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Billy Bragg (Photo by Jacob Blickenstaff)
Inspired by Billy Bragg’s recent Mother’s Day video release for his song “Can’t Be There Today,” City Winery and Billy are co-producing a special multi-artist Mother’s Day concert that will be broadcast on YouTube on Sunday, May 10.
A sign announcing a coronavirus closing (Photo by Ted Eytan)
DC has closed its music venues to efforts to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19). As such, staffers at concert halls around town are out of work.
Management at several music venues have established relief funds for their workers, allowing the public to donate directly to efforts to provide money directly to venue staff.
Should you ever have enjoyed a show at any of the venues below, please consider a donation to thank the hard-working staff who helped make it a great experience. Parklife has compiled a list below of music venues administering support funds, along with a statement posted by the management of each.
Parklife will udpate this list as relevant. Feel free to add info on relief efforts for music venue staff in the comments.
Danny Barnes (Photo by Sarah Cass)
Ace banjo picker Danny Barnes has worn a lot of hats in his career, and his music draws wildly from disparate sources. He’s been a band leader and a sideman, and he’s played everything from bluegrass to (acoustic) punk. As one of his fellow players noted, he may be the only person to have released both a traditional banjo record and an ambient guitar record.
Vince Herman of Leftover Salman performs at MerleFest 2017 on April 28, 2017. (Photo by cp_thornton)
Before Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt took the stage at City Winery, they were preceded by a brief reading from Tim Newby’s book, Leftover Salmon: 30 Years of Festival. The reading detailed the earliest origins of America’s premier “polyethnic Cajun slamgrass band,” (a term which, Vince joked, “has really pigeonholed us”), when Vince and Drew met in 1985. Over the next few years, Vince would play guitar in the Left Hand String Band, and Drew played several instruments, especially the mandolin, in the Salmon Heads.
Midge Ure performs at City Winery DC on Feb. 5, 2020. (Photo by Nalinee Darmrong)
Midge Ure, the gregarious former frontman of Ultravox, answered questions and performed tunes from his solo career, Visage, Ultravox, and even the Rich Kids, in a recent evening of story and song at City Winery in Washington, DC.
Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt (Photo by Bob Charmichael)
Vince Herman is one of the founding members of the Colorado “jamgrass” (bluegrass jamband) group Leftover Salmon. A guitarist and songwriter, Vince has, with mandolinist Drew Emmitt, formed the core of Leftover Salmon for 30 years.
In this conversation, Vince and Parklife DC’s Mark Engleson discuss the band, his influences, the band’s forays into Colorado’s marijuana industry, and his upcoming show with Drew at the City Winery in DC on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Yuna performs at City Winery on Jan. 29, 2020. (Photo by Brenda Reyes)
Yuna appeared in a special acoustic tour throughout City Winery venues across the country recently. And lucky for DC, it was the last stop on her Rouge Tour. Yuna made this intimate occasion such a pleasure and the audience got a better sense of the thoughts behind her music with commentary throughout the set.
Midge Ure (Photo courtesy Erika Tooker)
Midge Ure returns to DC with his open and honest Songs, Questions and Answers Tour 2020, which lands at City Winery on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The show is sold out, but here are some things to know before you go!
Art Alexakis performs at City Winery in DC on Jan. 10, 2020. (Photo by Chris Smyth)
“Don’t you feel old being at a dinner theater and listening to ’90s rock?” the affable Art Alexakis quipped during his recent performance at City Winery DC. In the small, quiet venue, Art appeared comfortable on stage all by himself, regularly joking and telling stories to the fans in attendance.
Mickey McCarter was *thrilled* to see the classic lineup of Berlin reunite. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)
Editor’s Note: This year, we asked our bloggers to name their Top 10 shows of 2019 or choose their Top 10 photos of the year. We will run them over the course of mid-December as our Best of the Year posts.
Many of our bloggers work as one-man bands. They travel to a show, shoot it, and write it up. But as Parklife DC editor, I frequently work in collaboration with others. And so I have the opportunity to travel to shows I might otherwise not see in support of bloggers who are there to shoot (usually) or write (occasionally) about the program.
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