Pinky Lemon, Pinky Hell

Pinky Lemon’s Pinky Hell is over long before you can get tired of that much pink. The six-song EP, which came out June 27, avoids what most every shoegaze and shoegaze-adjacent band does by wrapping things up quickly. Every track is under 4 minutes, 35 seconds long, most songs are near the 3-minute mark, and each has the potential to be twice as long. The “long” song on the record is actually two songs that share a track. There’s no fat on Pinky Hell, which is impressive considering who this five-piece may be inspired by. There are major Beach House vibes with some “Minerva”-era Deftones sprinkled in for good guitar measure. “I MIL” has a lot in common with acts like Tanukichan and SASAMI—both of whom would pair well with Pinky Lemon on a shared bill. But we’re not in My Bloody Valentine-inspired territory—it’s more reminiscent of Gish-era Smashing Pumpkins. (There are also some jungle and drum and bass-inspired interludes that break up the shoegaze.) All of those aforementioned acts like to play it loud and long. Pinky Lemon have nailed the ethos of the genre without getting into the more flights of fancy. This very quick EP does not sound like the past, instead it sounds like a group of musicians who spent a lot of time thinking about how to manipulate drums, guitar, and vocals into something wholly their own.  Pinky Lemon’s 2022 self-titled LP highlighted some of the better aspects of the band. This EP delivers on those aspects. It’ll be great to hear what they do on their next full-length. Pinky Lemon open for Silver Spring act Eyefish Ink at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 30 at Songbyrd. $15–$18. —Brandon Wetherbee 

Bed Maker, Bed Maker

Formed in 2019, Bed Maker are the perfect example of what can happen when elements of various D.C. bands come together to form their own powerhouse project. Bassist Arthur Noll and drummer Vin Novara (both from Alarms & Controls), guitarist Jeff Barsky (Insect Factory, Time Is Fire), and lead singer Amanda MacKaye (Desiderata, Routineers) began laying the groundwork for their eponymous debut album before the pandemic. Recorded at Inner Ear Studios and released May 31 via Dischord Records, Bed Maker is quintessential D.C. punk: zero frills and straight to the point. MacKaye recently described the process to the One Life One Chance Podcast with Toby Morse as “very 1987.” In the opening track, “Two Left Feet,” MacKaye calls for a “rally cry” that’s “sure to kick your teeth in.” (Pass me my Docs.) This rally cry and album is as much a wake-up call to young’uns testing out their punk legs as it is a reminder to older punks who may have lost their way. “If you think about people who follow the societal path that has been documented in countless punk songs,” MacKaye told Morse. “Graduate from college. Get married to somebody. Have two kids. Get a house. Then you turn 60 and you retire and then you slow down cause that’s what society says … Fuck a bunch of that noise.” MacKaye’s raw, unadulterated delivery contains all the passion and rage of a 1980s D.C. punk who happens to be dealing with life in 2024. “Fool’s Errand” finds MacKaye lamenting the busyness of life with “And all these fucking hours/ I can’t find what’s mine/ As long as I’m awake I never have the time.” Preach, sister. The trio of Noll, Novara, and Barsky lay down far more than your standard three-chords-and-a-dream fare throughout the album as MacKaye’s vocals tear all of the songs’ lyrics to shreds. While the 32-minute run time of their debut is short, it’s hardly sweet and instead packs a much-needed wallop that is much more than a bunch of noise. Bed Maker play with Kid Congo Powers at 8 p.m. on Aug. 8 at the Black Cat. $20. —Christina Smart 

