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As of today, music audiences across the Washington DC region can vote for The 2022 Wammie Awards.
To date, The MusicianShip Wammie Awards has received hundreds of nominations for more than 60 music award categories representing 2021’s best music releases, talent, and community impact from the region’s music industry.
One Way Out (Photo by Carter Louthian)
Young guns One Way Out released The Sun, The Moon, The Truth back in August and toured around the east coast. They return for a hometown show at DC9 on Friday, Dec. 17!
Dante Ferrando drums in The Owners at Comet Ping Pong on Dec. 9, 2021. (Photos by Ben Eisendrath)
Longtime fans of DC nightclub Black Cat — and good indie music in general — were greeted by a surprise when we emerged from pandemic lockdowns a few months ago. The Cat’s founders, Dante Ferrando and Catherine Ferrando, and longtime bartenders, Al Budd and Laura Harris, had formed a quartet.
They called themselves The Owners and sharpened their songs in the Black Cat itself as a ready rehearsal space while it was closed to the public. The results are pretty damn catchy, as evidenced in their most recent performance in a sold-out show with Bad Moves at Comet Ping Pong.
Oh He Dead perform at 9:30 Club on Sept. 25, 2021. (Photos by Mark Caicedo)
“Poppy enough for ya…bitch?”
Those words, spoken in jest years ago between Oh He Dead’s CJ Johnson and Andy Valenti, actually signaled a dogged determination to never compromise on their dream. Saturday night, during their headlining 9:30 Club debut, the two Oh He Dead (OHD) founders related the story of demoing one of their new songs, only to be told that it wasn’t “pop” enough. That long ago, unnamed producer might be a little humbled to find that OHD has amassed an exhaustive repertoire of original and cover songs, has legions of fans around the world, and this past Saturday played to a packed 9:30 Club (only the first, no doubt, of many such appearances to come).
And judging by the crowd of swaying, dancing, and singing fans, not a single one would accuse OHD of not being “poppy” enough.
Oh He Dead (Photo courtesy 9:30 Club)
DC indie band Oh He Dead “recalls the danceability of Earth Wind and Fire, the pop genius of Prince, and the seductive, soulful groove of Sade,” said Parklife blogger Mark Caicedo in his last review of this funky quintet.
Experience that sound for yourself and catch Oh He Dead live at 9:30 Club on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Two of the finest DC area musicians performed this past Friday evening at Pearl Street Warehouse. Elizabeth II opened with a subdued but nonetheless passionate solo acoustic performance while Jonny Grave’s blues rock provided a raucous counterpoint.
Flex Matthews joined Justin Trawick at the last minute to fill an emergency opening in the 2021 Appaloosa Festival. (Photo by Chester Simpson.)
Alex and Dan Fedoryka, founding members of the band Scythian, wanted to bring their friends and fans back to their family’s hometown of Front Royal, Virginia, on the scenic Skyline Ranch Resort, nestled in the Shenandoah Valley. It’s just a few minutes from the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, and less than a mile from the Shenandoah River. There is camping available on site, plus opportunities in the immediate vicinity to hike, canoe, fish, and bike.
Welcome to the perfect setting and the perfect weekend for the annual Appaloosa Music Festival, the result of the Fedoryka brothers’ dream to celebrate life and music with their friends and family, which includes you and me!
One Way Out (Photo by Carter Louthian)
On Friday, Aug. 20, DC rockers One Way Out take their energetic live show to Union Stage. That same day, the band releases their sophomore full-length album The Sun, The Moon, The Truth!
Anyone who’s familiar with the DMV’s music scene knows Cathy DiToro, an incandescent ball of energy whose bands So Fetch (aughts covers), The Legwarmers (’80s covers), and Party Like It’s (ska/dance) clearly don’t occupy enough of her time.
A songwriter in her own right, Cathy has assembled a fresh quartet, the aptly named RoseRiot, to perform original songs, and the band made a long-awaited return to live performance with an outdoor appearance at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Virginia this past Friday.
Gideon Jaguar performs with Exotiq Int’l at Black Cat on July 16, 2021. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
In a recent show at Black Cat, Sister Polygon Records flexed its indie dance muscles and revealed how it’s poised to keep our feet moving with the disco and funk of lablelmates Too Free and Exotiq Int’l respectively.
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