Hometown Sounds

Happy Friday the 13th! For the non-triskaidekaphobic, here are our DC music picks for this weekend.

Friday 4/13:
Even though passes have sold out, Takoma Park’s festival of American Primitive Guitar, The Thousand Incarnations of the Rose, still holds options for those interested in the style. Tonight’s performances open to the public include Rhizome, Takoma Beverage Co., Busboys & Poets and Republic, featuring Max Ochs and many more.

Saturday 4/14:
Boy, the Rhode Island Avenue Main Street folks sure lucked out with the weather forecast for their 2018 Porch Fest. Visit the NE DC neighborhood Saturday afternoon to catch Cuchulain Kelly of Handsome Hound, Flo Anito, the Boundary Stones, Atoms Apart and many many more.

The Velvet Lounge hosts intersectional funk music Saturday night when The CooLots provide the hometown anchor for NY based The Phryg and tubafresh of the PitchBlak Brass Band.

Sunday 4/15:
Low Red Moon, featuring members of Strange Boutique, Tone, Siddal and SansYou, cap off your weekend with some beautiful dream pop instrumentals at Galaxy Hut Sunday night. Dennis Kane starts the show with music from his upcoming record as The Hunted Hare, due out next month on Verses Records.

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s exciting DC music goings on every single night of the week. We’re here every Monday to tell you what not to miss.

Monday 4/09:
The Kennedy Center’s weeklong SHIFT Festival sends the National Symphony Orchestra out into unique locales around town, while other regional symphonies perform innovative works in the concert hall. This evening we recommend bundling up and heading to the historic Congressional Cemetery to see the NSO perform chamber music, no tickets required.

Tuesday 4/10:
Bossa in AdMo hosts a night of experimental and emotional music Tuesday night with post-hardcore Mock Identity and doomy Literals, with New York free jazz trio GRID.

Wednesday 4/11:
DC recently noted the anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and the ensuing riots that reshaped the city for decades following. On Wednesday Marc Eisenberg’s DC Music Salon discussion series at the Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library hosts a retrospective on the street photographs of Michael Horsley as he documented rarely traversed parts of the city from 1984 to 1994.

Thursday 4/12:
Head to the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage after work on Thursday to catch a special collaboration between UMD’s Hip Hop Orchestra, electro funk band Box Era, 20NVR and artists from all over the DMV. As with all Millennium Stage shows, no tickets are required but get there at 5:30 to nab a good seat.

DC, Friday night is one of those nights where we all the good shows happen at once. Choose your own adventure, and have an awesome weekend.

Friday 4/06:
The mysterious Red Panda House hosts a rare performance tonight by Maryjo Mattea‘s garage rock duo Two Dragons and a Cheetah, along with the silver-jumpsuited Cody Valentine’s cosmic ensemble allthebestkids.

Ryan Walker’s classic folk-rock band The Beanstalk Library adds a horn section for their feature set tonight at The Wharf’s Pearl Street Warehouse, with support from Throwing Plates.

Two hugely funky vets of our Millennium Stage series, Backbeat Underground and Aaron Abernathy & his live band Nat Turner, team up for a killer night at the Rock & Roll Hotel.

A few months ago we got a turn behind the wheels of steel (actually, we just brought a laptop) for Rick Taylor’s post-punk DJ night We Fought The Big One. Tonight the party celebrates 14 years of excellence at the Marx Cafe with DJ Porcupine a special performance by synth wizards Blacklodge + em.g.

Matt Dowling has held down the bassline in DC indie rock bands Deleted Scenes, Paperhaus and The Effects. Now he takes a solo turn as Swoll, with an album release show tonight at Comet Ping Pong featuring Natural Velvet, Toxie Moxie and Loi Loi.

Saturday 4/07:
Off-the-grid creative space Dwell in NE DC (powered by sun and rainwater!) hosts an early evening of poetry from Peyman Allahvirdizadeh and experimental indie folk from Near Northeast. Please arrive on foot.

Sunday 4/08:
U Street Music Hall brings classic go-go back to NW DC Sunday evening with Experience Unlimited, aka EU. Show up on time for gypsy brass band Black Masala!

If you like to go out every single night of the week, we have you covered. And even if you only have one night of live music in you, we’re here to help.

