For more info about upcoming shows — free, kid- and date-friendly, or otherwise — see our Summer Music Guide.

• Cricket Fusion Quartet. 1905. Call for price.
• Jonathan Coulton, Chelsea Lee. Birchmere. $29.50. All ages.
• Deleted Scenes, The XYZ Affair, Casper Bangs. Black Cat Backstage. $8. All ages.
• Dick Morgan. Blues Alley. $25.
• Buster Brown and The Get Down. Cafe Martini. Call for price.
• Tally Hall, Malbec, Prabir & the Substitutes. DC9. $12. +18.
• Pree, Dead Heart Bloom, Tripp. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12. +21.
• NSO: “Nights at the Movies: A Night on the Red Carpet.â€� Kennedy Center Concert Hall. $20–$65.
• Berklee College of Music: Liz Longley. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free.
• Old Crow Medicine Show. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. $25.
• Toad the Wet Sprocket, Eddie From Ohio. National Harbor. $16.50-$35.
• The Jones, The Known Unknowns, The Very Small. Rock & Roll Hotel. $8. All ages.
• Maryland Deathfest Pre-fest show w/ Ghoul. Sonar. $10. All ages.
• Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, Dead Rock West. The State Theatre. $15.
• Hopewell, The Flying Eyes, Bad Liquor Pond. The Talking Head. $10.
• Fight the Bear, The Blue Line, Imaginary Friends. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.

Photo of the XYZ Affair by Kyle Gustafson, via MySpace.

Happy Hump Day! Tonight’s D.C. music events, culled from our Summer Music Guide and beyond.

• Joey Cape (Lagwagon), Jon Snodgrass (Drag the River), Chad Rex. Black Cat Backstage. $10. All ages.
• Sol Blues. Bangkok Blues. $5.
• Yazarah. Blues Alley. $20. All ages.
• Noon:30, The Press, Achtung Panda. DC9. $8. +21.
• Northwestern University Bienen School of Music. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free.
• Bob Perilla and the Big Hillbilly Bluegrass Band (Every Wednesday). Madam’s Organ.
• 18th St. Singers. Mansion at Strathmore. $15.
• Edward J. Ricart (Guitar). Twins Jazz. Call for price. +21.
• Liechtenstein, Sundress. Velvet Lounge. $8. +18.
• Sinem Saniye, Ilhan Ozulu. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• Another Empty Box w/ Jongol and Super Bon Bon. Wonderland Ballroom. Call for price.
• Videohippos, Screaming Females, Eubonics. Big Bear Cafe.
• Birdman, My Favorite Dress w/ DJs Kathryn Wildt & the Holiday Girl, Casper Bangs. Cafe Saint Ex.

Photo of The Press via MySpace.

Here’s what’s happening in the District tonight. See our full Summer Music Guide for more music events to come.

• The Prodigy, Tittsworth. 9:30 Club. $35. All ages.
• Edmund Burke Middle School Youth Band (early show). Georgetown Day School Youth Band (late show). Blues Alley. $15 per show. All ages.
• Mixel Pixel, Ear Pwr. Galaxy Hut.
• Ben Sollee, Anni Rossi. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15. +21.
• Sparks the Rescue, Running With Giants, Sing Me Insomnia, Cowabunga, Hello Conductor. Jammin’ Java. $10. All ages.
• Juilliard School: LK String Quartet. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free. All ages.
• One Nite Stand (every Monday). Madam’s Organ. Call for price. +21.
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Verizon Center. SOLD OUT.
• XMC (ex-Holy Rollers, Negative Approach, Meatmen), Pup Tent. Black Cat Backstage. $8. All ages.

Photo of The Prodigy by Nivag, via MySpace.

Sunday

• Dan Deacon & Ensemble, Future Islands, Teeth Mountain. 9:30 club. $12. All ages.
• The Dig, All The Kings. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• MC Chris, Whole Wheat Bread. DC9. $14. +18.
• Ben Lee, Low vs Diamond, Dawes. Rock and Roll Hotel. $16. All ages.
• NSO plays Mozart. Kennedy Center. $20-$80. All ages.
• German Academic All-Star Jazz Ensemble. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free. All ages.

Dan Deacon photo by Frank Hamilton, via MySpace.

Summer Music Guide picks after the jump.

