Like a beach-side romance, several local bands are coming to an end this summer. The Sentiment (pictured), who we profiled in a Three Stars piece last summer, said farewell last night at Fort Reno. Let's French (***) are "being exiled" and are playing their last show on August 17 at the Black Cat. The Hard Tomorrows, who graced the stage of our second Unbuckled show, just called it quits last month. Say it ain't so!... more ›

FRIDAY: >> Odds are good that you'll be able to happily dance the night away at Rock and Roll Hotel, no matter what kind of music you're in the mood for. Downstairs you've got Party Bros., a tongue-in-cheek tribute to party music by DJs Gavin Holland and Chris Burns, featuring tunes ranging from Black Sabbath to Taylor Dayne, 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., while upstairs is a free funk and soul session from Moneytown, also... more ›

>> Le Loup was kind enough to let us know that they're playing an unannounced show at Velvet Lounge tonight, with The Bang and Koshari. Catch them before they headline our next Unbuckled concert on July 11. 10 p.m. >> It's the second concert in the Ft. Reno series tonight, featuring a stellar local line-up that includes Unbuckled alumni The Hard Tomorrows, Let's French and The Mirror Script. Show starts around 7:15 p.m. >>... more ›

As we mentioned in the Morning Roundup today, there are plenty of ways to define the start of summer. For music lovers in the D.C. area however, once Fort Reno starts, you know the lazy days of fire fly catching and swimming pool splashing are officially upon us. We told you last week about the opening lineup for this summer's series on June 18, but we're happy to tell you now that the full... more ›

FRIDAY: >> At 11 a.m. today or noon tomorrow, grab the kids and a box or twelve of tissues and head down to the National Archives for a screening of An American Tail. Part of their celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, they're sharing the story of Fivel and his cheese-paved streets with the next generation. We can only assume they'll watch it over and over like we did, each time hoping Fivel doesn't go... more ›

It's not over yet folks: April is about to culminate with the biggest art weekend in recent memory. Artomatic and ColorField.remix continue to bring us a healthy helping of visual and performance art, and now we get one big, fat cherry of an art fair to top it all off this weekend, sprinkled with about a billion other shows placed to coincide with it, including one at a particular venue that deserves your attention. >>... more ›

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FRIDAY: >> The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception offers its annual Christmas Concert for Charity tonight. The Basilica's professional choir (featuring our very own DCist Charles!) will perform, followed by the choirs and orchestra of Catholic University. Admission is free, with a free-will donation to benefit the Spanish Catholic Center, a haven for immigrants to the Washington, D.C., area since 1967. The center provides services at locations in Mount Pleasant and... more ›

FRIDAY: >> From the amount of Evites and mass emails running around inviting folks to giant group outings to see Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, we're guessing that's what a lot of you are doing tonight. As of now, only the 5:15 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. showings at Gallery Place still have tickets available, but the Loews Georgetown has plenty more options. Jagshemash! >> Paging John Hodgman! Director... more ›

If you're looking for something to do tomorrow night, you may as well put your money towards supporting local music with a mission. Street Sense, a newspaper written and distributed by the homeless, is holding its annual benefit show at the Black Cat on Saturday night (even after the club balked at letting the show happen). Heading up the night's bill will be ex-Fugazi bass player Joe Lally, supported by Unbuckled alums The Hard Tomorrows and Fairfax-based Jinxed at Twelve. Cover at the door will set you back a mere $10, and all the money raised will go straight to the newspaper. more ›

Summer is here and with it comes wholesome outdoor entertainment for the whole family. The spotlit evening baseball games, campground marshmallow roasting, and of course, the subversive DC rock concert series that is Fort Reno. Boasting no alcoholic beverages but a lot of teens and a few strollers, the free concert rocks atop the highest point in DC every Monday and Thursday from 7:30-9:30 throughout the summer. During the civil war, the Parrot heavy rifles... more ›

FRIDAY: The Mozart Year is almost halfway over — the man's birthday was January 27 — but classical concert programming continues to celebrate it. Opera Lafayette gets in the game tonight and tomorrow (June 2 and 3, 7:30 p.m.) with a concert performance of Mozart's first important opera, Idomeneo, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park. The vocal cast promises to be excellent, including an up-and-coming young singer named Millicent Scarlett, who... more ›

FRIDAY: >> We're definitely planning on checking out a new performance series called Take That Hill that's looking to turn in to a semi-regular evening of short films and short story readings presented by local lit mag Barrelhouse. Sounds promising, and we'll have the rundown on how it went down for you come Monday. At Warehouse Theater's screening room, $5, 8 p.m. >> Dude, free Yeah Yeah Yeah's listening party at Cue Bar, plus the... more ›

