Tastemakers in the American and European music worlds are always on the lookout for the Next Big Global Club Sound. Be it Brazilian baile funk or Baltimore club music, these homegrown phenoms would be taken for the same ride of discovery, domination, and disappearance, quickly replaced by whatever “new” sound was discovered next. Slowly but surely, the music world is getting woke, and this type of appropriation doesn’t fly anymore. Respect is being paid to the true originators, who are themselves bringing the music to new audiences. Take gqom, a skeletal style of house music from Durban, South Africa, that landed on global radars a few years ago. It will be the focus when DJ Lag, the self-proclaimed “King of Gqom,” performs at a D.C. warehouse with a slate of like-minded local DJs. “I think working with artists who are in different headspaces opens you up artistically and it has definitely challenged me over the last year,” DJ Lag told Noisey. “I feel like I am ready to take it to another level and I am just inspired by seeing my peers do the same.” DJ Lag and his peers are taking it to that level—on their own terms. Read more>>> DJ Lag performs at 10 p.m. RSVP on Facebook for address information. $15. (Chris Kelly)
EAT THIS
Dorjee Momo opens Saturday on the top floor of Bullfrog Bagels in Eastern Market. The menu features the namesake Tibetan dumplings plus a hot pot experience and other a la carte bites. Dishes cost between $7 and $18 and hot pot starts at $35 per person. Operating hours are 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and reservations are not currently offered. Dorjee Momo, 317 7th St. SE. dorjeemomo.com. (Laura Hayes)
OH AND ALSO
Friday: Rap legend DMX performs at the Howard Theatre. 9 p.m. at 620 T St. NW. $39.50–$75.
Friday: Country-blues artist Frankie Ballard takes the stage at 9:30 Club. 8 p.m. at 815 V St. NW. $25.
Saturday: If you’re wondering how you can stay involved in the message of the historic Women’s March one year after it brought hundreds of thousands to the National Mall, The Phillips Collection has an answer. To Future Women, an interactive project from New York-based artist Georgia Saxelby, asks participants to write letters to women 20 years in the future. The Phillips Collection will archive the letters until the 20th anniversary of the Women’s March in 2037 when they will be displayed once more. This project is about using the physical spaces of museums, inhabited by marchers a year ago, to combine art with protest. Read more>>> The exhibition is on view through Feb. 14 at The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. $10–$12. (202) 387-2151. phillipscollection.org. (Jeanine Santucci)
Saturday: The Barns at Wolf Trap welcome stage and screen actor Aaron Tveit to sing pop tunes and Broadway favorites. 8 p.m. at 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. $40–$55.
Saturday: Vancouver ethereal pop band Belle Game plays Songbyrd Music House. 7 p.m. at 2477 18th St. NW. $12.
Sunday: For fans of Dan Bejar‘s project Destroyer, each record presents new opportunities for lyrical juxtapositions only he can conjure, and last year’s >ken proved to be no exception. Bejar has a way with words few of his peers possess, bending language and abstract phrasing into something that can sound profound, obtuse, and occasionally nonsensical. What exactly does Bejar mean on the track “Sky’s Grey” when he claims he is “working on the new Oliver Twist?” It might involve layers of significance but it also might just sound cool. Live, Destroyer generally take the shape of whatever Bejar’s muse is for that specific album. His latest finds him in an electronic mood, not unlike the atmospheric synth pop of New Order and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. But the mercurial Bejar might have a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to the current arrangements: Some of his best past performances have included a roaring horn section, giving the proceedings a distinctly Springsteen vibe. Read more>>> Destroyer perform at 7:30 p.m. at Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $20–$25. (202) 667-4490. blackcatdc.com. (Matt Siblo)
Sunday: Grammy-winning opera star Kathleen Battle comes to the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall to perform songs inspired by the secret network that led slaves to freedom in the program Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey. 5 p.m. at 2700 F St. NW. $25–$129.
Sunday: At Atlas Performing Arts Center, the In Series presents All The Things You Are, a cabaret tribute to Jerome Kern, the composer of such classic songs as “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Ol’ Man River.” 7 p.m. at 1333 H St. NE. $20–$40.
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