The Scene

MusicDetour.com’s commentary on music, performances, and the DC metro area music scene

Jammin’ Java has been on fire with its line-up lately. This friday, the people booking shows at Jammin’ Java may very well have outdone themselves. Charlie Hunter is comming to Vienna, Virginia to perform tunes from his most recent album “Baboon Strength“. For those of you who’ve never heard of Charlie Hunter, he’s known for his unique style of playing guitar and bass at the same time – think kind of like an organ player that plays bass with his/her left hand or feet. He plays this unique style with a 8-string guitar and it looks like Friday’s show is going to be just him and drummer Eric Kalb. But if you want to know more, you’re gonna have to go to Jammin’ Java on Friday, April 3rd. The show starts at 10:00pm after The Nields play an early show (7:30). Tickets are only $15, get them before they sell-out.

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For quite awhile I’ve been meaning to catch The Reagan Years, one of the most successful 80s cover bands in the region for over a decade.  I have also intended to visit Bourbon Street since it opened last year in the location of the venerable but erstwhile Hammerjacks.  TRY play one or two shows every weekend, mostly hither and yon from suburban clubs to small-town bars in Maryland.  Since such venues are just not my favorite digs for catching a show, I waited until they played Bourbon Street.  The Reagan Years as a band are a helluva lot greater than I remember the historic Reagan years to have been, but I caught them on the wrong night in the wrong venue.  Read why, and some suggestions of better nights to see them, after the jump. (more…)

As I’ve mentioned before, Wolf Trap’s Filene Center is one of the best venues to catch a show (partly because of its BYOB policy). Every year in addition to the great line-up of shows, there is a Louisiana Swamp Romp to celebrate cajun music/zydeco on a beautiful summer afternoon. In its 20th year, the Swamp Romp looks like it will be going better than ever.  This year it will be on Sunday, June 7th at 2pm in the afternoon. Tickets are general admission, so get your favorite New Orleans beverage and head to Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA. Check out the line-up after the jump. (more…)

The highlights of the bill, according to the Baltimore City Council

The Baltimore City Council is currently considering legislation that would establish a system of licenses for live performance venues to replace the current zoning board jurisdiction over them.  Everyone agrees that the intentions behind the bill are good:  to allow for more live performance in Baltimore.  However, the issue is very complex, and there is a lot of room for questioning the motives of those involved.  Michael Byrne and Chris Landers of the Baltimore City Paper seem to be the only journalists covering this legislation.  Therefore, I will be filing a series of stories on the issue until after the final hearing on the bill at the end of April.

Last week a consortium of venue owners formed the Baltimore Live Arts Business Association (BLABA), and their representatives were present at the first of four Community Work Session hearings held by the Baltimore City Council.  Details of that meeting and an outline of issues that I will cover in upcoming posts follow after the jump. (more…)

If you’re in the mood for some up and coming indie rock, make it out to the Black Cat on Saturday night (March 28th). Deleted Scenes will be playing with The Drones and Pretty & Nice starting at 9:00pm. After releasing their first album “Birdseed Shirt”, they have been getting a lot of attention in the indie rock world along with some coverage by The Washington Post.  It should be a great show, I hear that they are going to have some trumpets on one of their tunes. Definitely try to make it out to this show and catch these guys before they are huge.

Few bands that come out of Britain could be described as funky, but one group of brits that has been laying down funk music since the 1970s is The Average White Band. Their biggest hit that you may recognize is their instrumental jam “Pick Up the Pieces”. The group is playing two nights (Friday, March 27th and Saturday, March 28th) at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. Both shows start at 7:30pm and are a bit expensive ($49.50), but it will be money well spent. I saw them 10 years ago at the Hampton Jazz Festival and I’m sure they are every bit as funky today.

One of the big events each year in Tidewater Virginia is the Hampton Jazz Festival at the Hampton Coliseum. However the big irony about the Hampton Jazz Fest is that it has very little jazz today. I went several years ago and saw The Average White Band, Chaka Khan and George Benson. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of all of three of those acts, but George Benson is the only act that you could remotely call Jazz. This year is no different . . . each night the major acts playing are not jazz. It looks like it’s going to be a great festival, I just think that they need to change the name to the Hampton R&B Festival or the Hampton Soul Festival or something. Anyway, this year’s festival is June 26-28. Click here for tickets. Check out after the jump for the full line-up. (more…)

There hasn’t been much written about the Birchmere on here lately, but that is changing today. Victor Wooten and JD Blair are playing together at the Birchmere on Monday, March 23 (playing together again Tuesday the 24th at Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD). Victor Wooten is a bass playing monster and JD Blair has one of the solidest drum grooves on the planet. A couple years ago, I was fortunate enough to catch these guys at rehearsal before they went on tour as the Victor Wooten Band; these guys are solid. If I wasn’t busy both night, I’d be there front and center. Not sure if they are on tour as a duet or just billing it as their band together. (more…)

We don’t spend much time talking about Bluegrass on this blog, but there’s always some great roots music going on somewhere. This Memorial Day Weekend you may want to travel to western Maryland to catch some of the best bluegrass musicians in the country at DelFest. It should be a good way to kick off summer. Pack up your camping gear, some instruments (if you have them) and head to Cumberland, MD May 22-24. DelFest hasn’t announced who is playing when as of yet, but check out who is playing after the jump. (more…)