Midtown Youth Academy Founder, Eugene R. Hughes Walking under its peeling sign and into 14th Street's Midtown Youth Academy feels like walking into a museum. The well-traversed wood floors give the room a musty odor and decades worth of photographs and posters adorn the faded walls. Shelves of books line one wall while a row of personal computers line the other. But the institutional feeling goes away as soon as one sees the boxing... [continue]

Christian Scott >> Hawaiian folk artist Gary Haleamau brings his slack key guitar prowess and his unmistakably Hawaiian falsetto style of singing to the Millennium Stage tonight. 6 p.m. Free >> Many consider alto saxophonist Shenole Latimer a jazz star on the rise. You can catch this up-and-comer tomorrow night at Twins Jazz. Call 202-432-0072 for set time and cover information. >> Three Stars alums and DCist faves The Young Lions perform on Friday... [continue]

"Revolution girl style now!" Most of the girls who took the stage at the 9:30 Club early in the day on Saturday weren't yet born 17 years ago when that rallying cry kicked off the International Pop Underground Festival and gave a name to Bikini Kill's first record. But if the exuberance onstage and in the crowd was any indication, the spirit of that revolution is still going strong. Saturday's showcase was the culminating event... [continue]

SMV, (l-r) Victor Wooten, Stanley Clarke, and Marcus Miller Assembling a supergroup always seems like a good idea -- in theory. Practice proves otherwise, often leading to disappointment in the form of terrible music. The trepidation associated with SMV, a group co-led by groundbreaking bassists Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten, and their new release, Thunder, came in several forms. Would this album be a chops-fest for these master technicians? How do you... [continue]

Drop Electric vocalist Padma Soundararajan and bassist Neel Singh performing earlier this year at the Rock and Roll Hotel Drop Electric was no different from many a local band. They played the occasional festival, headlined local clubs, and were on their way to garnering a decent local following. But their story took a tragic turn last month, and the band is still trying to recover. The family of vocalist Padma Soundararajan — her father,... [continue]

FILM: AFI is showing Kim Dae-woo's Forbidden Quest, the story of a Korean scholar who embarks on a journey to write an erotic novel. The show is at 9:45 p.m., and tickets can be purchased ahead of time. MUSIC: Clinic (and their masks) take the stage at the Black Cat this week, with BBQ. Their press team told us that, "For this tour, Clinic will play Do It! in its entirety, followed by a... [continue]

Eastern Blok>> Vocalist Kathleen Grace is touted as the perfect blend of jazz vocalist and singer/songwriter. Her formidable talents will be on display tonight at Blues Alley. Tickets to the 8 and 10 p.m. sets are $18 + $12.50 minimum/surcharge. >> Drummer Brian Choper leads the Choper Jazz Project tonight at Twins Jazz. Call 202-234-0072 for set times and cover information. >> Tomorrow night, Serbian guitar virtuoso Goran Ivanovic leads Eastern Blok (pictured) at... [continue]

One of the great things about our fair city is its proximity to the open road and some gorgeous scenery, and this photo by SpecialEd98 serves as a reminder. Those of us trapped in cubes might be kinda jealous of the happy dog, whose name is Wally for those of you that are curious, but this picture helps us take our minds off the unseasonably cold weather and keeps our attention on a potentially... [continue]

It's about that time, folks. Unbuckled 7, taking place this Thursday at DC9, is almost upon us, and we have an incredible bill featuring Muhsinah and Motel, two up-and-coming acts from the District who blur the lines between R&B, jazz, and hip-hop, as well as DJ v:shal kanwar, who is making waves in the city's electronica scene. Matt Grason, a bandleader, bassist, and composer, is the brains behind Motel, a jazz/hip-hop collective that pairs D.C.'s... [continue]

