For Banned Books Week, A Playlist Of Provocative D.C. Music (And More)
This post has been updated. Nationwide this week is called Banned Books Week. At the D.C. Public Library, it’s called “Uncensored.”…
Category: Featured
Photos Of Landmark Music Festival, A Rare Megaconcert In D.C.
Washington, D.C., doesn’t get a lot of major music festivals: It’s had to make do with smallish events out in…
Done Running U Street Music Hall, Will Eastman Rebrands Himself
The most significant thing about “Sugar” by D.C. producer and DJ Will Eastman isn’t the track’s uplifting, well-informed layering of…
Remembering D.C. Guitar Virtuoso Danny Gatton And ‘The Anacostia Delta’
Over the last few years, D.C.’s hardcore punk scene has been memorialized by multiple films and TV shows. But soon,…
TT The Artist Left A Cultlike Church And Found Baltimore’s Music Scene
Greatness isn’t measured by a fixed set of criteria, but many art lovers would agree that great artists take multiple forms…
Smithsonian Acquires Collection Of Classic Hip-Hop Photos
More than 400 classic photographs of hip-hop artists including Foxy Brown, Lil’ Kim, T.I., Black Sheep and N.W.A.’s Eazy-E have been acquired…
Ace Cosgrove Explores A Classic Sound On New Project ‘Baby Need Food’
“You have to hustle harder than the next person to put bread on the table.” That’s the inspiration behind Baby…
The Beginner’s Mynd Takes A Tyme Machine Back To The ’60s
Reverb has been back for years now, but psychedelic-rock trio The Beginner’s Mynd takes a different road than its shoegaze-loving peers. The D.C….
Why This Band Is Fighting For Its Right To Have An ‘Offensive’ Name
Update, Dec. 22, 2015: The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled in favor of Simon Tam and…
Nature Boi’s Mom Wanted Him To Be An Electrical Engineer. He Pursued Hip-Hop Instead.
It’s been said that music is a form of therapy. That’s as true for listeners as it is for musicians….
‘Strawberry Dreams’ Is A New Feminist Punk Zine Out Of D.C.
When Paula Martinez and John Scharbach first told Farrah Skeiky about Strawberry Dreams — their idea for a free zine…
La SalvadoReina Wants To Jumpstart Salvadoran Music In D.C., One Cumbia At A Time
Lots of young women dream of being pop princesses. Cindy Zavala didn’t. Instead, she went straight for the throne. As…
Jason Mullinax Explores An Alien Groove On ‘Octopus Tree’
On “Octopus Tree,” a recent composition from Takoma Park musician Jason Mullinax, imagery and music come together in vivid harmony:…
Music For Silk Robes: Abhi//Dijon’s New EP, ‘Stay Up’
Atmospheric R&B duo Abhi//Dijon still has a low profile locally — the pair from Ellicott City, Maryland, hasn’t played many…
Rapper Aye Yo Smiley: ‘You Don’t Always Have To Have A Hook’
With her natural and vibrant flow, it would seem that D.C. emcee Aye Yo Smiley — real name Marisol Alcalde…
Babe City Records: The D.C. Label That Started In A Basement And Moved Up To 9:30 Club
On a Saturday night, multicolored balloons bearing the image of cartoon character Tintin sail down from the balconies of D.C.’s…
GEMS Is No Longer A D.C. Band, But We’ll Try Not To Hold That Against Them
Circa 2012, dream-pop duo GEMS sounded refreshing amid D.C.’s somewhat conservative indie-rock scene. With floaty songs like “Pegasus” and “Never…
Bugging Out: His Dad Is An Entomologist, But Brain Rapp Has Hip-Hop Dreams
One of hip-hop’s most commendable qualities is that it gives voice to a diversity of narratives. In the lyrical tradition…
Rapper And ‘Trap Hipster’ Layla Khepri Goes ‘Jurassic’
Self-proclaimed “trap hipster” Layla Khepri does it big — dinosaur big, as seen in the rapper’s new music video for…
Good News, Record Labels: A Virginia Company Plans To Open A Vinyl Pressing Plant
This story has been updated to include new information from Furnace MFG president and CEO Eric Astor. Record-making is a specialized…