The City Paper's reports that Eric and Ian Hilton have decided against opening a restaurant along H Street NE and have sold their lease on the building at 1337 H Street. more ›

Prince of Petworth reports that Eric Hilton's Eighteenth Street Lounge group has filed a liquor-license application for the house on 1337 H Street. The building used to be a funeral home, and so much else. more ›

The Sweetlife Festival—the concert sponsored by salad chain Sweetgreen—announced this afternoon the artists that will populate its second stage at the April 28 festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion. more ›

Bluebrain's Ryan and Hays Holladay have written their third location-aware album, this time for the South by Southwest Interactive festival next month in Austin, Texas. Ryan Holladay tells us how it was crafted. more ›

On Saturday, the avant-garde duo Bluebrain held their final Boombox Walk at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Among the welcoming greenery and flowers, Ryan and Hays Holladay organized the group of participants, handing everyone who had RSVP'd their respective cassettes, CDs and MP3 files. On their signal, everyone pressed play and walked around the garden en masse, creating a huge, mobile orchestra. more ›

Bluebrain is bringing back their old Boombox Walk one last time tomorrow. Ryan Holladay, one half of the experimental duo, talks about retiring the event in style. more ›

Do your Memorial Day plans include picnicking at or hanging around the National Mall? Bluebrain has an app for that. more ›

DCist amigos Bluebrain (***) are always coming up with creative ways to get their music to the masses. And this idea is no exception. From Ryan Holladay, one half of the group:

Essentially, we have created an audio companion to the Sant Ocean Hall in the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. It's a 20 minute piece of music that we've written to be played while exploring this section of the museum. It's not an event, per se, as it isn't happening on a specific time or date...rather we will be putting the MP3 on our website starting Thursday morning so that people can download it and tour the exhibit at their leisure, by themselves or with others using a set of headphones and an MP3 player. It's a free download and will remain on our site for the entire summer.

According to Washington City Paper's recent Best of D.C. issue, Bluebrain are the "best band that left Brooklyn for D.C. and not vice-versa." Were this therapy, one might explore the District's attachment issues regarding the perpetual northern flight of our beloved bands, always the musical bridesmaid/groomsman for greener pastures. But the DMV return of the hermanos Holladay, Ryan and Hays, after a sizable tenure in Brooklyn with The Epochs, is indeed a homecoming worth celebrating. Following its debut EP Cult Following released last year, Bluebrain's first full-length, Soft Power, is a wildly eclectic collection of swirling electronics layered atop textured, thoughtful pop songs. more ›

Bluebrain is the brainchild (rim shot!) of Ryan and Hays Holladay. The brothers grew up in D.C., but left the city in their teens for the Big Apple. There they were in a solid band called The Epochs. Recently, they returned home to pursue a new direction for their songwriting. When asked about their recent emigration from New York to The District, Ryan said, "Brooklyn is a fantastic place but eventually it just becomes unsustainable. We grew up here in DC and it feels like we're back home. That said, this city has changed so much since we left ten years ago. Right now, especially, it feels like an exciting time to be here." more ›