DC’s top blog for live concert reviews
Karen Jonas one the 2021 Wammie Award for Best Country/Americana Artist/Group. (Photo by Jim Williams)
The MusicianShip recognized winners of the 2021 Washington Area Music Awards, or Wammies in a virtual awards ceremony on Sunday.
Parklife DC salutes the 2021 Wammie Award winners!
DC rocker Elizabeth II will perform at the Virtual 2021 Wammies show. (Photo courtesy the artist)
After a record-breaking nomination and voting season, music lovers and industry professionals alike can now purchase tickets for the second Virtual Wammie Awards, which will take place on Sunday, March 28 at 6pm, exclusively on WammiesDC.org.
A virtual Wammies Awards program will be held on March 28, 2021. (Photo by Elise Cai)
Voting for the 2021 Wammie Awards has officially begun. Residents of DC, Maryland, and Virginia can now vote for their favorite local artists and musicians for a 2021 Wammie Award. Nominations are still open through Jan. 31, so music lovers can both vote and nominate through the end of January.
What can be said for a year that began with so much promise but ends, well, like we are all feeling stuck in an alternate dimension. Looking back on my calendar which went so off the rails after two and a half months in, it really does look like a glimpse into a world that should have been but one that’s now alternate history.
But even in this bizarro world of COVID-19 there was some great music created at homes, online, socially distanced, and even on the streets! There is nothing that can beat the feel of a crowded show, the thrill of being there, and the joyous exhaustion that follows, but this past year we saw people pulling together – giving what they could – to keep live music alive despite every roadblock tossed in its way.
Since these lists are often limited by “best of” or Top 10, I want to include, well, all of those performances I caught this past year. There weren’t many, but each one I relive when I hear a song from a brilliant artist I’ve seen or go through photos from the past year. Here are my Top 12 Musical Moments of 2020 in chronological order.
The year started out typically enough. But the way it began and how it’s ending are startlingly different. By the end of March, so many plans and hopes were dashed that now, as we race toward 2020’s conclusion, many of us feel they may never be realized.
Like so many others in this Year of Covid, I’ve had a chance to reflect, reassess, and reset for the coming year, sorting out what is, and isn’t, important. I enjoy photographing people, whether it be portraiture, cultural documentation, or musical performance. As a photographer, I strive to become invisible and capture moments as they are, not as I or the subject, would like them to be. Although photographing live music has been challenging as of late, I’ve been afforded the luxury of time to go through my archives and, as a result, have made a belated but important discovery: the final image must also render the photographer invisible.
Pie Shop DC (Photo by Aiden Korotkin)
Parklife DC today announces the best in DC concerts with our annual awards program, named for our mascot, DC’s own state bird — the Wood Thrush. Our Thrushie Awards salute bands and venues in line with our mission to review live music concerts.
Jeffery Tribble, Jr., Executive Director of The MusicianShip addresses the Wammie Awards in 2019. (Photo courtesy of The MusicianShip)
Nominations for the 2021 Wammie Awards are now live. Residents of the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area can nominate their favorite local musicians and artists, including themselves, for a coveted Wammie.
A wood thrush! (Photo by Trish Gussler)
Parklife DC will honor DC bands and venues with our send annual Thrushie Awards program, named for our mascot, DC’s own state bird — the Wood Thrush. As always, our Thrushie Awards are inspired by our mission to review live music concerts and spotlight bands and concert halls covered by Parklife DC.
Voting for Thrushies runs through Friday, Dec. 11 at midnight, and you get to vote for your favorite DC band or venue.
In the past, we have also solicited votes for Best Music Festival, but we have paused that category this year as the novel coronavirus forced the cancellation of our favorite DC-area music festivals in 2020.
Our poll focuses local bands from our coverage and interviews from the past year and local music venues where we reviewed shows or promoted livestreams.
Write-in candidates are welcome!
A band on stage! (Photo by Montecruz Foto)
Welcome to the 2020 Thrushie Awards!
Parklife DC will name the DC best local music venue of the year with your input. The Thrushie Awards are open to DC-area music venues that host touring bands. These venues must be occupied by its owner-operator and not a “for-rent” concert hall operated by an independent agent.
Learn more about each nominee by clicking on their name in keywords. Or name your own candidate!
Vote for the best music local music venue in the DC metro area now through Dec. 11.
Guitar! (Photo by Duane Storey)
Welcome to the 2020 Thrushie Awards!
Parklife DC will name the DC best local band — or performer — of the year with your input. Local bands include those who live in the National Capital Region and issuing new material this year (livestreaming during the coronavirus epidemic is a plus!). Learn more about each nominee by clicking on their name in keywords. Or name your own candidate!
Vote for the best music local band in the DC metro area now through Dec. 11.
Angel K
AJ Waugh
ambienteye
Ari Strauss
Andy Jillson
Brenda Reyes
Chester Simpson
chriscastilloweb
Chris R. Smyth
Casey Vock
Daniel Webb
David LaMason
EDMit it
Shantel M Breen
isaiahhattix
Jason Nicholson "Le Mouton Flâneur"
jesternate
julesontheroadphotos
jwillview
kristiechua
marcshea2
Mark Caicedo
Mark Engleson
Mathew Harkins
Corey Paterson
mdxpc
Mickey McCarter
Miyun Park
Neal Keller
Parklifer
Kyle Gustafson
paivi
Rebecca
regardingtess
Robert Smith
shedrickpelt
theeternalname
Matt Ruppert
Will Colbert
Andrew Goodwin
wefoughtthebigone