Monday 4/02:
DC area metal shows seem to have found synergy with the city’s indie brewing works. Monday night Atlas Brew Works hosts two Colorado bands, Primitive man and Spectral Voice, and two hometown gems, Ilsa and Genocide Pact. If the phrases “Home Is Where The Hatred Is”, “Eroded Corridors of Unbeing”, “Corpse Fortress” and “Order of Torment” speak to you, then you know where you need to be.

Tuesday 4/03:
The Black Squirrel is well known in Adams Morgan, but did you know they have an outpost in Virginia’s Dunn Loring? Songwriters’ Association of Washington hosts their Tuesday night open mike night, and Jason Mendelson, famous for writing songs about every single metro station in the system, is the featured performer. Here’s the song Mendelson wrote about Dunn Loring.

Wednesday 4/04:
Frank Mitchell Jr is one of the funkiest sax players in town, blowing for See-I, Black Masala, The Funk Ark, The Harry Bells and many more. His current group is Three Man Soul Machine, with Carter Stevens on organ and Mylie Durham IV on drums, and they hold down a residency the first Wednesday of the month at Colony Club on Georgia Avenue.

Thursday 4/05:
When Justin Trawick was coming up as a developing songwriter, he hit upon a winning formula to showcase the genre successfully to diverse audiences. His 9 Songwriter Series is still going strong, and this Thursday it hits Union Stage at the Wharf with featured performers including Sol Roots and Elena Lacayo.

Twice weekly we pick out the best options for you to get out of your house and see some #DCmusic. Here are your weekend recommendations:

Friday 3/30:
Experimental DIY space Rhizome continues its expansion into rock territory tonight with two fantastic acts we love. Heavy Breathing is known for intense psychedelic jams, while Warm Sun features DC music icons Devin Ocampo, Jason Hutto and Renata Burger.

Saturday 3/31:
We told you a few weeks ago about the fire that severely damaged long time Maryland rockabilly roadhouse Hank Dietle’s. Saturday night Bethesda’s Rock Creek Mansion hosts a fundraiser to help the bar rebuild. See The Nighthawks, Rock-A-Sonics and many other bands, or donate online through GoFundMe.

The Sweater Set celebrates 10 years of harmonious music with a live album recording Saturday night at Tonal Park Studios (formerly Airshow) in Takoma Park. This is an amazing chance to be a “Fly on the Wall” for singers Sara Curtin and Maureen Andary and be a part of their creative process.

Sunday 4/01:
Easter is a time of family brunches and potluck meals. Music school and studio 7DrumCity gathers their musical fam together for their monthly potluck jam at 6 PM this evening. Bring a dish, grab a nametag and introduce yourself to some new musicians.

Seeing live music is good for your health and your soul. We’re here twice a week to clue you in to the good stuff being made right here in DC.

Monday 3/26:
Catch a couple of strong DC indie rock bands, Flowerbomb and Reyna Valencia, support Canadian touring band Bike Thiefs tonight at Slash Run.

Tuesday 3/27:
Rhizome has firmly established itself as the home of experimental music in DC, but it’s great to see the Takoma Park DIY space branch out into other areas, like poetry readings, making yogurt, and punk music. Tuesday night you should catch Mock Identity and Park Snakes support Minneapolis queer punks Royal Brat.

Wednesday 3/28:
There aren’t enough quality hip hop shows in DC these days. Wednesday night College Park’s MilkBoy ArtHouse hosts the 10th Anniversary Tour of Fake Four, the DIY label run by Ceschi Ramos. See him spit fire alongside Onry Ozzborn, Moodie Black, ESH and a couple of our DC faves, Ardamus and Prowess The Testament.

Thursday 3/29:
This Thursday night one of those nights with a lot of strong DC music options. We have to give the edge to quirky snackcore rockers BRNDA (vets of our Kennedy Center Millennium Stage series) for their tape release show at Dew Drop Inn, with DC’s Puff Pieces and Heatmap from NY/Philly. Plus, all of BRNDA’s tape sales, and a portion of the door donations will go to benefit Homeless Children’s Playtime Project.

There’s a whole lot going on in DC this weekend. Why not add some #DCmusic into your weekend plans? Here’s our picks for the best of the weekend!

