If I could see see two or three shows every day this week, here's what I would catch:

Monday, 6/25

•  Mokoomba at the African American Civil War Museum and Memorial at 4p (speaking) and 6p (performing) - Hailing from the Victoria Falls region of Zimbabwe, Mokoomba’s six young band members offer a unique blend of Tonga and Luvale traditional rhythms fused with dashes of funk, ska and soukous. Their music makes you move, but behind their raw energy are stories of pain and of hope. Before performing music from their most recent album, Luyando, they will be speaking about their story at 4p (tickets available at 3p) at Rite of Passage sponsored by the Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute.

• serpentwithfeet with Lee Mo at DC9 Nightclub at 8p- Baltimore's serpentwithfeet (aka Josiah Wise) is "an avant-garde vocalist and performance artist whose growing body of work is rooted in dueling obsessions with the ephemeral and the everlasting." His voice shimmers with both strength and vulnerability, a rare combination that to me represents self-awareness and vision.  His debut full-length album soil was just released on June 8 and met with critical acclaim as he, "looks back to the sounds of his religious upbringing while crafting language to express living as a queer black person in the present." (NPR)  serpentwithfeet is performing with Baltimore born, Philly-based Lee Mo, who is known for her, "killer vocals, soulful feel, and impressive music sensibilities."

Tuesday, 6/26

• Katie von Schleicher with Julian at DC9 Nightclub at 7:30p-  Maryland's Katie Von Schleicher's self-recorded EP Bleaksploitation, was spot-on described as full of "irreverent, fuzz-laden tunes." NPR’s Bob Boilen calls her debut full-length album, Shitty Hits, "one of those constant repeat records for me." To me, her songs and words are bendy and soothing. She is reminiscent of a lot of a lot of artists I love, but she presents closer up in the forefront than most. Katie is playing with DC-band Julian whose latest release, Real Distance, offers a "hazy, atmospheric" sound. 

• We Are Scientists with The Candescents at Rock & Roll Hotel at 8p - I saw the NY-based indie rock band We Are Scientists a few years back at Black Cat on a whim and remembered to remember them because of the big sounds and feelings that poured off the stage. They are coming back to DC as they promote their spirited new album, MEGAPLEX, which has this song "One In, One Out" that I can't stop listening to. 

Wednesday, 6/27

• Seán Barna / Rob Stokes Band/ Laura Wolf at Songbyrd at 7p - DC and NY-based Sean Barna's voice grabs hold -- in its sound and what it has to say and how it lays itself out there for you to look at or walk on or hold above you like an umbrella.  According to his site, Barna is preparing to release Cissy, "a gasping, 5-song exploration of isolation, anxiety, queerness, and mortality" which features a collaboration with Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows. Cissy is described as a, "measured, brutally observant deconstruction of masculinity, where the main players in the story – drag queens, mothers, queers, office workers, and wanderers – come together in the name of excess to achieve a well-worn life."  I feel like this is a must see show, especially as he is playing alongside Rob Stokes Band whose, "lush sound doesn’t rely on contemporary mandates for cleanliness and order, but squiggles for its’ futurism" and cellist/singer Laura Wolf who, "uses live looping, effect pedals and various instruments to weave a penetrating world of sound."

• Artist in Residence: Josanne Francis at Strathmore Mansion at 7:30p - If you want to see steelpan played like you may have never seen/heard it before, go see Josanne Francis, who is described as a natural pannest. She plays with such joy and such nuance, it's a bit like feeling a new magic. As the artistic director of the Cultural Academy for Excellence, she also uses the steelpan to bring music education to after-school and weekend programs. I am a huge fan of the Strathmore Mansion programs because they allow you to experience a diversity of talent in an up-close-and-personal living room. I anticipate that Josanne Francis in that space is going to be eye-heart-ear opening. 

Thursday, 6/28

• Deborah Bond at Sotto at 8p - "A self-proclaimed "people watcher, dreamer and lover of philosophy", Deborah Bond takes these traits and puts them into her music. She has a powerful, confident voice that seamlessly mixes R&B with funk and British soul, and you can hear how her main influences including Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, and Sade have shaped her signature sound. Check out her powerful vocals at Sotto on Thursday night. 

