Dr. Funkenstein. The Godfather of Funk. The cool ghoul with the funk transplant. Whatever name you know George Clinton by, when he and the massive collective that makes up Parliment Funkadelic come to town, especially to Washington, D.C., "One Nation Under a Groove" takes on a higher meaning. And on Tuesday, the 71-year-old Clinton and [...]
Alas, there is no street beef between the bands U.S. Royalty and American Royalty. There are only questions: Which band is more regal? Which one best represents the U.S. of A.? Sadly, this AWESOMELY EXCLUSIVE CHART doesn't help much:
HOMETOWN
D.C.
L.A.
MUSICAL STYLE
Slightly tarnished AM gold
with literary aspirations
Mildly eccentric indie-electro
with pop tendencies
MOST RECENT RELEASE
Mirrors LP
Matchstick EP (out Feb. [...]
Red Baraat’s musical approach almost seems too contrived: Bhangra meets New Orleans brass meets jazz and funk and go-go. But since this Brooklyn nine-piece group formed a little over three years ago, it's made this largely instrumental style work, and garnished a following to show for it. The group includes three percussionists and six horn [...]
Even from my nose-bleed seats at Carnegie Hall last month, Chucho Valdes’ hands looked huge and commanding as they swept across the piano. The reputation of the renowned 70-year-old Cuban musician got a bump 12 years ago in the film Calle 54, in which he reunited with his now 94-year-old piano-playing father, Bebo. Valdes and his band the [...]
It may be a skip and hop away from D.C., but Loudoun County's "One Loudoun" mixed-used development just announced news sure to delight movie geeks—it's getting a 34,000 square-foot Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
While the Alamo is known for its (really, really great) custom-made movie posters and enforcing strict policies about texting and talking, it's also widely [...]
Wild Flag @ Black Cat
We covered a lot of music in pictures this year, but some truly stood out.
When Takoma Park Celtic folk musician Jennifer Cutting promises that tonight’s CD release party at the Birchmere will be "a veritable three-ring circus," she isn't exaggerating. Cutting, Anglo-Irish by descent but raised by Indian swamis in a Florida ashram, has long brought diverse aspects to her music, including 16th-century Scottish folk, French carols, ‘70s prog-rock, and [...]
Since November 2010, the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, located in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has been one of the city's more intimate outlets for local musicians. Its monthly acoustic concert series, Luce Unplugged, features an hour-long performance, accompanied by a discussion on an artwork chosen by the musician.
Yesterday the series featured Title Tracks frontman [...]
For years, WPFW DJ Rick “Da Gator” Bolling has brought to his Saturday afternoon listeners the latest in Southern soul and blues. Not Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings—that’s R&B for rock fans—and not guitar solo-filled blues rock either. We’re talking artists with church-rooted voices and lyrics about lust like Miss Jody and Carl Sims, [...]
D.C. fans of African sounds have a tough choice to make tonight. Tuareg guitarist Omara Bombino Moctar and his band bring their desert psychedelia to the Black Cat with local pan-African openers Sahel, while Nettle, an international band including two Moroccans plus Jace Clayton (aka DJ Rupture), Andy Moor from The Ex, and others, will be [...]