Friday 3/23:
College Park’s MilkBoy ArtHouse hosts a packed & stacked night of pop-punk and psych rock gems, including Ménage À Garage, Pagan Reagan and Honey Kill, supporting SXSW NPR darlings Particle Devotion.

Saturday 3/24:
In case you haven’t heard, millions and millions of people are coming to DC Saturday for the March For Our Lives. You can support the event financially as well as with your feet with a benefit show at the Pinch Saturday night featuring FuzzQueen, Cosmonaut Radio, The U.S. Americans, the Well, Free Soil and BabeRage.

Sunday 3/25:
Finish off your weekend strong with some classy folk and bluegrass at Solly’s Tavern on U Street with Two Ton Twig and Ed Snow.

Congratulations DC, you survived St. Paddy’s Day. Now let’s celebrate with some choice #DCmusic shows this week.

Monday 3/19:
Get your psychedelic shoegaze itch scratched tonight at Galaxy Hut with Fredricksburg’s Ceremony east coast and chill out to the lo-fi garage rock of The Regulars. Also, of course, tater tots.

Tuesday 3/20:
We heart open mike nights for giving the rising generation of DC musicians a stage and audience. Tuesday nights singer Ginny Hill hosts the open mike at Dupont Circle’s Sauf Haus, this week featuring New Zeland transplant Emma G.

Wednesday 3/21:
You don’t have many more chances to see live music at Glover Park’s Mason Inn before it reportedly closes on April 1st. Wednesday night‘s super-indie lineup includes Birds For Eyes, The Mercy Alliance, Lucys Letdown and Geppetto’s Wüd. Aren’t band names fun?

Thursday 3/22:
Emma G‘s Tuesday night feature at Sauf Haus’s open mike night was just an appetizer. The main course is served at Capitol Hill jazz joint Mr. Henry‘s Thursday night. Come hungry!

DC, here are the best #DCmusic reasons to not stay home this weekend, in chronological order:

Friday 3/16:
This one’s easy, people. Des Demonas leads the Black Cat showcase of DC bands that didn’t make the trek to SXSW in search of stardom. Go see Quattracenta, Cool People, Passing Phases say “FXCK SXSW” and remember, “The South Will Never Rise Again.”

Saturday 3/17:
Slash Run offers two excellent vocal-drive indie rock bands Saturday night. Bleach Bones and ROM are both hidden DC gems that might just satisfy you even more than the Run’s buzzworthy burgers.

Sunday 3/18:
The Washington Women In Jazz Festival always features a strong lineup of the wide variety in the DC jazz scene. The 2018 season wraps up Sunday night at Rhizome with Sarah Hughes‘ Coy Fish improvisational ensemble. The show celebrates Hughes’s debut album and also features her original prose and visual art.

Behold DC, I bring you good tidings of great joy. The sun now sets one hour later! It’s easier than ever to stay out late and check out these #DCmusic shows.

Monday 3/12:
Even though U Street’s Bohemian Caverns is sadly no more, trumpeter Joe Herrera and saxophonist Brad Linde keep its namesake big band going strong. The ensemble visits College Park hotspot Milkboy Arthouse for one long set tonight.

Tuesday 3/13:
The Kennedy Center is in the midst of its Direct Current music festival celebrating cutting edge new art and music across many genres. The free daily Millennium Stage performances are some of the most interesting in this festival, especially Tuesday’s show featuring the Irreversible Entanglements collective, presented by DCDIT. The politically-driven free jazz group features DC’s Luke Stewart on bass.

Wednesday 3/14:
U Street Music Hall continues its eighth birthday celebration week with a can’t-miss hip-hop show Wednesday night featuring DC expat Oddisee, whose love for his hometown can’t be quashed by the hipness of Brooklyn. If you show up fashionably late you’ll miss Slizzatrism master Ras Nebyu opening the show, so don’t do that.

Thursday 3/15:
Jamal Gray’s Uptown Art House and CMPVTR CLVB collective brings its cosmic vibes to the Black Cat Thursday night with a show called Aquaculture, “An Underwater Exploration of Contemporary Sound”. Bring your wetsuit and goggles for future soul music from OG Lullabies, Winzday Love and Twin Jude.