“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: 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…
Beats Me: Dischord Veterans Vile Cherubs, Bacchae, and a Summery Single from Foggieraw and Ari Lennox
Jeff Draco: “Attitude (I Want More)” (Single) Jeff Draco’s newest single, out May 31, begins in the same vein as MACHINA-era Smashing Pumpkins before segueing into a War on Drugs meets Vampire Weekend radio-friendly shifter. There’s some guitar layering that leans in to the atmospheric but there’s also quite a bit of pop radio shine…
D.C. Scholar Chronicles the History of and Local Connections to “Li’l Liza Jane”
“Li’l Liza Jane” and its bright, catchy folk lyrics are a piece of American history. Also known as “Little Liza Jane,” “Liza Jane,” and “Goodbye Lizzy,” the song stems from the antebellum South and spans generations, genres, and cultures—from Nina Simone’s 1960 emotional arrangement to David Bowie’s 1964 rock ’n’ roll rendition. To this day,…
With Their Debut Album Out, Ekko Astral Are Building an Apolitical Punk Constituency
“I can see you shifting in your seat,” says Jael Holzman of Ekko Astral on the spoken intro to “head empty blues,” as synth tones shudder around her. The first words on the D.C. noise punk band’s debut album, pink balloons, are also the first words of Ari Drennen’s poem “Out at Dinner.” As Holzman…
2024’s All Things Go Brings Some of Pop’s Biggest Queer Acts to Merriweather in September
Let’s go, queers! The 2024 lineup for the All Things Go Music Festival just dropped, and the lineup is filled with massive pop performers, most of whom identify as queer. The independent music festival returns to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia on Sept. 28 and 29, for the 10th anniversary of All Things Go. Clearly…
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