Hometown Sounds

We all made it to Friday! Here are your #DCmusic picks for the weekend to come.

Friday 3/09:
Run Come See, the powerful and classy blues folk ensemble that played our Millennium Stage showcase back in December, pull double duty tonight at the Black Cat. The band celebrates the release of their new single “Lightning Bird”, arranged by bassist Tom Liddle, while simultaneously promoting Light/Dark, the sophomore album by singer/lap steel guitarist Lauren Calve‘s sophomore album Light/Dark. DC’s Peyote Pilgrim and Hardworker from Durham get the night started off proper.

Saturday 3/10:
Acoustic singer Crys Matthews crafts songs of inclusion, resistance and hope. Don’t miss a rare performance with her full band Saturday night at the Wharf’s Pearl Street Warehouse, along with Brooklyn’s Echo Bloom.

Sunday 3/11:
U Street Music Hall begins their 8th annual celebration of their music-centric nightlife destination by bringing legendary go-go band Trouble Funk back to U Street Sunday night. PG County’s DJ Baronhawk and the afro-focused DJ collective Sol Power All-Stars make this a perfect night of funk!

We’ve got DC music show picks for you every single night of the week. Go out every night, we dare you.

Monday 3/05:
The Dubya Bush-era political post-hardcore band Report Suspicious Activity heard the call to resume activity with the results of the 2016 election. Fronted by Articles of Faith’s Vic Bondi and featuring J Robbins and Darren Zendek, RSA presents songs from their new album Destroy All Evidence with support from Two Inch Astronaut and Anna Connolly at the Black Cat tonight.

Tuesday 3/06:
Grab a can of Monster and stay up late at Comet Ping Pong‘s Tuesday night show with another chance to catch recently recommended experimenters Dove Lady, far out Babe City rapper Nappy Nappa and New York’s Crumbs.

Wednesday 3/07:
Georgetown’s legendary club Blues Alley hosts a rare DC appearance by Zo!, soulful keyboarist extrodinaire and musical director for The Foreign Exchange, as he takes the stage with frequent collaborator Carmen Rodgers. Two shows at 8 and 10, so grab tix now while you can.

Thursday 3/08:
Literary bar Petworth Citizen hosts some of the coolest events in town. Thursday nights Herb Scott programs DC jazz sessions, and this night progressive jazz saxophonist Tedd Baker throws down some fierce improvisation like this.

The weather outside is frightful, and we hope you are staying home safe from these powerful winds today. But after that dies down, here are your #DCmusic weekend picks!

Friday 3/02:
Celebrate the release of Park Snakes sophomore release Silk, a post-punk gothy noir romp with guest spots from Alex Tebeleff and Ben Schurr. Slash Run hosts the trio Friday night along with legendary Devin Ocampo’s excellent speed rock band The Effects and Baltimore’s Natural Velvet.

Saturday 3/03:
Troubadour Justin Jones embodies both a classy gentleman and rugged outlaw. See him play selections from his extensive catalog at The Hamilton Saturday night, supported by folk rock band The Beanstalk Library.

Sunday 3/04:
The Caribbean are certainly one of the longest running active bands in DC music. They bring their dreamy experimental rock to our monthly #DCmusic showcase at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage this Sunday. Bring everyone you know for the free show at 6 PM!

Ben Tufts is without question one of the finest drummers and educators in DC. Every year around this time he organizes his many many musical friends for a tribute show to raise money for the Craig Tufts Educational Scholarship Fund, in memory of his father. This year they tackle The Police, and Georgetown’s Gypsy Sally’s hosts both weekend nights, featuring The NRIs, Throwing Plates, the Bachelor Boys Band and much more.

It’s a brand new week and we’ve got more great reasons to not stay home by indulging in the finest #DCmusic.

Monday 2/26:
Impress your Bumble date with classy French wine and Django Reinhardt-inspired gypsy jazz tunes as The Bitter Dose Combo continues their residency at Georgetown’s Bistrot Lepic wine bar.

Tuesday 2/27:
Another precious artifact of the musical community surrounding the now-shuttered Iota in Clarendon was the Tuesday night jam session hosted by Gordon Sterling. The jam has found a new home at Gypsy Sally’s in Georgetown, so donate what you feel is right and see what the amazing musicians cook up.

Wednesday 2/28:
Silver Spring output Rhizome hosts some mind-expanding sounds from DC’s Aaron Leitko, as well as Video Blu and Reverent, an all-vocal industrial project from Moniker Records co-owner Jordan Reyes dealing with sex, death, drugs, and god. Don’t be afraid.

Thursday 3/01:
The Messthetics are a new heavy hitting instrumental trio featuring guitar shredder Anthony Pirog, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty of Super!Silver!Haze! and Deathfix. The latter two performers might also have been in another obscure band in the 90s but we couldn’t find more info about it on the entire Internet. The buzz about their new album on Dischord Records is huge, so get there early before the Dew Drop Inn fills up.

As always, Hometown Sounds has the best picks for getting out and exploring the wild world of #DCmusic this weekend!

Friday 2/23:
The Cornel West Theory is the edgy, caffeinated dose of political hip-hop that DC needs most right now. Blessed by their namesake author and agitator, the group gears up for the release of their 6th album with a show at NE arts space Capital Fringe.

Saturday 2/24:
Slash Run hosts a fun as hell triple bill of rock Saturday night. Spirit Plots brings the peppy punk music, while Swoll, the new project of Matt Dowling of The Effects and Paperhaus, gets atmospheric and bass heavy. The Electric Grandmother round things out with a cheeky dose of synthetic cop show music.

