In the News
Photographer Glen E. Friedman has published a new book collecting his captures of seminal DC punk band Minor Threat called Just a Minor Threat through Akashic Books. Read all about it from Andrew Beaujon at Washingtonian and Alona Wartofsky at CityPaper.
Last week we shared with you the new music video “Coming Our Way” from epic dance-punk band Light Beams. Washingtonian magazine interviewed frontman Justin Moyer about the song and his musical origin story.
DC Music Video
The hard rockin’ trio Massie (formerly known as Grady, for all of you still writing 2022 on your checks) are releasing their long-awaited debut EP Grady Says Serotonin this week and they’ve booked the Black Cat this Friday night to unveil it. The bill also includes Fetcher from Baltimore and DC’s Reid Williams aka Dorinda. The EP’s debut single is called “Never Live Without You Again”, and the music video for it is fun and weird and possibly upsetting to hardcore ice cream cone lovers. Let’s go!
Don’t Stay Home This Week
Tuesday October 10th
October’s artist-in-residency weekly feature at Georgetown’s Blues Alley is veteran DC saxophonist Paul Carr. This Tuesday night Carr leads his quartet with special guest jazz vocalist, Grammy nominated Roberta Gambarini.
Wednesday October 11th
Clear some space in your preferred podcast app because jazz dynamo Amy K. Bormet, founder of the Washington Women in Jazz Festival, is launching a new podcast series to accompany her homegrown magazine The Turnaround. Wednesday night is the night to celebrate the premiere episode featuring singer Jessical Boykin-Settles while experiencing a live recording session with Bormet and Dr. Leigh Pilzer at Tonal Park Studios in Takoma Park.
Thursday October 12th
It’s dreamy indie pop night Thursday night at 7DrumCity’s The Pocket when Strawberry Launch comes down from NYC to play with DC bands Pinky Lemon and Glosser.
Friday October 13th
Rapper Flex Mathews has collaborated with an incredible range of DC musicians, from Fort Knox Five to Chopteeth to Damu the Fudgemunk to Justin Trawick and on and on and on. This Friday the Kennedy Center features Mathews on the Millennium Stage at 6 PM, so grab free tickets right now because this is going to be something special.
Saturday October 14th
DC music promoter Chris Naoum co-founded the Listen Local First initiative 12 years ago, around the same time we launched Hometown Sounds. So we feel more than a bit of wistful nostalgia that Naoum is hanging up his LLF hat and taking on an important new role in the DC Arts Commission. His last event is a mini-version of the free Down in the Reeds Festival Saturday afternoon at the Parks at Walter Reed, featuring Black Masala, Cumbia Heights and Leon City Sounds.
Sunday October 15th
The experimental music collective Queering Sound hosts a daylong festival Sunday called “No Place Like Home” to show love and financial support to Rhizome, the scrappy Takoma Park venue that continues to beat the odds and host the coolest and weirdest stuff in the city. In addition to a vintage clothing pop-up and art installations from Adam Griffiths, Scott G. Brooks and more, the indoor music lineup includes Ari Voxx, Boy Meets Pearl, saxophonist Sarah Marie Hughes, Christine Paluch aka PraxisCat and well here’s the whole schedule.
See You Next Week
In the meantime, pray for our beloved music hub Bandcamp, which was sold by its owner Epic Games to a music licensing service called Songtradr. This Wired article has behind the scenes details of the tumultuous transition. Seriously now, if Bandcamp were to suddenly disappear, or slowly start to suck more and more like Elon’s folly, I think all of us in the independent music community would be lost. It’s not the worst idea to download a copy of all your purchases right now. Stay safe, dear friends.
-PV