Via Facebook.
The marriage between music and activism in D.C. has a long, storied history. You need not look further than Robin Bells’ recent documentary More Than a Witness, which chronicles the history of the longtime local punk activist group Positive Force.
The film, like all the other D.C. punk documentaries that’ve come out in recent days, focuses on the history of the local music scene and, particularly, harDCore’s intertwined relationship with activism. But that relationship isn’t just relegated to the past.
As more and more people get fed up with social and political issues plaguing our country right now, D.C. musicians are doing what they can to make a difference. One look at the upcoming music calendar this winter proves one thing: Activism in the local music scene is alive and well. Here are four shows happening in the coming months that expertly combine local music and philanthropic efforts, whether they’re to benefit the national Black Lives Matter movement, or to help the D.C. Public Library’s punk archive get some donations:
Net Neutrality Benefit
Positive Force D.C. presents a benefit show for Net Neutrality on Saturday, January 17, at St. Stephen’s Church in Columbia Heights. Helping fight to keep the Internet free will be pop-punk trio The Max Levine Ensemble (their first show in a while), Philadelphia’s Radiator Hospital, local fuzz-pop outfit The Rememberables, and teenage post-hardcore rippers The Black Sparks. Proceeds from the $5-$15 collected at the door will go towards Free Press, a non-profit focused on net neutrality. The organization will be in attendance at the show to talk about the issue.
#BlackLivesMatter Benefit
Famed Columbia Heights church St. Stephen’s is the location of another worthy benefit show—the Benefit for #BlackLivesMatter. Local post-hardcore trio Alarms & Contronls, soul-punk band Laughing Man, Colesville, Md.’s Two Inch Astronaut, and sludgy fuzz-pop trio Polyon play there on January 23. The suggested $10 donation, collected at the door, will go towards Black Lives Matter DMV. As per the Facebook invite: “Because if the system won’t indict cops, we indict the system.”
Dance Institute Benefit
Sunday, February 1 sees four bands playing in support of the Dance Institute of Washington. Playing at the venue itself&mdashlocated on 14th Street NW&mdashwill be Jail Solidarity, Citadel, Baltimore’s Wildhoney, and Peoples Drug. It’s an early show, with doors opening at 5 p.m. and music starting at 6 p.m.
DCMD’s 3rd Birthday and Benefit for the D.C. Punk Archive
D.C. Music Download, the all-things-local music blog, is celebrating its third anniversary on February 7 with a show that will also serve as a fundraiser for the D.C. Public Library’s D.C. Punk Archive (who will be there to collect physical archive donations). Oh, and it’s Paperhaus’s record release show. All this is going down at the 9:30 Club on February 7 and will also feature local noise-makers Loud Boyz, Baby Bry Bry & The Apologists, and DJ Ayescold. But that’s (somehow) still not all—there will also be a pop-up local music photography exhibit on-view, for one night only. Tickets are $16 and available at Ticketfly.