After having toured and recorded for over a decade, Robert Cray had a breakthrough with his 1986 release, Strong Persuader, which included his signature tune, "Smoking Gun". Though the subject of criticism in those early days because of his willingness to embrace contemporary production techniques and incorporate soul and rock elements into his version of the blues, Cray's recorded output over 30 plus years on the scene and continuous touring around the world prove that... [continue]

Hmmmm. To ding a performance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for being maybe just a bit too genteel wouldn’t make a lot of sense, would it? So we’ll just say that last night’s not-quite-two-hour concert by the venerated New Orleans jazz outfit’s current lineup at the Barns of Wolf Trap took a while to get cooking. But band and audience finally clicked after intermission, the players eventually convincing the initially staid crowd to... [continue]

TUESDAY: >> London's Estelle is already well regarded in the U.K.'s urban music scene and recently made her first foray into the U.S. market with her album, Shine. With her stateside label boss, John Legend, serving as the evening's host as well as a performer, she'll make her D.C. debut at Zanzibar. $15 in advance, 8 p.m. WEDNESDAY: >> The multi-talented Wes Felton has been a fixture on the D.C. soul scene for a while,... [continue]

It's that time of year again when the cherry blossoms are out and so are the people. Flickr contributer ccanddumplins was able to capture this great image of some blossoms over the water and managed to keep a person out of their shot, which isn't easy to do around the Tidal Basin.... [continue]

April has been designated Jazz Appreciation Month ("JAM") at the Smithsonian and as a result, the month will be filled with concerts, lectures, and other assorted events to celebrate this great American art form. Here are just a few of many highlights taking place around town: >> The Smithsonian American Art Museum offers a museum jazz tour every Thursday at 4 p.m. and every Friday at 12:30 p.m. throughout the month. >> The Smithsonian Jazz... [continue]

There are several layers to D.C.'s jazz scene, and each boasts its own set of musicians and strengths. National acts generally play at the larger halls, such as the Kennedy Center, or Blues Alley, if they choose to play a club date. As far as the local scene, the older musicians tend to play the same rooms, or places where the crowd is generally older as well, such as Jazz Night in Southwest. The most... [continue]

The Colbert Report has been blissfully, if not nearly at full speed without its striking writers, back for a little more than a week now on Comedy Central. For three nights straight they've been running a series showing Stephen traipsing all over Washington with a portrait of himself strapped to his back, trying to convince one of the Smithsonian museums to actually hang it up. Without dwelling on how we managed to miss out... [continue]

>> Celebrated vocal/guitar duo Tuck and Patti come to Blues Alley tonight for a four night stand. Tickets to the daily 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. sets are $27.50 + $12.50 minimum/surcharge. Advance purchase required. >> As we mentioned yesterday, the National Geographic Live! Thursday concert series begins Thursday at 6 p.m. with the Kelley Johnson Quartet and Universes. Free >> Guitarist Mark Mosely brings a fine group to Twins Jazz this Friday and Saturday... [continue]

This Thursday, National Geographic Live! begins its third installment of free concerts from “The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad” program. Co-developed by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the program's goal is to foster a cultural exchange in regions of the world that may have limited access to American music and culture. This year's lineup includes six jazz quartets and four "urban music" quartets who... [continue]

Last summer, keyboardist Cyrus Chestnut (pictured) came to the area and gave a memorable performance as part of Cassandra Wilson's stellar band. On Saturday, he returned to the Kennedy Center's Family Theater as a bandleader for the second installment of Sanctified Swing, a program designed to connect contemporary jazz with its roots in the African American church. This program was strong in concept, but the staid Kennedy Center audience didn't mesh well with the spiritual... [continue]

Remember the HGTV Change the World, Start at Home contest we told you about last month? Anacostia was one of ten needy neighborhoods in the United States identified by the cable channel that was eligible to win a "neighborhood revitalization" package if it received enough votes online -- and Anacostia has won! Anacostia will be the beneficiary of three specific revitalization projects: Homes on S Street: HGTV, Rebuilding Together and the National Trust for Historic... [continue]