Read More “Updated: Weekend Music Round-Up” »

The King of Pop is back! The Guardian reports that Michael Jackson has begun rehearsal for his marathon of London performances—50 crotch-grabbing moonwalks in 50 nights, beginning July 9. According to the UK broadsheet, Jackson spends “four days a week at a rehearsal space near Los Angeles’s Burbank airport. The show will be called This Is It, with a projected budget ‘north of $20m.’”

Considering the team Jackson’s assembled, $20 mill seems a conservative estimate. Along with the requisite army of pelvic-thrusting backup dancers and purported 22 set changes, Jackson chose High School Musical director and choreographer Kenny Ortega to direct this epic comeback effort. According to the Guardian:

Read More “Michael Jackson Plots Comeback, Practices New Dance Move” »

Friday

• US Royalty, Cut Off Your Hands, CANNOT BE STOPPED. Black Cat. $12. All ages.
• Death By Sexy, The Whore Moans. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• Mello D & the Rados, Soul Cannon. Velvet Lounge. $10. +21.
• Super Diamond (Neil Diamond cover band), The Reflex. 9:30 club. $22. All ages.
• Freeland, Alex Metric. Rock and Roll Hotel. $17. All ages.
• Brian Settles Quartet (Fri. & Sat. shows). Bohemian Caverns. $20.
• Marah. Jammin’ Java. $15. All ages.
• DJ Eskimo. Cafe Saint Ex. +21.
• Marc Cary & the Focus Trio. Kennedy Center. $15.
• Ewha Korean Music Orchestra. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »

David Byrne’s had his hands in many a cookie jar. The ex-Talking Head and Luaka Bop label founder played a building (literally), designed cheeky bike racks, and released one of 2008’s best records with fellow ’70s-era musical-genius-who-just-won’t-quit Brian Eno. Now Byrne’s got a new concept album in the works (via Stereogum via BBC).

Inspired by Imelda Marcos, the high heels-happy wife of ex-dictator of the Phillipines Ferdinand Marcos, Byrne penned the album with Fatboy Slim. Together they’re recruiting different vocalists for each track. So far, Santigold is on board as well. Byrne told BBC’s 6 Music:

There is a different singer on every song including Sharon Jones from Amy Winehouse’s backing band The Dap Tones, Alice Russell and Tori Amos. There’s a lot of singers, it goes on and on.

“On and on”? How many tracks are on this album? Here’s hoping Byrne doesn’t jump the shark with this one.

Pirates on the high seas have been stealing headlines lately, holding captains hostage and attacking their ships. But today, music industry execs struck a potentially fatal blow against e-piracy.

A Swedish court sentenced Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde–founders of the peer-to-peer (P2P) search engine/BitTorrent tracker site The Pirate Bay–to a year in jail and ordered them to pay damages of 30 million kronor ($3.54 million) to the music and film industries. (via Billboard)

Read More “Swedish Pirates Slapped With Jail Sentence” »

Friday

• Justin Jones & the Driving Rain, The Jackfields, Mother. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, Sister Suvi, David Schultz & the Skyline. Black Cat. $13. All ages.
• Lily Allen, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. 9:30 club. SOLD OUT! All ages.
• Andy Zipf, Damion Suomi, Tiny Animals, The Empties. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• Troll Tax, Meow vs. Meow, Polite Sleeper, Jurojin. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Orange Blossom. Lisner Auditorium. $15-$35. All ages.
• Tokyo String Quartet w/ Lynn Harrell, cello. Strathmore. $25-$75. All ages.
• Barrage. The Barns at Wolf Trap. $27. All ages.
• DJ Thomas Blondet, guest DJ Kostas. 18th Street Lounge. +21.
• FunkDC presents DJ Moose. Cafe Saint Ex. +21.
• NSO Prelude. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. FREE. All ages.

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »

Powered by his critically successful new release (Bromst) and glowing green skull, music-as-performance artist Dan Deacon chugs along on his North American tour, leaving his mark on dancefloors and day-glo wearing revelers along the way. But if there’s one thing on which Deacon won’t leave a mark, it’s the environment. At least, that’s the idea. In an effort to reduce his carbon footprint, the Baltimoron is following trailblazer Willie Nelson’s (and Matt & Kim, Sheryl Crow, myriad indie acts, etc.) footprints in a veggie oil-powered school bus (via Pitchfork).

Read More “Dan Deacon: Gallons o’ Grease for Buckets o’ Fun” »