Sunday 2/25:
Get creepy at the Black Cat Sunday evening with dream explorers Dove Lady and Alex Tebeleff’s ambient synthesizer wizardry moniker Blacklodge, plus Richmond experimental quintet Spooky Cool.

There’s only 3 days of fun to be had before the weekend hits. Make them count by checking out our DC music picks this week!

Tuesday 2/20:
Tonight Hometown Sounds camps out upstairs at the Wonderland Ballroom spinning a long list of underground gems from the DMV. Stop by and say hi, and we’ll show you how DC rocks.

Wednesday 2/21:
The open mic night at Clarendon’s Iota was the gold standard for many years. Though the legendary club is no more, the free-for-all’s final host Alex The Red Parez keeps the spirit alive at Rhodeside Grill down the street in Arlington. Two signups at 7:30 and 10 PM if you’ve got a song or two inside you, and don’t miss this week’s featured artist Andrew Pfeiff of reggae bane FeelFree.

Thursday 2/22:
The Black Cat Backstage remains one of the best spots hosting DC rock bands of all styles. Thursday night is a 3 band bill with psychedelic explorers FuzzQueen, art-rock songwriting from Sam Cooper & The Sleepwalkers and classic post-punk from Social Station.

Were you thinking of staying home this weekend? Don’t do it. This weekend is three days long! That’s way too much time to spend cooped up in your house. Get out to these shows instead!

Friday 2/16:
The Wharf’s new venue Union Stage has a double feature tonight. Come early for witty folk band Handsome Hound & Friends, featuring guest appearances from Andrew Grossman of The North Country, Nefra Faltas of Humble Fire, Kelly Servick of Near Northeast and Kate Taylor Mighty.

Stick around Union Stage tongiht and revel in nostalgia at the Back to the 90s Party with Maryjo Mattea as Alanis Morrissette, Party Like It’s as No Doubt and The Good Time Boys as the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Saturday 2/17:
The dapper young lads in Wylder will make you fall in love with indie folk all over again. They’ve played our Millennium Stage showcase, and now they’re headlining an early Saturday night show at U Street Music Hall, with support from Virginia Man.

Sunday 2/18:
Louisa Hall and her many ukuleles make silly and earnest songs about modern love. Celebrate the release of her new EP Barista Boyfriend at Vienna’s Jammin’ Java with openers Vadim, a new acoustic project from Andy Valenti and Alex Vans, and the ever-charming Victoria Vox.

Monday 2/19:
It’s Presidents Day, and we bet you have some feels about presidents today. Express yourself at DC9 with DC queer punk band Homosuperior, with help from Baltimore punk bands Birth (Defects) and Margins. Dress to impress!

We don’t care how many Netflix shows are in your bingeing queue. Don’t stay home, damnit! Hit the town and see some live music.

Monday 2/12:
For many years Iota set the standard for open mike nights. Now that it’s gone, many more are rising in popularity, none more so than Bloomingdale’s Boundary Stone. Reed Appleseed hosts the show every week, and music kicks off around 8:30 with $5 drafts all night.

Tuesday 2/13:
Laissez les bon temps rouler! It’s Mardi Gras time, and the Wharf is the place to party tonight. DuPont Brass lead a second line parade through the neighborhood at 6 PM. Then The Grandsons play a free show at Pearl Street Warehouse at 7 PM before the fireworks finale pops off at 8.

Wednesday 2/14:
If you are happily partnered, your Valentine’s Day plans probably involve a fancy dinner, flowers, perhaps ballroom dancing. For the single DC denizens, DC9 hosts A People’s Choir, a Portland import devoted to group sing-alongs. This night is their fourth annual Breakup Songs party, so bring your bitter lack of closure and singing pipes and let it all out.

Thursday 2/15:
Two great choices to agonize between tonight. The Wharf’s Union Stage hosts a night of forward looking folk music with LA’s yOya, DC’s beloved expat crooner Seán Barna and Steve Kolowich’s magical ensemble Stranger in the Alps (vets of our Millennium Stage series!)

Another of our Millennium Stage greats, the jazzy hip-hop band The Lucky So & So’s, mash up genres by joining up with pop-punks Ménage À Garage and ska band Barking Carnies at DC9 this night.

We’re back on Friday with your weekend reasons to not stay home!

DC music lovers, welcome to our brand new twice-weekly feature Don’t Stay Home. There are many great roundups of live music in DC, but none give the proper love to actual #DCmusic that we think our town deserves. As always, Hometown Sounds gives you all the DC music and nothing but. Here are the shows and events we recommend this weekend:

Friday 2/09:
Have you made it to the new Pearl Street Warehouse yet? Friday night is a great opportunity to check out The Wharf’s cozy new venue with Aztec Sun bringing the party funk and a not-to-be-missed opening set from jazz-gogo mashup band The JoGo Project.

Sat 2/10:
Love & Solidarity Collective, formerly the Lamont Street Collective, hosts a musical, visual and interactive arts experience called Heart Warming 2018 featuring Ocean Childe, Stephanie Mathias, Whitney Tallarico, Skaii, Skyline Hotel and house band allthebestkids. Plus handpoked tats by kate!

Sun 2/11:
This pre-Valentine’s Day Sunday night is pretty quiet for live DC music, so we say head over to Politics & Prose at 5 PM to celebrate the release of the fifth annual volume of District Lines, their print-on-demand anthology of poetry, art, fiction and essays by DC-based contributors. Hear readings from some of the writers and get your copy signed.