The new musical opening at the Kennedy Center now through October 6 explores what was possibly the greatest jam session ever assembled.

Hard-rocking renaissance man Jon Langford tears it up. Photo courtesy Bloodshot Records. In a fairer, better world, Jon Langford would need no introduction; in a world that makes Kenny Chesney a country star, he probably does. (Unless, of course, you read our interview with Langford last fall.) So: Since founding the protean punk outfit the Mekons in Leeds, England, three decades or so ago, he’s become that Godfather of the Chicago alt-country scene that…

Jon Langford is responsible for way too much great art for you not to know who he is. To begin at the beginning, he’s one of two remaining original members of the Mekons, singing and playing guitar in the increasingly difficult-to-categorize onetime punk band he founded while studying art at the University of Leeds, England, in 1977. Their albums Fear and Whiskey and Edge of the World, from 1985 and 1986, respectively, were among…

How bad can it be to be Nick Lowe? That shock of fluffy white hair notwithstanding, the guy seems like he doesn’t know what stress is. The onetime Brinsley Schwartz pub-rocker, seminal Stiff Records producer, and punk pioneer releases albums at a glacial pace. He enjoys critical respectability coupled with the kind of low-level semi-fame that comes from being known more for your songwriting and production work than for your singing. In addition to manning…

DCist’s highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Major Release: 3:10 to Yuma Mark your calendars. Labor Day is past, summer is over, and it’s time for all the Oscar contenders to step into the ring. First out of the gate is 3:10 to Yuma, the second filmed version of an Elmore Leonard short story about a Civil War veteran (played here by Christian…

Steadfast friendships, a taste for whiskey, and a penchant for Iron Maiden and Fugazi. These are the driving forces behind New Rock Church of Fire. The band is made up of bassist Mitchell West – who works with political advertising by day and brews his own beer (Mitchale) by night, guitarist and lead vocalist Floyd York – who pays the bills with a slew of odd jobs from catering to real estate photography, and drummer…

So really there’s not much of a story to last week’s triple bill at the Rock and Roll Hotel in NE. One of our first visits to the club started with the City Goats, a local modern rock band with a Southern Californian punk feel, who played loud and aggressively, if not…you know…well. Part of the blame was certainly on the sound system at RnR (a recurring theme), but if either nuance, discernible vocal melodies,…

By DCist Music contributor Colin Peppard. Even without Rachel Blumberg to bang the drums and hit those high notes, The Decemberists managed to lead a packed house through 90 minutes of revelry, revenge, despair and decadence last night at the 9:30 Club. DCist was there to witness all of their theatrics and haughty wordplay, and we certainly went home satisfied (maybe we’re just partial to names that end in -ist, though). Up-and-comers Sons and Daughters…

Everybody knows that one of Johnny Cash’s malevolent alter egos shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die, but it’s less frequently remembered that another of his gritty creations was overtaken by the authorities — after snorting cocaine and shooting his unfaithful woman — down in Juarez, Mexico. (He made a good run but he run too slow.) And few probably take much time to note that the namesake of El Paso’s…