CNN, Associated Press, and the Los Angeles Times have confirmed that Michael Jackson has died. He was 50 years old. Damn.

This past weekend, we learned that former Washington City Paper music critic Rickey Wright had died. I put together a tribute of sorts made from Wright's blog posts and WCP pieces, tributes from friends and colleagues and family.
On Saturday afternoon, I had the fortune of talking with Nicole Arthur. Arthur served as Washington City Paper's [...]

Former Washington City Paper music critic Rickey Wright is dead.  Wright passed away at 4:31 p.m. on February 19 in Seattle after suffering from a series of small strokes. At the time of his death, he was working on a book about John Lennon's "Imagine."
Wright was probably one of the most prolific talents the Washington [...]

Damn you, economic crisis. Damn you even more, troubled music industry. You've killed one of the most promising players on the D.C. music scene.
DCist reports that Gypsy Eyes Records' owners, Kalani Tifford, Josh Read, and Nick Pimentel, sent a missive to its artists yesterday announcing that the label is ending its just-over-two-year run.
Given the climate [...]

Got this from fellow record nerds. The sad news came this morning via e-mail from two geeks. One sent his regrets that he'd have put to Lux Interior and the Cramps in his list of shows he blew off and will never get the chance to make up. The Cramps. Joe Henderson. Dennis Brown.
The press [...]

Thanks to Steve Kiviat for passing along some sad news: Chick Hall Sr., longtime owner of P.G. County roadhouse Chick Hall's Surf Club, died Tuesday. The release from the Washington Area Music Association:
On Tuesday, November 18, 2008, Chick Hall Sr. passed away. He was a musician of enormous talent and a humble man.
Chick Hall [...]

Ever the bearer of bad news, I'd like to alert BPB readers to another rock 'n roll fatality: This time it's Merl Saunders, who passed away last Friday at the age of 74. Complications from a stroke sidelined him in 2002, effectively ending a remarkable career that included luminous collaborations with Miles Davis, B.B. [...]

That's right—the other Dave McKenna.
For years, whether in print or on the web, adoring City Paper readers have hearkened to the mellifluous prose of D.C.'s Dave McKenna—his rhapsodic treatment of Pop Warner football, his scherzo-like political musings, his epic riffs on the Dan Synder perplex.
Turns out he's not the only D. Mac around.
On Saturday, [...]

DCist is reporting that "Arlington Institution" Dr. Dremo's is about to finally see the wrecking ball. The massive bar complex is getting razed to make way for.... more condos (ugh). The blog notes: "Demolition has finally begun. Most of the surrounding buildings are being taken down today, and one construction worker said he had been [...]

Alton Ellis is dead. Trojan Records writes:
"Paying a fitting tribute to the career of Alton Nehemiah Ellis in just a few paragraphs is an impossible task. For well over forty years, his inimitable voice has thrilled hundreds of thousands worldwide on countless classic Ska, Soul, Rock Steady and Reggae recordings, many of which he also [...]