Pretty Bitter and Flowerbomb, Take Me Out

Back in February, two of D.C.’s most prolific bands joined forces in Chicago. The result is Take Me Out, a split EP from Pretty Bitter and Flowerbomb that drops on Aug. 1. The five-track EP—two songs from Pretty Bitter, two from Flowerbomb, and the collaborative title track—swings from indie rock to dream pop in an enjoyable and jive-able package. Pretty Bitter’s “Never Better” opens the split with the band’s shiny pop sensibilities. Em Bleker’s singsongy meets spoken-word vocals drive the track alongside a danceable drumbeat from Jason Hayes. The song contemplates moving on from a breakup with a sing-along chorus: “Baby, I needed more/ It’s not either of our faults,” and an equally catchy refrain, “If I saw you on the street/ I’d give you directions/ It’s no difference to me.” The Flowerbomb track “Nothing To Do With Me” follows, pulling the EP closer to a more cut-and-dried indie rock sound with its fuzzy, driving guitar riffs more suited for head-banging than bopping around the dance floor. Rachel Kline’s vocals channel the women of ’90s alt rock—throaty and powerful, brimming with attitude reminiscent of Alanis Morissette or Shirley Manson. As you might expect, the third song, “youbuiltafinelife,” comes from Pretty Bitter, the fourth, “I Always Knew,” from Flowerbomb. The sounds of the two bands blend best on these tracks, melding their shared genres from heart-on-sleeve emo to lush dream pop. The closing collaborative track, “Take  Me Out,” centers Pretty Bitter’s upbeat pop, but the recurring guitar riff gives the song an unexpected—and very appealing—twang that’s everything I didn’t know I wanted. Flowerbomb and Pretty Bitter fit so well together, it’s near impossible to tell which band member is contributing what. Bits and pieces of tracks carry some of that unpolished DIY feel—there’s a little too much ’90s video game-esque synth in “I Always Knew,” but then it finds its footing when the guitar and drums power into the song just over the minute mark; the funky bass line in “youbuiltafinelife” sometimes feels mismatched with Bleker’s truly hypnotic voice and the darker undertones filling the second half of the song. Still, taken as a whole, Take Me Out demonstrates the type of growth in songwriting and finished product that only comes from years working together as a band. On first listen, Take Me Out is a fun summer release, but keep it on repeat and you’ll get lost in the music as the songs get stuck in your head. And that’s OK, they’re worthy of staying there. Pretty Bitter and Flowerbomb’s EP release show starts at 8 p.m on Aug. 9 at the Black Cat. $20. —Sarah Marloff

Juliet Lloyd, “Sorry Now” 

Gaithersburg singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd’s second single, “Sorry Now,” from her forthcoming album, is an introspective take on the aftermath of her divorce. With a blend of folk and pop elements, the song delves into moments of vulnerability and self-examination following the dissolution of her marriage. The house has already been emptied, the belongings divided, the boxes moved into two distinct homes, and our singer is just coming to a larger epiphany. “You were one of the good ones,” she laments, and then she does the grown-up thing and apologizes for past hurts and mistakes: “I wasn’t sorry then, but I’m sorry now.” In the first two verses, as Lloyd catalogs the broken household goods shoved into boxes, the divvying up of knife sets, photo frames, and mattresses, an inventory of the relationship outlines the emotional baggage of starting over. The production of the song, helmed by Todd Wright—who also plays bass, guitars, and synths—adds layers with lush strings, courtesy of David Henry, Steve Quintilian’s plaintive guitar, and Lloyd’s airy vocals. Following “Pretty,” the first single—a cautionary fairy tale about falling for a dashing villain—Lloyd’s evocative storytelling and raw honesty makes “Sorry Now,” released June 7, a captivating preview of Carnival, which will be released this fall. As a seasoned artist on the mid-Atlantic folk scene, the multiple Wammie nominee will be touring extensively in the area with upcoming shows listed on her website. “Sorry Now” is available on all streaming platforms. Lloyd and her band play the Montgomery County Parks Summer Concert Series at 6 p.m. on July 25 at Cabin John Regional Park; and the Bethesda Summer Concert Series at 6 p.m. on July 26 at the corner of Norfolk & St. Elmo Avenues in Bethesda. julietlloyd.com. —Colleen Kennedy 

Cuni, “Misato” 

