Week Of: August 12 — 18, 2019
Summary: Hot August & other fests are here!
This is a big weekend for the DMV with lots of SUPER HOT LOCAL FESTIVALS taking place:
- Hot August Music Festival w/Pigeons/Turkuaz/Billy Strings/Melvin Seals & JGB & More in Cockeyesville
- DC Music Rocks Festival (more details below) at 9:30 Club
- 5th Annual Chuck Brown Day at Chuck Brown Memorial Park
- Bandhouse Gigs Celebrates Woodstock's 50th Anniversary at Warner Theatre
- Silver Spring Reggae Fest at Denizens Brewing Co
Plus a lot of BIG NAMES coming to town like Bryan Adams & Billy Idol , Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts & Elle King, Lila Downs, Aerosmith, Stray Cats, Shawn Mendes, Rare Essence, Jonas Brothers, Dark Star Orchestra, Beres Hammond, The O'Jays, Squeeze, The Raconteurs with Jacuzzi Boys, The Smashing Pumpkin & Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, and Mark Knopfler. Not too shabby, eh?
But what I get really excited about are the BRILLIANT LOCAL MUSICIANS, plenty of which are highlighted below but some of the standouts for me this week include:
- Tues: Eisenberg/Parish / Memory Dregs / Pirog/Gilgore at Rhizome
- Thurs: Lightmare // Strange Froots (CAN) // Black Folks Don't Swim? at Rhizome
- Fri: Gordon Sterling & The People/Higher Numbers/Lovejet w/Liah at Ivy City Smokehouse
- Sat: DC Music Rocks Festival (bears repeating again) featuring SO MANY AMAZING ARTISTS! at 9:30 Club
- Sun: Erin Frisby / Erin Fox at The Pub & The People
...and SO MANY MORE listed below, with personal choices in bold, along with a list of the DCMR staff top picks and cool "gems" that you don't want to miss. So get out there and check out our sizzling scene!
Mon — August 12
DCMR Staff Recs
- Imani-Grace Cooper (Jazz Vocals) at Blues Alley
- Bryan Adams & Billy Idol at Jiffy Lube Live (Bristow)
- SOJA at Seacrests Jamaica USA (Ocean City)
Monday Mics, Jams & Such
- JAMonday at Epicure Café (Fairfax)
Hidden Gems
Tue — August 13
DCMR Staff Recs
- Lila Downs at The Birchmere (Alexandria)
- Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts & Elle King at Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia)
- Davy Knowles at Rams Head On Stage (Annapolis)
- Aerosmith at MGM Grand (Oxen Hill)
- Stray Cats 40th Anniversary Tour at Wolf Trap (Vienna)
- Shawn Mendes at Capital One Arena
Tuesday Mics, Jams & Such
- Gordon Sterling Presents: The Gypsy Sally's Jam at Gypsy Sally's
- Open Mic feat. Pleasure Train at Sauf Haus
- Trifling Tuesday Musical Charity Hang: August Ignorance! at The Wonderland Ballroom
- RevEx: Monthly Jazz Jam Fest at Solly's
- TidalCycles Tuesdays at Spacylounge
Hidden Gems
- Eisenberg/Parish / Memory Dregs / Pirog/Gilgore at Rhizome DC
- FREE, Live & Local: Mark Sylvester & Aleks Izotov at The Pub & The People
- Traci Braxton (Vocals) at 8p and 10p at Blues Alley
- Preachervan at Songbyrd Vinyl Lounge
- Wednesday at The Wharf: Transit Pier Concerts at The Wharf
- E-Turn & Lisa Vazquez: Run The Map at Epicure Café (Fairfax)
Wed — August 14
DCMR Staff Recs
- Rare Essence: Live from the Lawn at Strathmore (Bethesda)
- Soul Cannon, Frenemies, Ellen Siberian Tiger at Ottobar (Baltimore)
Wednesday Mics, Jams & Such
- Spacy Wednesday Open Mic at Spacyloud
- Capitol Hill Jazz Jam at Mr. Henry's
- Open Mic w/Alex Parez! Ftd at 10: Raysun! at Rhodeside Grill (Arlington)
Hidden Gems
- Daughter of Swords and BRASSIE at Songbyrd
- Labaq • Brazilian Alternative Pop at Bossa Bistro + Lounge
- Danube Sessions at Bossa Bistro + Lounge
- Underexposed:Shy Lennox/Maitri/Slogame at The Dark Room (Richmond)
Thu — August 15
DCMR Staff Recs
- Lightmare // Strange Froots (CAN) // Black Folks Don't Swim? at Rhizome DC
- Jonny Grave: Art on 8th at Monroe Street Market
- Beres Hammond at The Howard Theatre
- Drew Gibson w/ Minks Miracle Medicine at Pearl Street Warehouse
- Jonas Brothers at the Capital One Arena
- Take 5! with Tyrone Allen FREE at 5p at Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Dark Star Orchestra at Virginia Credit Union Live (Richmond)
Thursday Mics, Jams & Such
- Open Mic Night at Songbyrd
- Loudoun Jazz Jam at Trungo's
- Grateful Jams at El Golfo
Hidden Gems
- Hedrush & Groove Gumbo present: Omar! at City Winery DC
- Panini Girlfriend/Miss,Understand Me/Pen Palindrome/Evergreen at Dwell DC
- Cumbia in Motion Concert at Bossa Bistro + Lounge
- Bluebeat August: King Django, The Captivators at The Wonderland Ballroom
- Foul Swoops/Poppy Patica/WOMBO/Ted Tyro/DJ AI at The Dew Drop Inn DC
