Let’s Roll
Welcome back to the Hometown Sounds weekly email newsletter, still completely AI-free. Last week Dan ABH of the bands Flowerbomb and Dear Daria joined Paul on the Hometown Sounds Podcast, picking tunes by Annie Stokes, Fix Your Hearts, Middle Distance Runner and more. Listen on our website or wherever you get your podcasts.
In The News
WaPo pop music critic Chris Richards profiles three new music spaces: The Owl Room, The Runaway, and Eckington Hall.
In case you didn’t make it to SXSW this year, read this Washingtonian piece about DC Go-Go’s appearance at the Austin music festival.
Did you know that NOVA was the home of one of the finest and most dedicated vinyl record companies, Furnace Record Pressing? Or did you only find this out after Metallica bought them?
There’s only a few days left to enter your submission for the 2023 Fort Reno summer concert series.
Finally, DJ and Black Cat bartender Tariq Abdal-Haqq and his partner Kassie Caudell, lost everything they had in an apartment fire. Here’s their GoFundMe, you know what to do.
Tiny Desks
Every year NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest provides us with a bunch of DIY DC music videos to share. Here’s some of the best we’ve found in this year’s submissions.
Don’t Stay Home This Week
Monday March 20th
Celebrate Nowrooz, the international festival of the Persian new year, Monday night at Rhizome with a new avant-garde Persian folk pop band called The Faraway Ghosts, featuring Jim Thompson and Kamyar Arsani of Time Is Fire. The show also includes movement and vocal looping from Niki Afsar, Azadeh on Electric Setar, and Jeff Barsky’s ambient guitar work as Insect Factory.
Tuesday March 21st
For the Washington Women in Jazz Fest, Amy K. Bormet and Sarah Fridrich present an acoustic songwriters showcase tucked into a cozy corner of Hyattsville MD’s My Dead Aunt Books Tuesday evening. Presenting music from Eliza Tebo, Melinda Rice, and Elena la Fulana.
Wednesday March 22nd
Jazz band leader and DCist journalist Sriram Gopal returns to his monthly Wednesday residency The Fourth Stream at Bossa in AdMo. No cover, donations appreciated!
Thursday March 23rd
Resurrected late-80’s post-hardcore band Soulside hits the Black Cat stage Thursday night to feature their recent full length album A Brief Moment in the Sun. That album’s producer J Robbins also plays a set with his band, and hot newcomers Grady kick things off loud.
Friday March 24th
First off, happy first birthday to Slash Run’s kid sibling bar The Runaway! Second, this Roots, Country & Americana night features party outlaws The Highballers, The Yachtsmen and Baltimore surf/twang band The Starlings, and we love it.
Saturday March 25th
The Pocket features Latin-infused rock Saturday night with DC bands Perro Sombra and FANTAZMA opening for Puerto Rico frontman Pekeke.
Sunday March 26th
Friends, I found this Sunday night show at Quarry House in Silver Spring featuring The Transposers and Dyeboy opening for a NYC queercore band called Crush Fund. I did not know these bands, but this Dyeboy song is pretty damn catchy, and The Transposers are an all-trans band (with a GoFundMe for gender affirming surgery), and Rediscover Fire Booking always knows what’s up, so let’s go!
Signing Off
Thanks for reading and being a part of the DC music community with us. Send your tips, suggestions and hearts to dj@hometownsoundsdc.com. See you next week!