• Canned Heat at Amp Powered by Strathmore at 8p - Legendary blues/rock band Canned Heat has been around a long time (did you know they have 38 albums!) with classic songs such as "On the Road Again" (nope, not the Willie Nelson song) and "Going Up the Country." They offered a unique sound at Woodstock back in the day and their original members,  Adolfo de la Parra, Larry Taylor, and Harvey Mandel are bringing their classic sound and prolific songbook to the DMV on Thursday.   

Friday, 6/29 - three big names you know and some you may not:

• Sarah McLachlan at The Music Center at Strathmore at 8p 

• Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers and The Wood Brothers at Wolf Trap at 7:30p 

• The Pretenders at The Fillmore Silver Spring at 8p 

• Trajectories/PLRLS/Combs/Creachies at Slash Run at 8p - Because they promote this as such: "paths, multiples, hairdos, and ghoulies come alive in this mythical magical romp!" And because PLRLS new wave post punk is representing the messy haired, spunky younger sister of a B52. Trajectories are from DC and The Combs hail from VA and although I don't know them yet, I do see they punk all out and are featured in some upcoming shows I'm excited about. And Creachies offers, "whirling elements of psychedelia, bubble gum power pop, and new wave (and) immerse you in a colorful, cartoon universe of fuzz guitars and shimmery synths—a world where Devo and the Go-Gos wiggle and jiggle with Kraftwerk and Spacemen 3."

Saturday, 6/30

• Road to LOCKN' ft. Disco Risqué, Firecracker Jam, & 49 Winchester at Gypsy Sally's at 9p - As we inch closer to LOCKN' 2018, Gypsy Sally's offers us this appetizing event to get the motors running for August. Disco Risqué is a heavy funk band from central Virginia who are playing LOCKN' and have previously shared the stage with jam favorites like Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Tauk, and People’s Blues of Richmond. Firecracker Jam is a jam band without a guitar, imagine that! But they produce a, "big, high energy sound that is truly state of the art"  using electric mandolin, bass and drums in a way that's genre-defying.  And 49 Winchester is a VA acoustic folk trio well received in the region's strong culture of grassroots music for their use of poetic, heartfelt lyrics and amazing musicality. 

• Stephen Stills and Judy Collins with Kenny White at Kennedy Center at 8p - I listened to these two legends, Stephen Stills and Judy Collins, all through my childhood and teens and into adulthood and they still remind me of being a kid in simpler times. Individually, they are each so prolific with signature voices and styles. Put them together for the first time as they share both their original songs along with some debut songs from their upcoming album, and you have a lovely, memorable, nostalgic in all-the-right-ways night to sink into. 

• Paperhaus, Park Snakes, Bacchae, DJ Hipster Woods at Rock & Roll Hotel at 7p - DC's own Paperhaus has a psychedelic sensibilities, intentional catch and hook sound that gives a nod to so many artists before them (to me there's a fuzzier bit of Cure in there). They lead in the swim upstream with so many other relevant DC-artists busting out today. Joining them is more amazingness coming out of DC including the rock band Park Snakes, the post-punk Bacchae, and DJ Hipster Woods, all of which I've checked out and am excited to hear live. 

Sunday, 7/1

• Reba McEntire at Wolf Trap at 8p

• Keith Busey's "70's Best" Show at City Winery DC at 6p - DC-native Keith Busey’s musical career includes Musical Director for acts like The Stylistics, Heat Wave, The Intruders , Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, Jeane Carne, The Emotions and The 70’s Soul Jam Concerts Series. With his “70’s Best” series, Keith and his band delve deep into the soul and R&B back catalogue, including Chaka Khan, Al Green, Patti LaBelle, and Earth Wind and Fire. I feel like this will be an incredible variety show where he adds his charisma to so many beloved songs and tells lots of stories about back in the day. Heck, yes!

• Oso Oso with Queen of Jeans, Future Teens at Songbyrd at 7p - This is next gen music. NY's Oso Oso, "heralds punk’s pivot towards ’00s revivalism, which makes sense—’90s kids are aging out, and now it’s our turn." Future Teens from Boston offers "bummer pop" with songs that, "toe the line between despair and humor." And Philly's Queens of Jeans, "estrogen on ice" music is lush and melodic and moving with sweet harmonics and smart lyrics.

Below are more DCMR staff picks for every day of the week!