“Please don’t write me sir.” Louisa Hall uses her ukulele and delightful charm to soften the blow of her cuttingly frank songs. Modern love and dating are frequent topics in her music, with no song in her repertoire as on the nose as “Internet Love Song”, from her newest EP Barista Boyfriend. Watch the fearless singer sweetly detail the horrors of online conversation in this new music video, and grab tickets now for her duet performance with troubadour Justin Trawick Wednesday evening at Dangerous Pies.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Don’t Stay Home This Week 10/22
Here’s your Don’t Stay Home agenda to get out and see #DCmusic every night this week.
Monday 10/22:
The Electric Grandmother hosts a night of joy and oddity tonight at Slash Run, with support from Chapel Hill’s S.E. Ward and a solo set from crooner Seán Barna. EG describe themselves as “Into all kinds of ill shit. If you don’t know, you better ask somebody. They’re from Greenland, but you can’t tell. Mess up you up.” Also, enjoy this flier.
Tuesday 10/23:
The legendary blues showman Jonny Grave returns to BBQ joint Hill Country. There’s no way you’re doing better than this on a Tuesday night.
Wednesday 10/24:
Wednesday night is your chance to catch sets from two buzzy indie rock bands, Poppy Patica and Saturday Night, as they open for Brisbane Australia’s The Goon Sax at Songbyrd.
Thursday 10/25:
Funk band Albino Rhino play gigs around town pretty frequently, but new recorded music is a rare treat. This Thursday the quartet celebrates the release of their new EP of funkified jazz standards with a show at Georgetown’s Gypsy Sally’s, with support from a mysterious new band called Skaii.
Don’t Stay Home This Weekend 10/19
We’ve got synthpop at DC9 and two fantastic matinee shows for your #DCmusic weekend highlights.
Friday 10/19:
DC9 has a fantastic synthpop lineup tonight. Lavender, NUEX and The North Country are all bands we have featured on our fortnightly podcast, but stream the songs below for a refresher. Don’t stay at work too late, the music starts early at 7 PM!
Saturday 10/20:
Multiflora Production‘s monthlong Flash of the Spirit Festival highlights rarely seen world music in venues all over the city. Saturday afternoon at 2 PM the Anacostia Arts Center hosts an eclectic matinee featuring worthy DC bands including Light Beams, Warm Sun, No Plans, Time Is Fire’s Kamyar Arsani, Panini Girlfriend and more. Bring $10 for a suggested donation to support live music in DC!
Sunday 10/21:
Born in Lebanon, Huda Asfour is a cultural ambassador for Arabic music in DC. Her 2018 album Kouni كوني draws inspiration from Iraq, Tunisia, Palestine and more. On Sunday the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery hosts two free performances by Asfour, at noon and 1 PM.
Bobby Thompson – On The Ground
WORLD PREMIERE!
We know blues master Bobby Thompson well from many DC area bands, from Blueheart Revival, Mud Rey, Revelator Hill and his own Bobby Thompson Project. For his newly released EP called The Acoustic Sessions, the frequent collaborator decided to present new songs in stripped-down solo fashion to highlight the masterful songwriting and assured performance.
The intent of this EP was to present the music in the most raw form, written on the acoustic guitar and acoustic lap, and kept simple from the start. The three songs kicking off the EP serve as previews of full-band versions expected on a new solo album in 2019. All three songs, ‘On The Ground’, ‘My Everything’, and ‘Hard to Come Back’, are presented here in the shape and form they were written in: acoustic and straight-from-the-heart.
After recording these songs, Thompson shot brand new videos of the songs for a series he’s calling “The Acoustic Barn Sessions”, and Hometown Sounds is honored to premiere the first video from it, “On The Ground”.
HTS: You work with a lot of different collaborators, what’s the motivation behind doing these tracks acoustic and solo?
Thompson: I’ve been wanting to release an acoustic-based album for some time now, and this is the start to that. There is something raw and beautiful about a song in its most pure form, and it’s my first real release as a singer-songwriter. Up until now, I’ve mostly released albums with songs written as a band, or with a full-band arrangement in mind.
Where is the barn at walnut grove and what brought you there to record those songs live?
Sandi Redman, a well-known local DC-area videographer and super-fan, suggested we film at this barn in Leesburg, Virginia, which is on private property. I wanted to share visuals of the songs, and this barn was a perfect setting on a Sunday afternoon. I hope people enjoy watching this video series, and I’m thankful to Hometown Sounds for premiering the first one.
Any upcoming shows to plug?
Yes. This Friday October 19 I’ll be playing solo acoustic at the Lake Anne Coffeehouse and Wine Bar in Reston, Virginia at 6pm. Next weekend, I’m on the road to New York City and Boston, with a live-to-vinyl session in Brooklyn for Leesta Vall Sound Recordings. You can visit my facebook page for more details on how to option a rare live version of songs from ‘The Acoustic Sessions’ on vinyl. I’ll also be playing Thursday, October 25 at Rockwood Music Hall Stage One at 6pm in Manhattan.
