Or Art-o-Matic which is this weekend. A bunch of it is usually crap but then you find one or two things that make it all worth while. A couple of my friends are exhibiting, and it’s going to be a rainy, nasty day, so hop on the Metro and head for the underground of Crystal City and find a new local artist to support. There’s live music and performance art too.
Who knew? The schedule for Loudon Summer Music Fest 2007 has just been announced. It includes Blues Traveler on June 24th (and I’ve been denounced for not accepting John Popper as my personal savior).
Sponsored by AOL, the festival’s tagline is “The most fun you can have without saying you’re sorry” which I have to admit is pretty good.
Other acts include Sugar Ray, Pat Benatar, and Eddie from Ohio and apparently it all benefits a local charity. They haven’t yet selected the charity yet, so go visit the form if you have a charity you’d like to have considered as this year’s beneficiary.Good music for a worthy cause - there are worse ways to spend a summer evening. Be sure to go by and visit Hawaiian Scoop in Ashburn if you’re out that way.
Wolftrap, a national park for the performing arts, has just announced their summer schedule for the Filene Center. Most of the shows aren’t to my taste (I think they are programming for an older crowd), but there are a couple that might be worth checking out.
I’ll definitely see Bugs on Broadway where Bugs Bunny joins the National Symphony Orchestra (August 3 & 4), and Common joins Joss Stone on June 13 (check out her new album if you haven’t already).
Last summer, the one show I went to see at Wolftrap was Play - the video game orchestra. And the conductor made a point of thanking the younger audience members for coming out and about how important it was to introduce a new generation to orchestral music. And other than Bugs on Broadway, I see no attempt to reach out to that audience and bring them back to Wolftrap.
Note to the programming staff: Start reaching out to your future subscribers. I have no interest in Celtic Woman and I saw Riverdance 12 years ago - once was enough. There have to be other new shows (but please god not Cirque de Soleil) that you can find to interest an audience. Or are you content to be the fast food equivalent of the performing arts - safe and familiar, but bland and uninteresting. You should want to be better than that.
It’s always seemed strange to me that with the playoffs, hockey season stretches until June, but this year the Caps have had a tough time and their season will end this Saturday. One standard feature of the end of the regular season for the Capitals is Fan Appreciation Week . The last regular season game (against Buffalo this year) ends with the players literally taking the shirts off their backs and passing them on to fans chosen by random drawing.
If you haven’t been to a game in a while, this is a nice chance to go see them and as always tell Buffalo, “Just wait until next year.” (more…)
Because I recently missed Snow Patrol and the Decembrists because they were sold out, and because Ted Leo,Lily Allen, Kaiser Chiefs, TV on the Radio, and Arctic Monkeys are all sold out at the 930 and the Killers are sold out at the Patriot Center, I don’t want you to miss your chance on these:
Lily Allen will be at Sonar in Baltimore on May 28th. If you’re inclined, it’s a good show and probably the last chance to see her in a smaller venue. I imagine her next tour will be playing larger spaces.
Stephen Marley w/ Jr. Gong at 930 on May 8. For some reason, they aren’t reminding anyone that Jr. Gong is Damien Marley and to me, that’s a good enough reason, even if I didn’t like Stephen.
Bloc Party was just announced for June 3 at Constitution. It’s not my favorite room for a concert, so I leave that up to you.
John Prine at the Warner Theatre on June 15. I’m not usually a fan of folk, but I like his voice.
Charlie Murphy at the Improv June 22 - 24. This will sell out quickly so get your tickets now.
I always forget to check the schedule, but there are a lot of good upcoming free shows at the Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage. Shows are at 6 p.m. and no tickets are required. They have several shows as part of the Arts of Japan celebration that coincide with the Cherry Blossom Festival, including tonight’s Masako Ono, a modern and hip-hop dancer. It’s not all dance though, as there’s also a jazz trumpeter and Japanese koto music.