Friday

• The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lil Ronnie & the Grand Dukes. Birchmere. $25.
• Orquesta Ashe, Ocho de Bastos. Black Cat. $12/$15. All ages.
• Van Morrison. DAR Constitution Hall. $95-$350.
• Keith Secola & His Wild Band of Indians. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• O.A.R., Matt Nathanson. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $30–$38.
• The Start, Normandie, The Perfects, Skydivers. The Red & The Black. $10. +21.
• The Tennis System, Paperhaus, Loose Lips, No Dice. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Concert Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• FFFever, Exactly, Smarts, Raccoon Fighter. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Wolf Trap Opera Company: “La Boheme.” Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $10–$60.

Read More “Weekend Music Round-Up” »

Who knew that D.C. had its very own Cuban timba and salsa band?  Yep, Orquesta Ashe, led by Cuban Aramis Pazos Barrera will be at the Left Bank in Adams Morgan tonight.  Timba is a modern Cuban brand of salsa that adds funk beats and hornwork to the traditional clave rhythm.  Barrera was a dancer in Cuba’s National Modern Dance Company and a guest artist with the Bolshoi Ballet in 1988.  In DC he has taught dancing at Danceplace and percussion in schools. His international band (3 singers, 3 percussionists, bass, piano, sax, flute, trombone, and trumpet) includes members from Senegal and Cape Verde as well as locals like noted percussionist Sam Turner (a New Yorker who played with Lionel Hampton and on boogaloo records but who’s been in DC for awhile).  I haven’t seen them yet, but their background sounds promising.

Friday June 5  Orquesta Ashe at 11:30 p.m. (and dance lessons at 10:30) at Leftbank, 2424 18th St NW, DC. (202) 464-2100; $12, age 21 +