Progressive jazz/funk group EMOTiO prove their far-out bona fides by labelling their sound as Vegan Space Metal Bubblebath Jazz Rock&Roll&Spaghetti&Meatballs Gutter Funk. Their recent EP Live at Milkboy shows their propensity to title songs after famous and semi-famous women (“Angela Bassett”, “Jennette McCurdy”). The basement recording for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest is “Meghna Chakrabarti”, which sent us to Wikipedia to discover she is a Boston-based NPR journalist and the host of WBUR’s call-in show On Point. Shout-out to rapper AliReza for sneaking into the middle of the song and delivering rhymes straight from his phone.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Monthly Archives: April 2019
Don’t Stay Home This Week 4/29
Now that we wasted so much of the weekend with Endgame and the Battle of Winterfell, how about cooling off with some live #DCmusic? Here are our picks for the week ahead.
Monday 4/29:
Underground hotspot Dwell hosts a four band indie rock bill tonight with two touring acts, Lost Dog and Cool Original, and two DC acts we recommend from our podcast series, Max Gowan and Spring Silver.
Tuesday 4/30:
Get an early taste of this year’s Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival this Tuesday night at Pearl Street Warehouse. Justin Trawick‘s long-running 9 Songwriter Showcase gathers musicians playing at Saturday’s festival, including Reed Appleseed, The October Sessions, Jess Eliot Myhre of the Bumper Jacksons, and more. But first, here’s Trawick and his trio The Common Good playing a new song called “These Days” in Pearl Street’s green room for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest.
Wednesday 5/01:
GoldPants Party wins the battle of Wednesday night with superhero Emma G and feisty synthpop diva Loi Loi. Get to Sauf Haus by 8 to see Emma G’s new music video for the latest single “Smile”.
Thursday 5/02:
Thursday evening the after-work showcase Luce Unplugged at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Luce Foundation Center presents soul and funk band Backbeat Underground, veterans of our Kennedy Center Millennium Stage series.
Don’t Stay Home This Weekend 4/26
Friday 4/26:
The 2019 Breakin’ Even Fest 3 takes over the Pie Shop for 3 nights of punk glory this weekend. Tonight’s lineup is the most DC-stacked, with Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Homosuperior, and fest organizers American Television. AMTV entered their new song “Great Divide” in NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest, giving a fun taste of their pop-punk energy. Help these fine gents not lose too much money celebrating punk and indie music.
If punk music isn’t quite your speed, tonight Pearl Street Warehouse hosts the album release show for singer-songwriter Drew Gibson and his band of Dave Hadley on pedal steel, Jon Nazdin on bass, Ryan Walker on keys and Ben Tufts on Drums. Plus you also get an opening set by the always lovely Emily Henry.
Saturday 4/27:
On Saturday night Comet Ping Pong hosts a not-surprise birthday party for a member of the surprise Birthday Band. The two non-surprise indie rock bands on the bill are Foul Swoops and Saturday Night. Hmmm, who could the surprise band be?
Sunday 4/28:
DC rapper Ardamus was scheduled to play The Pub & The People‘s Free Live & Local series a month ago, but had to postpone when a health issue landed him in the hospital. We’re thrilled that the prolific performer and member of The Lucky So & So’s and Strangers That Clique is back on his feet and ready for his showcase this Sunday from 6-8 on the outdoor patio.
Iza Flo – Dance Anthem (Tiny Desk Contest)
Taking NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest rule about performing in front of a desk quite seriously, Isabelle de Leon‘s new all-lady supergroup Iza Flo’s debut song “Dance Anthem” fills up and takes over a small office with a soulful house music party jam. Each musician gets a feature, so here’s your score card: Jillian Willis (vocals), Dior Ashley Brown (MC), Natalie Ahearn (keys), Tiffany Lloyd (bass), Alena Budd (guitar), Rikayyah Wilson (percussion) & Isabelle De Leon (drums). In the vein of Tortured Soul and DC’s own House of Soul, this display of house music with live vocals and instrumentation is a powerful force.
