2 Channel hosted by long-time radio vet Hunter Hughes. Each week he features a live music performance and he has compiled a double album of those in-studio appearances on “Sunrise Sessions Volume 2: The Pandemic Recordings.” Recorded at Soniqual Studios in Portmouth, it’s a stellar collection of some of Hampton Roads’ best artists.

When the pandemic hit and Hunter was faced with a ban on musicians coming into the studio, he pivoted and recorded the live performances and interviews in a proper recording studio set up for social distancing. Thanks to producer Joe Talley, the sound quality is much better than it would have been from the air studio and the line-up of artists is like a who’s who of the local music scene.

Some of the songs were brand new and had to do with the pandemic, others were familiar but re-arranged for a solo acoustic performance. There are 34 songs by artists like Logan Vath, Fox & the Bear, Karl Werne, Anthony Rosano, Dustin Furlow, Lewis McGehee, Mike & Amy Aiken, Rob Oliver, Bobby Blackhat, Sky Zentz, Court Street Company and Jason Cale.

With pandemic restrictions still in place, “Sunrise Sessions Volume 2: The Pandemic Recordings” is an essential album. Proceeds from the sales will benefit Zeiders American Dream Theatre where many of the artists will play a launch party on October 8th. In the meantime, no masks needed for listening to this gem.