With snow in the forecast, there’s no better weekend to avoid the great outdoors. Instead, celebrate the legacy of musical legends David Bowie and Chuck Brown, or see the NSO perform in your neighborhood, all from the comfort of heated, indoor venues.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 11
INK: More than 400 tattoo artists convene for the 9th annual DC Tattoo Expo. Don’t have a tattoo just yet? Never fear. You can get tattooed or pierced at the event, or just watch on as artists compete for the best tattoos in a variety of categories. (Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1 p.m.-11 p.m., $30-$60)
WIND ME UP, CHUCK: Though the Godfather of Go-Go Chuck Brown died in 2012, his musical legacy lives on. See the Chuck Brown Band perform as part of the Smithsonian Year of Music. (City Winery DC, 6 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show, $30)
STARMAN: The incomparable David Bowie died three years ago today on January 10, 2016, just days after his 69th birthday. Celebrate the pop chameleon at U Street Music Hall’s Bowie Ball featuring DJ sets from Heaven Malone and Simon Pattee and a performance by Max Goldstein of Yoko and the Oh No’s. (U Street Music Hall, 9 p.m., $8-$10)
POP ART PARTY: Ready for your 15 minutes of fame? The Anna: Warhol Dance Party takes the pop art icon as inspiration. The event features performances from Creme Fatale, Washington Heights, Dee Dee Derèon, Venus Fastrada, and Ariel Von Quinn beginning at midnight, plus an open bar with snacks from 10 p.m.-11 p.m. (Rock & Roll Hotel, 10 p.m., FREE)
MORE: Exhibition Opening Reception: Tradition Transformed, Bojagi (Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C., 6 p.m., FREE with RVSP) One Way Out with Fellowcraft and Maryjo Mattea (DC9, 6:30 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show, $8), The Revivalists and American Authors (The Anthem, 6:30 p.m., 8 p.m. show, $45-$65) Cartography (The Kennedy Center Family Theater, 7 p.m., $15-$20)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 12
BEER HERE: It’s the D.C. debut of North Carolina’s Wooden Robot Brewery. ChurchKey will tap the Charlotte brewery’s first kegs in D.C. and have 16 different varieties and co-founders Dan Wade and Josh Patton on hand for the ensuing celebration. Brews include a handful of sour ales with a variety of fruit and a blond ale with coffee and vanilla. (ChurchKey, 11:30 a.m., free entry)
WORLD PREMIERE: Washington National Opera presents three world premieres of new 20-minute operas—75 Miles, Relapse, and Pepito—as part of the American Opera Initiative Festival, now in its seventh season. The performance is followed by a Q&A with the team behind the production. (The Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., $19-$35)
SIP AND LEARN: Nerd Nite combines two great things: learning and drinking. Saturday’s program includes a presentation on how reality TV is the new iteration of freak shows from theater historian Dr. Katya Vrtis; a lecture from astronomy grad student Ginny Cunningham called “Cosmic Death Lasers”; and “Exposing the Fake News of Low Back Pain”: pretty self-explanatory. (DC 9, 6:30 p.m., $10)
MORE: NBC4 Telemundo 44 Health & Fitness Expo (Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., FREE), Fletcher’s Cove parkrun Birthday Pizza Party (Fletcher’s Cove, 9 a.m., FREE), Warm Your Bones Winter Run Club (Congressional Cemetery, 11:30 a.m., FREE), Roamfest ‘19 (Union Stage, 12 p.m. and 6 p.m., $20-$35), DC Onesie Crawl 2019 (U Street, 2 p.m.-10 p.m., $20), Thai Massage Workshop (Yoga District 14th & T, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m., $22.69), Jon Spencer and the Hit Makers (Black Cat, 8 p.m. doors, $18-$20), Got My Own Sound (Rock & Roll Hotel, 8 p.m., 9 p.m., $12),
SUNDAY, JANUARY 13
SYMPHONIC IPA: NSO In Your Neighborhood concludes this weekend with a slew of pop-up shows across D.C., including at All Souls Unitarian Church, the African American Civil War Memorial Museum, and Colony Club. Our pick is Sunday’s chamber concert inside Shaw’s Right Proper brewpub. Watch NSO musicians Craig Mulcahy, David Murray, Jeremy Buckler, and Matthew Guilford perform, all ages welcome. (Right Proper, 5 p.m.-6 p.m., FREE)
THE L WORD: Queer Girl Movie Night hosts a New Year, Old L Word brunch at burger joint Slash Run with a screening of season 2 of the longrunning Showtime series. Admission is free, but expect food and drink specials, including $26 bottomless brunch with an entree. (Slash Run, 1 p.m.-6 p.m., FREE)
MOUNTAIN POSE: Take your yoga practice to new heights under the 75-foot-tall Corinthian columns of the National Building Museum at this yoga class. Entrance to the museum and an optional 40-minute tour following class are included with your ticket. (National Building Museum, 10 a.m.-11 a.m., $20)
MORE: Freelancing Females Brunch (Kramerbooks, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., $20), Pop Up Book Club: Becoming by Michelle Obama (A Baked Joint, 4 p.m.-6 p.m., FREE), Bloody Mary Cocktail Class (City Winery DC, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., $35)