Podcast for April 24th, 2019 feat. Javier Diaz & Lilly Schwartz
Javier Diaz of Spirit Plots and Lilly Schwartz of Erotic Thrillers take over the podcast to invite everyone to their show Friday May 10th at Slash Run!
Tracklisting:
Spirit Plots – The Aircraft Questions [Exit Acts]
Erotic Thrillers – Mansplain It To Me, Baby [Demos]
The Effects – Numbers [Eyes To The Light]
BRNDA – Beverage of Choice [Post​-​Trash: Volume Four]
The Scotch Bonnets – Royals [Come On Over]
Coral Benders – Jellyfish Yell [single]
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, TuneIn or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
Lightmare – Kill The Butcher (Tiny Desk Contest)
Breaking free of genre and gender constraints, sextet Lightmare deliver a brand new song for their 2019 Tiny Desk Contest entry for NPR Music. “Kill The Butcher” is a new song that gets jammy in the middle and screamy at the end, but maintains a punk groove throughout. Catch them next at DC9 on Thursday May 2nd with Richmond’s Don Babylon, Chicago’s North By North and our own queer cowboy Drew Beckman + The Boundary Boys.
Don’t Stay Home This Week 4/22
Don’t Stay Home. There’s too much #DCmusic to miss. Here we go!
Monday 4/22:
The fine folks at euphonx.com host a night of “unabashed rock euphoria” tonight at The Pinch. Helping Baltimore’s Home Town Girl kick off a tour are DC bands Nice Breeze, Leisure Burn and the debut of a new band called Moonwheels.
Tuesday 4/23:
Tuesday night‘s FREE, Live & Local series at The Pub & The People welcomes Tuff Lover, the side project of Bottled Up’s Nikhil Venkat. Thanks 7DrumCity!
Wednesday 4/24:
Georgetown’s Gypsy Sally’s hosts two excellent DC indie pop bands Wednesday night, The Duskwhales and Skyline Hotel. Since we love Tiny Desk Contest entries for NPR Music like nothing else, here’s an unreleased groove by Skyline Hotel called “Ember in the Night” to put you in the mood for a Wednesday night of fun.
Thursday 4/25:
DC’s incomparable jazz resource CapitalBop presents the first of a two night spotlight residency by soulful singer Akua Allrich & The Tribe at Local 16. Advance tix are only $5 and let you choose between 7:30 & 9 PM sets, so find a date to impress and grab tickets now.
Don’t Stay Home This Weekend 4/19
Friday 4/19:
Alums of our Millennium Stage series We Were Pirates bring their polished indie pop style to Luce Unplugged tonight. The music starts at 6 and there’s no cover, so this is your official after-work happy hour plan.
Saturday 4/20:
This one’s pretty obvious, right? The Womxn Fuck Shit Up DC Festival returns to The Wharf’s Union Stage Saturday night to dismantle the patriarchy. The epic lineup includes Honey, Black Folks Don’t Swim?, The OSYX, Rosie Cima and about a million other female and nonbinary identifying artists. How’s about grabbing advance tickets right now?
Sunday 4/21:
Sunday is Easter and also hopefully when shit starts happening in Game of Thrones. Let’s all chill out a bit on the outdoor patio of The Pub & The People with some mellow folk and classic blues from the master Jonny Grave, courtesy 7DrumCity‘s FREE Live & Local series.
Sweet Something – Black Stain (Tiny Desk Contest)
If you’re inclined to not stay home tonight, don’t forget our tip for a free show at the Pie Shop featuring Pleasure Train and recent podcast discovery Sweet Something. Check out “Black Stain” a brand new jazzy groove and their first entry to NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest. Then we’ll see you at 8 PM sharp for delicious dessert and music.
Oh He Dead – Lonely Sometimes (Tiny Desk Contest)
Indie soul band Oh He Dead’s submission to NPR Music’s 2019 Tiny Desk Contest is a new jam called “Lonely Sometimes”. This recording at the Lily Pad by Brian Knox gives the song a big, echo-y vibe consistent with its classic soul roots. Cynthia Johnson and Andrew Valenti’s band continues to grow in style and popularity in DC’s music scene. They next return to the scene of their 2016 debut breakout show at this year’s Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival on Saturday May 4th.
Hometown Sounds 