FRIDAY: >> Local comic book store Fantom Comics is celebrating the grand opening of their new Union Station store tonight with a party from 6 to 10:30 p.m. They’ll be serving up free pizza on the early side and the comedy stylings of the Geek Comedy Tour during the second half of the night. There will also be a trivia contest with $500 gift certificates up for grabs. The party is inside the Union…

To say Stevie Wonder is a good artist would be an understatement. Over five decades, Wonder has amassed a catalog that not only includes over 30 albums but numerous songwriting and production credits. Fans in the District were treated last month to a two-and-a-half hour trip through a slew of rhythms and emotions. Wonder’s musical mastery has touched people worldwide, probably no two more than Brooklynites Bobbito Garcia and DJ Spinna. Both have made names…

It goes without saying that Stevie Wonder is a living legend. The singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist has been performing for well over 40 years and is responsible for a slew of well-known hits. As one concert-goer stated to me on my train ride home, the near capacity crowd at Verizon Center would’ve been there for a couple of days if he’d decided to play everything in his discography. Instead, he covered approximately 27 songs over the course of…

>> Tonight, check out bassist/composer Howard Britz as he brings his repertoire of original post-bop compositions to Twins Jazz. Call (202) 234-0072 for set times and cover information. >> This week’s first of many must see shows takes place at GW’s Lisner Auditorium on Thursday as The Global Drum Project (pictured) takes the stage. Comprised of four percussionists hailing from very different musical traditions, the ensemble features Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, tabla master…

Atlanta-based singer Donnie first made himself known around 2001 with the release of two tracks, “Do You Know?” and “Our New National Anthem.” The former song sounded very reminiscent of “Flying Easy,” which was performed by one of Donnie’s influences, Donny Hathaway. Besides Hathaway, it was evident on the 2002 album, The Colored Section, that Donnie’s sound was also derived from Stevie Wonder and the gospel music he was exposed to by his preacher parents….

Yes, the tickets were expensive as hell and yes, the venue is not the most convenient in the world, but it’s Herbie Hancock for cryin’ out loud. They came, they saw, they killed. Those who made the effort to head over to The Birchmere on Sunday night got their $75 worth and then some as the the jazz icon, along with his most recent band, took the audience on a journey around the world and…

When was the last time you went to see a band play for the first time and knew you were witnessing something special? Le Loup is barely out of the gate yet, but they’re making major waves and for good reason. The seven piece band is producing something so infectious, so engaging, and so very of-the-moment, it’s not hard to see why Hardly Art, a label started by some folks from the revered Sub Pop,…

FRIDAY: If loving Busta Rhymes’ new album, The Big Bang, is wrong — well we sure as hell don’t want to be right. Yes, Busta has always been one of those charismatic rap superstars without much substance to back him up, and yes, there was a time when his shortcomings had become awfully grating. But now that he’s hooked up with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label, that time appears to have ended. This is what summertime…

We’ve been hearing quite a bit about efforts to fight hunger these days. First, Sir Bob Geldolf recently announced five concerts around the world to be held July 2, just days before the G8 summit in Edinburgh, Scotland. Geldolf organized the massive 1985 Live Aid concert to raise funds to send relief to people suffering from a famine in East Africa, this time around the concert is seeking political change: a commitment by the G8…

(Interview by DCist contributor Colleen Clark) Laura Burhenn is playing tonight at DC9 with Metrosexuals and The Guins, and May 19 at the Black Cat backstage. You can listen to some of her mp3s here. Local musician Laura Burhenn’s song, “Helicopters,” first fell into our hands on a mixtape from an old colleague. We joked that it was the lost song from the “Garden State” soundtrack (and we mean that in a good way, in…