This week was all about Unbuckled. A good time was had by all (see the evidence here). Earlier in the week we sat down for a little Q&A with the bands involved: Olivia Mancini and the Housemates and The Hard Tomorrows. Thanks so much to them and to all of those who came out. Our election coverage is ramping up. This week we discussed Jim Graham's decision to remain in Ward 1, A. Scott Bolden's... more ›

Mornin', Washington. We hope you had as much fun as we did at Unbuckled last night. Thanks to the Hard Tomorrows, Olivia Mancini and the Housemates, and our own DJ Leafblower for providing a night of great music. Most of all, thanks to all of you for coming out. We had a blast. Hospital Proposal Hits Roadblock: The Post reports that Mayor Williams' plans for building a hospital in partnership with Howard University has run... more ›

Tonight's the night, folks. Come join us this evening at DC9 if you can, where $6 gets you the music, the free stuff, and the chance to see us all drink beer and dance. Yesterday, Olivia Mancini answered a few questions for us about herself and her band; today we're very pleased to bring you a short question and answer session with The Hard Tomorrows, who'll be finishing the show off tonight. So, tell... more ›

Tomorrow night the curtain will rise on our second Unbuckled, a fantastic night of music at DC9 featuring The Hard Tomorrows, Olivia Mancini and the Housemates, and DJ Leafblower. We'll be giving away tons of stuff, tossing back the beer, and generally enjoying some of the best bands that Washington has to offer. Today and tomorrow, we'll be taking a quick look at the acts that will take the stage at our show, and we begin with the very talented Olivia Mancini, who was kind enough to answer our questions about her latest project, the band, and the music we look forward to hearing on Thursday. more ›

The end of next week could be pretty bleak. The excitement of early February, from Groundhog Day to the Olympics Opening Ceremonies to Valentine's Day to Presidents Day, comes to a rushing halt as the long weekend draws to a close. Bereft of any elementary school-style holiday-appropriate window appliques, you may find yourselves plodding along, just trying to muddle through. But we here at DCist, well, we saw this coming. We knew you needed one last big bang before you bid the shortest month of the year goodbye. And so, we bring you (drum roll, please) Unbuckled 2.0, next Thursday, February 23. more ›

So, the story goes a little something like this. Once upon a time there was a show called Unbuckled. It was a little get-together we threw, where we invited a couple of our favorite bands and everyone else in the city, and we watched the bands play and gave some stuff away, and the night was generally an unqualified success, like silent velcro or any movie with Sting in it. And we planned to have many more such events, but we kind of got caught up with other stuff. more ›

The headline may lean a bit towards the dramatic, but we're bummed. For those of you who are, like us, stoked for the very cool 3-band line up at DC9 this Saturday, the bill just lost one degree of awesome. Don't worry DCist Ryan, Greenland is still playing. However, The Hard Tomorrows have had to pull out of the show because guitarist Rishi Chakrabarty (pictured at right) injured his hand. Certainly a bummer, but Greenland and The Alphabetical Order should still provide enough rock to roll you home. Hurry up and recuperate, Rishi! more ›

MONDAY: >> Didn't grab tickets to the now-sold-out Dinosaur Jr. reunion show at the 9:30 Club? May we suggest craigslist or French Toast, The Chance, and Caution Curves at Fort Reno for free? The Fort Reno show starts at 7:15 p.m.; you can check out some French Toast songs here. >> The DC Hip Hop Theater Festival, a project of the DC Commission on the Arts, features national and international artists and goes on all... more ›

FRIDAY: >> If you're not Black Cat-ed out from the Unbuckled concert last night, head over to the mainstage to catch an indie-tastic show with The Whips, Her Daily Obsession (at right), and The Hard Tomorrows, all of whom we hear will put on one hell of a show. Doors are at 9:30 p.m.; $8. >> If you missed a screening of "9:30 F ST," the documentary about the old 9:30 Club, worry not --... more ›

Looking for a few good shows? Our music picks for this week follow. TUESDAY: >> The Carlsonics (pictured at right) continue their month-long Tuesday night residency at DC9. Read the DCist review of their performance here. With The American Watercolor Movement & The Heartless Bastards. $6. THURSDAY: >> Noise Against Facism: The Inauguration got you down? You should head over to the Black Cat tonight, where for $12 you can see Mirror/Dash, a duo of... more ›

Looking for something to do before you go off to gorge on ham, eggnog, and candy canes? We've got a couple of options for tonight: more ›