The Scene

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

INAUGURATION DAY SHOWS, BALLS AND MORE!!!! Yes, the day that everyone’s been waiting for has tons of music. Whether its Aretha Franklin belting it out at the Swearing-in Ceremony or people gettin’ funky at the Balls, there’s music . . . Where are you going to go? Well if you don’t know, we have all the Inauguration shows that we know of (or that the public can get into) listed after the jump. (more…)

The Inaugural Kick-Off concert, “We Are,” was definitely a success and traffic was definitely a mess. HBO is playing two encore performances of the concert on HBO.com and on the TV at 1pm and 9pm Monday, January 19th. From what I heard last night, the show was incredible. It sounds like the crowd estimate was somewhere around 400,000 . . . that is huge. If you were able to attend the concert and would like to share your story, leave a note in the comment section or email me, dave@musicdetour.com. I’d be more than happy to post pictures or have you write a guest blog-post about the event. The same is true about any of the big inaugural performances, your experiences would be great to hear.

Martin Luther King Day happens to fall the on Inauguration Eve this year. MLK day has never had more meaning and it falls before the historic Inauguration of Barack Obama. I know many of you want to get to sleep early, so you can make it to the National Mall bright and early. However, don’t miss out on the fun. We have Aretha Franklin playing at Georgetown University to celebrate MLK. Its also the night of the big Youth Concert that everyone’s been talking about. Or maybe you’re just thinking “Hey, America Feels Kinda Cool Again” . There’s a ton of music going on Monday night. For everything going on January 19th check-out after the jump. (more…)

This is the big day for Inauguration Concerts, primarily because of the BIG Event on the Mall. I’m talking about the Lincoln Memorial Kick-Off Concert: We Are One. However, there is plenty of other great music all around town after the big concert. You may want to check-out the intimate club, Midtown, where Danni Rosner and The Echo Boom will be performing or maybe you want to come to one of Virginia’s best venues to celebrate at Jammin’ Java. Whatever you decide to do, there’s a full list of shows for Sunday, January 18th after the jump. (more…)

Monday is a big day not just because it is Inauguration Eve, but it is possibly the most important Martin Luther King Day yet. Obama represents a partial fulfillment of the “Dream” that MLK had. One way to celebrate on Monday, January 19th is to hit up the Irie Inauguration. See-I, Selassie I and Version Sound will be rocking out at  The Space all night. The show is for people 21 and up and will last from 9pm-4am. Now its my understanding that the Metro will stop at midnight Monday night, but they will be starting again at 4am for all those trying to get to the Mall early. You could party all night and catch the Metro home in the mornin’. Tickets are $10 and will be $15 after 11pm the night of the show.

There’s no reason to leave DC completely following the big Kick-Off Concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. There’s plenty going on in DC on Sunday night that you may want to hang around and check some of it out. I recommend seeing Danni Rosner with The Echo Boom at Midtown. For a taste of Danni’s music check out Jaded. The doors open at 6:00pm. It only costs $10, which is a lot cheaper than most of the stuff going down Sunday night. AND, the show is over at 10pm which means you can still catch everything else going on around town.

Looking for something to do on night #2 of Inauguration Weekend?  Looking for a place to start or finish the evening with bars crowded and open late?  Since the concert listings in newspapers can be difficult to follow and be missing events, we’ve compiled a list of events for Saturday, January 17th around Washington, DC right here. This weekend, DC becomes ground zero for every major act in the Western Hemisphere, so go out and see a show.  Especially if you are one of the 1 million+ visitors to DC and don’t want to go home and tell your friends that you sat in a hotel all weekend waiting for the Inauguration where you stood out in the cold and saw nothing. So go have a good time all around DC. For a detailed list of what’s going on Saturday, January 17th look after the jump. (more…)

All week Blues Alley, the hottest jazz club in DC, has been holding its “Latin jazz Series.” We’ve been busy getting the site ready for the Inauguration and did not mean to neglect this great week of music there. However, some of Blues Alley’s best Latin Jazz is going on this weekend to coincide with the Inauguration. Friday Night through Sunday Night Percussionist/Vocalist Airto Moreira will be performing with Diane Moreira. Closing out the Latin jazz Series will be trumpeter Gabriel Alegria on Monday, January 19th. (more…)

Its finally here! Tourists are drifting into DC and everyone’s ready to celebrate this historic event. Whether you are a resident or an out-of-towner looking for a good time, then keep checking back for the latest of whats going on musically in DC for the Inauguration. The main page can be a little difficult to digest where all the concerts are around the DC metro. For a detailed list of what’s going on on Friday, January 16th look after the jump. (more…)

I was beginning to wonder if the 9:30 Club was going to do anything the night of the Inauguration. It turns out they were planning a huge show! The night of the Inauguration 9:30 Club (with the help of CK One) will host Talib Kweli, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Dresden Dolls, The Honey Brothers and Jamie Burke. The doors will open for the show at 8:00pm Tuesday, January 20th. I’ve been dying to see Kweli, but he hasn’t been DC in a while. Hopefully, tickets won’t be as difficult to get as some of the other shows that have been sold-out in minutes. Just in case, you may want to log-on to get tickets right when they go onsale at 10:00am Thursday, January 15th.