Cuni, a tight four-piece that pulls from every electric guitar-based wave of emotional music, wave their emo flag proudly. They should. The band describe “Misasto,” the first single from their forthcoming LP, Prescribed Burn, out mid-September, as their “attempt to make an anime OST, the kind of song you’d see in the background of an early 2000s AMV, channeling equal parts of emo, American post-hardcore, and J-rock.” It’s not a bad description. The early 2000s sound is there with a bit of Taking Back Sunday meets Coheed and Cambria guitar play throughout the nearly four-minute jam. There’s some slightly older emo bleeding through too, with an instrumental line that feels like a nod to Sunny Day Real Estate. For better or worse, this should please fans of Brand New without any of the emotional baggage of listening to Brand New. This first taste from their upcoming record shows growth from earlier singles. The musicianship is tighter and the songwriting is more adventurous. There’s nothing wrong with their earlier stuff, especially 2023’s single “didymus,” but “Misato,” released on June 28, sounds more mature, even if the lyrical content is revisiting the same types of subjects (in 2023 it was about hanging by a noose, in 2024 it’s about drinking gasoline, different sounds, same end result). Jared Cunanan (vocals and rhythm guitar), Lucas Kirby (drums), Aaron Millison (lead guitar), and Franklin Parada (bass) have tightened their act and expanded their sound. Cuni play in Baltimore at 8 p.m. on Aug. 15 at the Undercroft. —Brandon Wetherbee 

Other recent releases on our radar: 

On June 13, the aforementioned Flowerbomb released the follow-up to their January EP, Gloom Scroll, Vol 1, with Vol. 2. 

On June 21, postpunk band Outerloop dropped EP 02.

“Nine artists, nine composers, nine choreographers, one GMCW” is how Thea Kano, the artistic director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, introduces the group’s almost-Olympic undertaking for its upcoming performance Portraits. The groundbreaking and multidisciplinary project is a nine-movement oratorio, featuring commissioned visual artworks brought to life by original music and dance performances. Timed perfectly with Pride Month, Portraits takes place at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on June 16. 

For each of the nine movements, GMCW members will recite the lyrics of each song before it begins. The artwork will be projected above the stage, where more than 25 singers and 15 dancers from GMCW’s dedicated dance ensemble will perform the commissioned pieces with a quartet of musicians. The dance numbers will be a mix of solos, partner dances, and full ensembles. In accompaniment to the live show, GMCW is publishing a coffee-table book featuring 50 of the portraits submitted for the project. 

“We’re really hoping that everyone—audience members and performers—see themselves represented on that stage at some point in the show, so they feel seen and recognized,” Kano says. 

The project, four years in the making, began with a visual concept. In early 2020, GMCW singer Bill Lipsett approached the chorus he’s been a part of since 1991 with a new commission inspired by the 2010-11 National Portrait Gallery exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, a groundbreaking show that detailed the visual histories of sexuality, queer representation, and changing societal attitudes through historical portraits of LGBTQIA people and their communities. 

While the exhibit featured portraits of famous queer people such as the poet Walt Whitman and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Lipsett was especially taken with images of anonymous people—sailors at a bar, couples at the beach. He asked himself: “Wouldn’t it be great to have songs to go with some of these portraits?” He presented his grand idea—capturing the images of daily queer life through both visual and performing arts—to the advisory board of GMCW in March 2020, and they planned for a multiyear undertaking, though there were additional setbacks due to the pandemic. 

“There’s been so much faith in this project, despite difficult times with the COVID shut down and I’m glad we took our time,” Lipsett says, who suspected the project would take about four years to complete. He was right.

This massive undertaking really picked up speed in 2021, with a global call for artists to submit their painted portraits—of themselves, their friends, lovers, and inspirations—for consideration. “We received more than 250 images submitted from 25 countries and most of the United States,” Kano says. “It really was overwhelming and incredible.” 

Ultimately, GMCW’s advisory team selected nine chosen artworks that each tell the compelling story of everyday queer folks from diverse backgrounds, orientations, and expressions. There are portraits detailing marginalization and isolation, as well as grappling with issues such as mental health. But the works also capture moments of beauty, intimacy, resilience, and vulnerability—the full spectrum of humanity. 

In 2022, GMCW issued a second call, this time for composers to choose the portraits that resonated with them, and in 2023 GMCW invited choreographers to create dance pieces inspired by the chosen artworks in concert with the musical compositions. 

“We invited the choreographers to look at the art, and it was really magical because nobody fought for the same thing,” says Kano. “It was wild. We’re so very proud and humbled because of how all these amazing artists have come together.” 

Zoom meetings were held for the artist, composer, and choreographer of each piece—often all hailing from different states or countries—to connect and discuss the synesthetic approach, culminating in powerful and emotionally resonant multidisciplinary art. 