Podcast for October 17th, 2018
Paul misses soundtrack compilations, and Tony indulges in a cinnamon broom.
Tracklisting:
Innanet James – Better Without You [Keep It Clean]
NUEX – Eyes [AFFECTUS]
Anna Connolly – 21 [After Thoughts]
Frend – Liars and Hiders [Exercise Your Demons, Pt I]
Will Eastman – Everything At Once [single]
Gordon Withers – Youth Against Fascism [Youth Against Fascism: Benefit for RAINN]
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, TuneIn or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
Saturday Night – Destined to Fall
Saturday Night is a new indie rock band featuring Luke Reddick of Bless and Cash Langdon of palette. Their debut self-titled album came out this summer courtesy Baltimore’s Gentle Reminder Records. Here’s a video directed by band member Jesse Sattler for “Destined to Fall”, a delightfully lo-fi get-to-know-you from this friendly quartet. Catch them next at Songbyrd on Wednesday October 24th playing with Poppy Patica and The Goon Sax.
Don’t Stay Home This Week 10/15
We’re midway through October already? How the hell did that happen? Don’t let the mild days blow past you without
Monday 10/15:
Our love affair with Monday night shows at Galaxy Hut will never end. Tonight the Only Clarendon Bar That Matters hosts two DC indie bands, Dougie and a podcast feature from earlier this summer We Capillaries.
Tuesday 10/16:
AdMo’s Songbyrd hosts three diverse DC bands in the upstairs lounge to liven up your Tuesday night. The free and all ages show features The Neuro Farm, Babbling April and Makeup Girl, plus Brooklyn band Monograms. While you’re there, buy some vinyl or tapes and keep everyone going strong.
Wednesday 10/17:
Drummer and booker Jim Thomson’s Multiflora Productions is midway through its impressive month-long festival called Flash of the Spirit, bringing far flung sounds from all over the world to venues all over the city. We’d like to highlight the show Wednesday night at Multiflora’s frequent haunt Bossa Bistro, presenting DC area groups whose music evokes the spirit of the Danube and Eastern European traditions. Broaden your horizons with Orchester Praževica, Lyuti Chushki and Orfeia Vocal Ensemble.
Thursday 10/18:
We’ll be honest here: part of the reason to recommend the Thursday night show at Takoma Park venue Rhizome is the meditative soundscapes of Tristan Welch and thoughtful and quiet intensity of Greg Svitil’s group Teething Veils. The other part is to post this excellent flyer by Cash Langdon, who seems to be the it flyer artist of the moment. Two touring bands from Iowa, Brooks Strause and Extravision, round out the evening.
Don’t Stay Home This Weekend 10/12
Friday 10/12:
“Punk-adjacent” songwriter Anna Connolly celebrates the release and vinyl pressing of her debut album After Thoughts tonight at Dew Drop Inn. Her live backing band features Teething Veils’ Hannah Burris, Don Godwin and Devin Ocampo of The Effects, and the evening’s bill also includes a solo set from Panini Girlfriend and Fugazi bassist Joe Lally with Jerry Busher and Anthony Pirog. So much punk cred at this show.
Saturday 10/13:
Come on, do you really need us to tell you to go to the rescheduled H Street Festival on Saturday? The Rock & Roll Hotel hosts their annual Brodown Throwdown event featuring Mystery Friends, Loi Loi, Ardamus and Of Tomorrow, while the Pie Shop hosts Frass Green, VVOVVEE and more.
Sunday 10/14:
On Sunday the Dew Drop Inn hosts a day long festival of awesome DMV music to support Rock The Vote’s efforts in the upcoming election, which you may have heard is rather important. Come rock out with FuzzQueen, Thaylobleu, Pagan Reagan, Bal Boheme, Flowerbomb and a whole lot more.
Wolves of the Dry Ravine – Kollontai’s Lullaby
If you’re the type for crusty punk music and slasher films, Slash Run is your go-to spot next weekend. On Saturday October 20th the burger joint hosts a Slasher Party, encouraging patrons to dress up as their favorite slasher movie victims. The music lineup includes German band lamebrains and three DC acts: Cut Chord, The It’s Alives and Wolves of the Dry Ravine. Featuring members of The Electrocutions, Musicband, Death By Sexy, Cobra Collective, Wolves of the Dry Ravine has some classic punk tunes to go along with their wicked name. The newest single from their album Play with Matches (Near the Powder Keg) is called “Kollontai’s Lullaby”, referencing a Russian Marxist revolutionary from the early 20th century named Alexandra Kollontai. Enjoy the accompanying abstract wolf-themed animation and start planning your costume now.
Emma G – Superhero
Today we’d like to direct you to this powerful music video from songwriter Emma Ghaemmaghamy. You may have seen her, as we have, busking around metro stations or the Wharf, and it’s worth your time to take in the New Zealand born singer’s music and messages. “Superhero”, the single from last year’s EP Taking Flight, tackles the growing and emboldened racism many in this country feel after the results of the last election. Check out Emma G’s Patreon and support music like this in DC!
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