“I created a playlist highlighting several artists from the DMV area who speak to the importance of peace, community, and the beauty of Blackness through song.”
Kayla Boone, Summer Intern
Swing Beat: A Thriving Jazz Subscene in Mount Pleasant
The richest jazz scenes are those that comprise a bunch of subscenes—the smaller jazz communities that operate around a specific geographic hub. Capitol Hill is a strong subscene these days, and some argued that in its day, the late, lamented venue HR-57 on 14th Street NW constituted a scene all its own. Often, the subscene…
Beats Me: Punk Legends Release Debut, Pinky Lemon Serve Shoegaze, and a Split EP From Two Prolific Bands
Pinky Lemon, Pinky Hell Pinky Lemon’s Pinky Hell is over long before you can get tired of that much pink. The six-song EP, which came out June 27, avoids what most every shoegaze and shoegaze-adjacent band does by wrapping things up quickly. Every track is under 4 minutes, 35 seconds long, most songs are near…
Byrdland Records Helps Connect Music Fans to Local Artists One Membership at a Time
The bright tambourines of the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” can be heard from most corners of Devry and Sean Jones’ Manor Park apartment. The song plays from a tucked-away corner where the couple’s record player sits atop IKEA shelves holding more than 3,700 albums. Putting on a record as the two prepare dinner is…
Made in the SHAED
The word ‘whirlwind’ would be an appropriate one to describe the past six years in the lives of D.C. alt-pop band SHAED. The unexpected worldwide success of their 2018 hit, “Trampoline,” catapulted them onto festival stages, international tours, and national television appearances, including Good Morning America and practically every late night show. The release of…
Swing Beat: Leigh Pilzer Has Very High Low Standards
How many work projects can you take on at one time? Not as many as Leigh Pilzer can. If you don’t know Pilzer from her regular seat in the DIVA Jazz Orchestra—drummer Sherrie Maricle’s blazing, nationally renowned all-women big band—you might have seen her playing baritone sax in the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra or the…
Beyond the Divas: This Pride, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington Celebrates Daily Queer Life
“Nine artists, nine composers, nine choreographers, one GMCW” is how Thea Kano, the artistic director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, introduces the group’s almost-Olympic undertaking for its upcoming performance Portraits. The groundbreaking and multidisciplinary project is a nine-movement oratorio, featuring commissioned visual artworks brought to life by original music and dance performances. Timed…
What’s My Age Again? HFStival Returns Like No Time Has Passed
Wanna feel like it’s 2002 all over again? I.M.P., in partnership with the Washington Nationals, are officially reanimating HFStival with a lineup reminiscent of my high school CD collection. Taking place one day this September at Nats Park, the festival features the Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, Incubus, Bush, Garbage (personally, I think they’re…
Bacchae’s New Album Takes a Rat’s-Eye View of D.C.
What defines D.C.? Is it the museums? The monuments? The Metro? Talking with City Paper over Zoom, local band Bacchae offer a less obvious and less auspicious answer. “D.C. has one of the worst rat problems in the country,” says singer and keyboardist Katie McD. “Part of our experience of being from D.C. is that…
Heaven Forbid Are Bringing the Punk Ethos To Country Music
D.C. is a city of many musical modes. You can listen closely for its proud go-go heritage, its rich history in jazz, and its genre-defining punk movement. But if you lean in closer, you can also hear country music announcing itself in its own equally potent line. Enter D.C.-based band Heaven Forbid, making what they…
Swing Beat: Allyn Johnson Is Overdue for a Resurgence
When Allyn Johnson helmed a trio in a special Sunday night show at Takoma Station on May 5, it was the first time the pianist had led a gig since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of that was a matter of hardware: Michael Phillips, the club’s jazz impresario, has been trying to book Johnson for…
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