Lipsett contrasts the Portraits project with GMCW’s more well-known concerts dedicated to divas such as Dolly Parton or Judy Garland. “I think that it is more representative of the community than just focusing on celebrities or known gay icons,” he says. “These subjects are anonymous people before you read about them in the program, but then you’ll hear the poetry, read and see the artwork. There will be a lot of interpretation by the audience, who will all experience it somehow differently.”

In celebration of this momentous production, GMCW’s website has transformed into a gallery now featuring some of portraits alongside interviews and artist statements from the creatives, and snippets from the compositions. Importantly, it’s a living gallery that will continue to be updated.

Moving forward, GMCW plans to continue Portraits with newly commissioned artwork, musical composition, and dance to premiere at their annual June Pride concerts. Kano shares that next year’s call for artists will center on trans and nonbinary creatives, and future iterations may include youth artists, Latinx artists, and other members from underrepresented LGBTQIA communities. 

But for now the original production remains the focus. In July, GMCW will perform Portraits at the quadrennial GALA Choruses Festival in Minneapolis, which features queer choruses from all over the world for five days of concerts, workshops, and social events. “It has been eight years since we’ve come together [due to COVID], and there’ll be 7,000 delegates and 150 choruses performing,” says Kano. “We’ve been selected to be one of the headliners with this project. We’re really glad to do the performance at the Kennedy Center—in its large hall—and also this opportunity to share with the world.” 

Through this ongoing project, GMCW hopes to inspire other choruses to create similar interdisciplinary and multimedia initiatives within their own communities, fostering a culture of artistic expression, inclusivity, and understanding.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s Portraits starts at 5 p.m. on June 16 at the Kennedy Center. A postshow talkback follows the performance; the accompanying art book will be available for purchase. gmcw.org. $25–$80. 

Editor’s note: this post has been updated to clarify that the call for artists was open to everyone.

City Lights welcomes you to Pride Month. As per usual you’ll find our regularly scheduled event previews below, but if you’re looking for something a little—or a lot—more queer, check out Blvck Hippie below along with the first half of City Paper’s 2024 Pride Guide. For parade and festival lovers, this is the weekend. You can get all the details for Capital Pride at capitalpride.org.

Friday: Historically Speaking: Alice Randall, My Black Country at NMAAHC

This year has seen a surge in conversation about the various states of Black country music due, in part, to Beyoncé’s showstopping Cowboy Carter album and Shaboozey’s country chart-topper “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” (The Woodbridge native is also featured on Cowboy Carter.) My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music’s Black Past, Present, and Future, a new book by professor, songwriter, and author Alice Randall, continues the conversation on the page. In My Black Country, Randall explores the contributions of Black musicians and songwriters to the genre, as well as her own distinct role in this musical and political history: Randall became the first Black woman to cowrite a No. 1 country hit, Trisha Yearwood’s 1995 song “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl).” Randall is both scholar and subject, making for a unique perspective that’s rooted in her work and lived experience. The book centers on the radical joy of recognizing the power of Black influence and creativity on American culture. Alice Randall talks at 7 p.m. on June 7 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1400 Constitution Ave. NW. nmaahc.si.edu. Free. —Serena Zets 

Saturday: Blvck Hippie at Quarry House Tavern

When he was working on The Godfather, producer Robert Evans said he wanted the audience to be so deeply immersed in Italian American culture they could “smell the spaghetti.” Blvck Hippie offer a comparable degree of immersion into indie DIY culture, so much so that, after listening to a few tracks of their 2021 debut LP, If You Feel Alone At Parties, you’ll swear you can smell the warm PBR and stale menthols. This album is not at all concerned with seeming aloof or cool. It’s at times borderline unnerving, like a mental health crisis on a public bus, with desperation bleeding through the cracks in lead singer and creative mastermind Josh Shaw’s voice. But there’s always a purpose, something Shaw is reaching for—and if they don’t quite get there on that track, maybe the futility was the point. The Memphis band’s official mission statement is “tryna show Black kids they can be weird too,” and they pursue this laudable goal with a version of drama kid energy that feels like it’s actually been allowed to grow up on its own terms. Shaw credits Kid Cudi with inspiring them to push their music creatively. “There was this Black dude making a grunge album, playing all the instruments, and being super vulnerable about men’s mental health,” Shaw said in a 2023 interview with Alternative Press. “I want to be everything that Kid Cudi was for me as a kid.” Cudi-inspired iconoclasm combined with a love of Julian Casablancas’ songwriting helps make every Blvck Hippie song feel like a diary entry. The band’s sound has already been compared to everything from Blood Orange to the Violent Femmes, but it’s still evolving. Their new album, Basketball Camp, out June 14, plays like a scaled-up sequel to Parties, a psychological epic that has scope and emotional range rivaling that of Cudi’s Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven. “For so many years I believed nothing gets better,” Shaw says in a spoken-word section of “Try To Stay Lucky,” Basketball Camp’s final track. “I had no idea I could be doing things that, like, actually made me happy.” Blvck Hippie play at 10:30 p.m. on June 8 at Quarry House Tavern, 8401 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. quarryhousetavern.com. $19.84. —Will Lennon