- Holy Roller, The Evening Attraction, Woody Woodworth & The Piner at Pie Shop DC
- Shook Twins w/ Vim & Vigor at Gypsy Sally's
- Devious Ones / Teen Cobra / Apollo 66 at Slash Run
- Florist / Ami Dang / Luray at Songbyrd
- El Caribefunk at Bossa Bistro + Lounge
- 2019 Summer evenings Concert: Mark G. Meadows at The National Arboretum
- DeBonis/Allen & Joseloff at Great Sage (Clarksville)
Fri — August 16
DCMR Staff Recs
- Gordon Sterling & The People // Higher Numbers // Lovejet w/Liah at Ivy City Smokehouse
- Beres Hammond at The Howard Theatre
- The O'Jays - The Last Word Tour at Howard Theatre
- Wildstreet, Shagwuf, The Electric Prophets at Pie Shop DC
- Born Cross Eyed (Grateful Dead Tribute) at Gypsy Sally's
- Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band with Sol Roots at The Hamilton Live
- Beers and Banjos with The Dirty Grass Players at The Camel (Richmond)
Friday Mics, Jams & Such
- Sonic Youth: Daydream National Screening (Movie) at 9:30 Club
- The Official Joe Strummer Birthday Fest at The Pinch
- Spacy Rock, Soul, and Blues Jam ft. Sum Of Squares at Spacylounge DC
Hidden Gems
- Integriti Reeves on Millennium Stage FREE at 6p at The Kennedy Center
- Nicholas Ryan Gant at Sotto
- Danger Bird - The Music of Neil Young at City Winery DC
- Jazz in the Garden 2019 at Sculpture Garden Pavilion Cafe
- Free Bluegrass & Tap Takeover ft. Big Timber & Hollertown at Union Stage
- Friends of Pluto with Smokin' on Planes at Exiles Bar DC
- Boogaloo Basura! World-Wide Sleaze w/ Soul Call Paul at Showtime Bar
- Adwela and the Uprising at Uptown Alley (Manassas)
- The Crooked Angels at Dirt Farm Brewing (Bluemont)
- Dinosaur Pile-Up, BRKN Love, Heavy Wire at Metro Gallery (Baltimore)
- Hot August Pre-Party Feat. Psycho Killers at Power Plant Live (Baltimore)
Sat — August 17
DCMR Staff Recs
- DC Music Rocks ft. The Eli Lev Collective, JWX: The Jarreau Williams Xperience, More AM Than FM, Sub-Radio, Iza Flo, Empresarios, Daniel Warren Hill, Jahnel Daliya, Jasmine Gillison, Gabrielle Zwi Music, Lauren Calve, Karen Jonas, & The MusicianShip Drumline at 9:30 Club
- Squeeze – The Squeeze Songbook Tour at The Kennedy Center
- Blac Rabbit on Millennium Stage FREE at 6p at The Kennedy Center
- DS: Jenny Hates Techno / North by North / the Escape Artist at Pie Shop DC
- The Raconteurs with Jacuzzi Boys at The Anthem
- Stooges Brass Band w/ The Dave Kline Band at Gypsy Sally's
- The Smashing Pumpkin & Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds at Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia)
- JAZZ is PHSH at The Broadberry (Richmond)
Saturday Festivals & Cool Things
- Hot August Music Festival with Pigeons/Turkuaz/Billy Strings/Melvin Seals & JGB & More at Oregon Ridge Park (Cockeysville)
- 5th Annual Chuck Brown Day at Chuck Brown Memorial Park
- Bandhouse Gigs Celebrates Woodstock's 50th Anniversary at Warner Theatre
- Silver Spring Reggae Fest at Denizens Brewing Co (Silver Spring)
- Old School Hip Hop and R&B Brunch at Library Tavern DC
- Crown Vic’s Weird World with Area Woman at The Green Zone
- The Black Cat Great Big Garage Sale at Black Cat
Hidden Gems
- Work In Progress (feat. Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things) at Union Stage
- Sidney Gish / Lunar Vacation / Frass Green at Songbyrd
- Res at Sotto
- Sweet Something at Bossa Bistro + Lounge
- Rahsaan Patterson at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club (Bethesda)
- DNF (Sean Rickman/Colin James/Steph Kaiser/Dan Steele) at Ragtime (Arlington)
- The Rough & Tumble Howl Back at Edith May's Paradise (Jessup)
- Hall Williams at Little Market Café (Ellicott City)
- Hot August After Party at Green Turtle (Cockeysville)
- Tony Bennett at Wolf Trap (Vienna)
Sun — August 18
DCMR Staff Recs
- Mark Knopfler at Wolf Trap (Vienna)
- Jack on Fire/Electric Grandmother at Black Cat
- Del Florida: Album Release Show at Rams Head On Stage (Annapolis)
Sunday Night Mics, Jams & Such
- Sunday Sessions (lgbtqia) Open Mic at XX+ Crostino
Hidden Gems
- FREE, Live & Local: Erin Frisby / Erin Fox at The Pub & The People
- Ola Mesa/ lowlight/ Violet Jupiter/ Night Hums at Velvet Lounge
- Summer Cannibals, Field Mouse, Panini Girlfriend at Comet Ping Pong
- Vansire / Kainalu / Jeff Draco at Songbyrd
- Modell, Soderstrom & James at Clare and Don's Beach Shack (Falls Church)
- Free Public Piano Concert at Takoma Park Gazebo (Takoma Park)
- Tex Rubinowitz at Rooster & Hen (Catonsville)
- Mojo Bozo's, Minus Drag, Medusa Disco, Anti-Planet at Joe Squared (Baltimore)