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To These Maryland Rappers, ‘DMV’ Stands For ‘Dope Music Village’

Near and Far

Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop's new album, Love Letter For Fire, comes out April 15.

Review: Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop, ‘Love Letter For Fire’

With the help of producer Tucker Martine and a smart, subtle band, Hoop and Beam achieve a fine balance — of songwriting sensibilities and of time in the spotlight.

Sturgill Simpson's new album, A Sailor's Guide To Earth, comes out April 15.

Review: Sturgill Simpson, ‘A Sailor’s Guide To Earth’

For Simpson’s first album since his 2014 breakthrough, the inventive country singer crafts a highly personal song cycle about order and insubordination.

Remembering A Country Legend: Merle Haggard On World Cafe

The “Okie from Muskogee” talks life, music and songwriting in this 2003 interview. Haggard died Wednesday morning.

Sunflower Bean On World Cafe

The psychedelic rock trio from Brooklyn lays down new songs in the studio.

Matt Saincome runs The Hard Times, a website that satirizes punk and hardcore culture.

D.C. Hardcore Is Funny, Or At Least The Hard Times Thinks So

Any dead-serious subculture becomes ripe for satire at some point, and if the success of The Hard Times is any…

Six Pics: Den-Mate, Bless And More DMV Artists At MACROCK

A handful of the D.C.- and Baltimore-area artists who performed at the 2016 edition of MACROCK in Harrisonburg, Virginia Abdu…

Sun Club Live At The Wilderness Bureau

Sun Club has described itself as “a group of buddies playing happy music,” and that youthful energy was on full display…

"I have to show I can rap my ass off," says K.A.A.N., the turbospeed rapper from Howard County, Maryland.

K.A.A.N. Could Be The Next DMV Rap Star, But He’s Not Taking Anything For Granted

When K.A.A.N. raps, he sounds like he’s releasing the valve on a pressure cooker. There are a lot of confessions, rants…

Emcee Prowess the Testament gets divine in an alleyway in her new video for "Alpha Centauri."

Video Premiere: Prowess The Testament Assails Conventional Thought On ‘Alpha Centauri’

As a kid, Tia Abner rarely went anywhere without a notebook and pen. A poet from age 5, she began…

Virginia band Satan's Satyrs is "not about being retro," says vocalist Clayton Burgess, center (not shown: new band member Nate Towle).

Meet Satan’s Satyrs, Virginia’s Saviors Of ’70s Metal

If it’s possible for an album about vampires and creepy teens to be considered delightfully old school, then Don’t Deliver…

Fat Trel, the rapper from Northeast D.C., was arrested Sunday.

Rapper Fat Trel Arrested For Passing Counterfeit Bills At Casino

D.C. rapper Fat Trel was arrested Sunday for passing counterfeit money at a Maryland casino, police say. The rapper signed…

Gallant's debut album, Ology, is out April 8.

Review: Gallant, ‘Ology’

The young soul singer refuses to take sides in R&B’s generational divide, so his songs all sound familiar, even when they’re several things at once.

John Carpenter's new album, Lost Themes II, comes out April 15.

Review: John Carpenter, ‘Lost Themes II’

The filmmaker and musician, known for his work on movies such as Halloween, revisits the approach that defined his synth-heavy soundtrack work.

Brass Bed's new album, In The Yellow Leaf, is out April 15.

Review: Brass Bed, ‘In The Yellow Leaf’

On the Louisiana band’s fourth album, its catchy and dynamic songs sound invigorated, immediate and more forceful than ever.

Babeo Baggins' 'Love Songs For Tough Guys' includes a collaboration with megastar Drake.

Listen: Babeo Baggins And Drake Cover ‘These Days’

It’s already known that pop star Drake is pals with Babeo Baggins, the Virginia native who makes geeky, countercultural hip-hop with underground clique…