June 9: Gary Clark Jr. at Wolf Trap

Once a child prodigy playing guitar in the same Texas clubs where Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan got their start, Gary Clark Jr. spent the last year of his 30s in pandemic lockdown, seeing his world change in radical ways from the Black Lives Matter protests across the country to the insurrection at the Capitol. During that time he worked on his latest album, JPEG RAW, which was finally released on March 22 of this year. As on his previous album, 2019’s This Land, on JPEG RAW Clark confronts some societal ills head-on, but the call to action on the aggressive opener “Maktub” (Arabic for “destiny”) is deeply personal—offering a way to heal in these troubled times by embracing art and rocking out. On JPEG RAW, the Austin native has eased into a wide-ranging style, riffing on sounds from across the American musical continuum with a bevy of guest artists including jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold, Appalachian roots artist Valerie June, and Australian alt-pop singer-songwriter Naala. George Clinton appears on “Funk Witch U,” a number that has a deep Prince-like psychedelic swoon, while Stevie Wonder takes the lead on the 1970s-inspired “What About the Children.” The diverse influences and inspirations show that this guitar god is shattering genre conventions and expanding sonically into new territories. In 2019, Clark played a sold-out show at the Anthem, and it was an unforgettable performance. Emerging from a backdrop of smoke and fog, his fire engine red Epiphone Casino slung low on his hip and donning a large suede hat, he opened with his signature song “Bright Lights,” the Texas blues-rock burner that brought him international fame at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads show a decade before. Clark demonstrated an indelible coolness as he commanded the stage with his virtuosic and prodigious playing: Expect nothing less when he plays in support of JPEG RAW this weekend. Gary Clark Jr. plays at 8 p.m. on June 9 at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center, 1551 Wolf Trap Rd., Vienna. wolftrap.org. $45–$109. —Colleen Kennedy

Tuesday: Sheppard at DC9

If summery optimism can be packaged in musical form, Australian indie-pop trio Sheppard have managed to do just that with their latest release, Zora. The writing of this album from this sibling band, however, was done at probably the least optimistic time ever: the pandemic. “We were trying to cheer ourselves up with this album,” lead singer George Sheppard tells City Paper. “We were writing it during COVID. We spent that entire year going, ‘Alright, we’re going to own this. We’re gonna sit there and write and record a song every single month.’ It was a huge challenge for us.” The challenge paid off and Sheppard—which includes George’s sisters Amy and Emma Sheppard—will make that clear on their current tour, which stops at DC9 on June 11. The trio recently relocated from Brisbane to Nashville, but family continues to play a huge part in their work. Zora’s idealistic feeling can be credited to the siblings’ grandmother Zora. “We constantly had her in our thoughts because she’s been through some of the biggest challenges that I could imagine any human going through. She was shipped away from her home [in Croatia] at 18 years old because of a war-torn country. She had seven children with the love of her life, who then passed away from lung cancer when he was 50, leaving her to raise those kids on her own. So she’s been through a lot and at the end of the day, she’s still the happiest person we know…. We wanted to sort of capture that in an album … knowing that there’s always going to be a new dawn.” The 86-year old Zora is also known to get down at Sheppard shows. “She actually pushes the fans to the side,” says bassist Emma. “She’s always at the front in the mosh pit. She loves it and she just sits there crying… Big fans of us know who she is so they allow her to come in and they look after her in the crowd.” Sheppard play at 8 p.m. on June 11 at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. dc9.club. $15–$55. —Christina Smart

