Welcome
Hello again from Paul at HTS HQ, back with your weekly round up of news, tunes and show picks from the DMV music community. Writing to you from my front patio on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon, because the US Marines Band had to cancel their afternoon performance of Holzt’s The Planets which this former symphonic band nerd was really looking forward to. Let’s see if this newsletter is at all improved by assembling it before 11:45 PM Sunday night.
In The News
WCP has a comprehensive recap from Alona Wartofsky of the Go-Go showcase at this year’s SXSW festival in Austin.
DCist profiles R&B singer Alex Vaughn, currently opening for megastar Ari Lennox.
We loved this WCP piece by Michael J. West recapping Amy K. Bormet’s Washington Women in Jazz Festival.
The Washington Post provided this mostly obvious list of their top 15 concert venues in the area. To that we’d like to add: Slash Run; Quarry House Tavern; Bossa; and The Pocket in 7DrumCity.
A Couple More Tiny Desks
We found a couple more DC-based entries to NPR Music’s 2023 Tiny Desk Contest that we missed in last week’s roundup, and couldn’t resist sharing them with you here.
Don’t Stay Home This Week
Monday March 27th
As the month of March winds down, so does the 2023 Washington Women in Jazz Festival. Organizer extrodinarie Amy K. Bormet caps off her weekly Monday night residency at Blues Alley with drummer Ana Barreiro as AmyAna for 2 sets, 7:00 and 9:00.
Tuesday March 28th
See Pat Cain and Nappy Nappa, the experimental hip-hop duo Model Home, set the scene for New York tropical futurism band Combo Chimbita at DC9 Tuesday evening.
Wednesday March 29th
Metrobar, the cool outdoor bar powered by a retired metro car, hosts their weekly jazz jam sessions on Wednesday nights with french horn player Abe Mamet and a rotating crew of DC jazz’s finest. Of course it’s free, but here’s the EventBrite sign-up anyway!
Thursday March 30th
This Thursday the newly opened Owl Room, taking over for Marvin at 2007 14th St. NW, hosts the album release party and live performance for hell0 by B_X_R_N_X_R_D aka Bernard Farley, founder of the label Black Techno Matters and formerly known to us old-timers as Outputmessage. And don’t sleep on the DJ set by plantwave pioneer IMKA.
Friday March 31st
Mashing up R&B, jazz and hip-hop, saxophonist CJ Saylor and his band FutureBandDC headline the Pocket Friday night, along with the Selina Hotel house band Too Much Talent Band.
Saturday April 1st
Get gothy at the Runaway on Saturday night for the album release show for Vessel by VOSH, along with Texas band Rosegarden Funeral Party and Luna Blanc’s synth moniker S Y Z Y G Y X. And how could we forget DJ Vampyre Noire!
Sunday April 2nd
Avant-garde cellist Janel Leppin has assembled this remarkable lineup for Sunday night’s performance by Ensemble Volcanic Ash at Rhizome: Luke Stewart / Brian Settles / Anthony Pirog / Kim Sator / Sarah Hughes / Larry Fergusen. There is no better way to spend a Sunday evening than right here.
That’s All For Now
Friends, thank you so much for reading. We hope you’ve found something herein to add to your calendar or Bandcamp wishlist. Now do your part by passing it along to your open-minded friends who need something new to check out. It is a community, after all. Take your allergy medicine, get outside for a long walk, and we’ll see you right here next week.