The Smithsonian Folklife Festival has been a fixture on Washington’s summer calendar for more than 40 years, and is arguably the most ambitious use of the National Mall each summer. For two weeks every year the Smithsonian brings in musicians, artists, storytellers, and craftsmen from around the world to put on a living exhibition. The festival [...]
Tonight: 12 Angry Men at the Artisphere
Cable news anchors smarting over yesterday's not-guilty verdict in the Florida trial of Casey Anthony would do well to sit down with Sidney Lumet's 1957 directorial debut. The dozen anonymous citizens chosen to deliberate over an unseen murder are far more than a "kooky jury." For 96 minutes, Lumet [...]
The 44th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival came to a close yesterday. As I noted earlier, due to financial reasons, this was the smallest Folklife Fest ever, but it remains a well-curated, exciting event. It could be publicized better, but for those who did attend, there were unique things worth seeing.
I spent much of the final [...]
The birthday weekend of this immigrant-built country includes a number of gigs featuring immigrants and other international visitors. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival continues through Monday and spotlights a number of traditional Mexican groups as well as area-based Asian-Americans. The Mexican groups that may prove most interesting are Chinelos de Atlatlahucan, a costumed Mardi Gras/Indian-type ensemble [...]
For D.C.’s Caribbean community this is THE weekend—the loud, brash Saturday parade featuring participants in Technicolor costumes plus countless concerts and parties with sound systems turned up to 11. But if you don't like reggae and soca, this weekend offers numerous other international and roots music choices. Around this time every year, I run into [...]
Friday
Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra. Blues Alley. $25.
L.A. Guns w/ Mis-Fit, Tilt, Sinner’s Trail, Bitter Pill. Jaxx. $18/$20. +21.
Sheryl Crow, Ari Hest. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $30-$48.
TheoryCast, ReVeL, Fight The Bear, Conshafter. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
DC Summer Extravaganza w/ Tittsworth, Nadastrom, Will Eastman, Bobby Jae & Ken Lazee, Dmerit. 9:30 club. [...]
Over the years at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, I have seen and heard lots of great music—zydeco, DC sounds from Rare Essence and Fugazi, weird Bhutan horns, the Cambodian Ray Charles, amazing Malian music, country blues, rockabilly, and numerous Latin styles. I have also seen many fascinating craftspeople and eaten a fair amount of exciting [...]