Ongoing: It Was Only a Dream exhibition at Hamiltonian Artists

You’ll hardly see a face stepping through Edgar Reyes’ autobiographical walk-through and mixed-media exhibit, located a block away from the U Street Metro station. The Baltimore-based multimedia artist and educator takes attendees through the patched recollection of growing up Chicano in the Washington D.C., area, where he emigrated from Guadalajara, Mexico, at age 5 and had to assimilate to American culture. The memories of his own family and their Mexican and Indigenous roots have blurred over the years, which Reyes attempts to piece together through this 14-piece installation. The puzzle starts at the exhibit’s entrance, where a single 1980 Chevy Silverado rearview mirror hangs on the walls, depicting the blurry landscape that Reyes recalls walking away from when he left Mexico. “That’s the saddest part,” Reyes says. “It’s leaving, saying goodbye.” The memories he’s procured—displayed through an array of prints, woven blankets, sculptures, and Catholic scapulars—are hard to fully contextualize at first glance, but the storyline is tied together the details. On a digitally woven baby blanket, Reyes unites prints that recall cultural aspects of his Chicano identity, including Catholic crosses, red roses, and Mesoamerican Indigenous graphics. Reyes also displays abstract images inspired by archived family photos, where many of the relatives found in these pictures are either too distant to immediately recall or have since died. In some photos, the eyes of cousins and uncles are hidden behind sunglasses or turned to their side. But they are photographed on family farms, hoisting shrines of the Virgen de Guadalupe on their shoulders as a group and taking part in the culture Reyes feels nostalgic for. There are also memories he attempts to recreate through AI-generated images within wooden light boxes. These works raise larger questions, such as the role of masculinity and criminality within Chicano culture, Mexican American beauty standards, and assimilation. It Was Only a Dream: New Works by Edgar Reyes runs through June 22 at Hamiltonian Artists, 1353 U St. NW. An artist-led walkthrough starts at 3 p.m. on June 8. Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment. hamiltonianartists.org. Free. —Heidi Perez-Moreno

Friday and Saturday: Brazilian Guitar Masters Festival at Miracle Theatre and Catholic University

This weekend offers an opportunity to hear Brazilian masters of guitar from two different generations, who each bring their own unique songcraft touches: Yamandu Costa and João Bosco. Costa, 44 is a Latin Grammy-winning instrumentalist who plays a seven-string acoustic guitar rather than the customary six-string model. Raised in the southern grasslands area of Brazil, not far from Uruguay and Argentina, Costa, who initially was taught by his dad, has become acclaimed for his speedy, high-pitched finger work on tuneful, leisurely Brazilian samba and bossa nova, as well as on upbeat tango, Roma jazz, and swing jazz. Costa—who has played with orchestras, but will be solo on Friday at Miracle Theatre—is fond of flashy staccato runs up and down the strings with his fingernails moving in multiple directions. While such pyrotechnics helped establish his reputation, his playing is often most affecting when he slows down and lets the melodies sink in. On his recent duet album, Helping Hands, his picking and strumming alongside that of his classical guitarist wife, Elodie Bouny, is downright pretty. 

Bosco, now 77, has a college degree in civil engineering, but his passion was singing and playing guitar. Bosco was raised in a family of musicians, and in college he began listening to Miles Davis alongside the samba and bossa nova he was already familiar with. Soon after, while living in Rio de Janeiro, he began writing gorgeous and passionate songs with acclaimed lyricist Vinícius de Moraes. For decades now, Bosco has been writing joyous sing-alongs, busy but beautiful rhythmic sambas, and tender slow songs. Bosco is adept at playing percussion-like rhythms on his guitar as well as sweet, picked notes. On an early composition of “Vida Noturna,” his sentimental guitar chords are joined by jazzy piano and a romantic melody that he whistles and sings. Some of his compositions have taken on a greater meaning in Brazilian culture. He and the recently passed psychiatrist turned lyricist Aldir Blanc wrote a song “O Bêbado e a Equilibrista” that served as an amnesty anthem calling for the return of the Brazilians who were forced into political exile by Brazil’s then-military government. Bosco will be appearing with a band featuring Ricardo Silveira on electric guitar, who will only enhance the lushness of some cuts and the bouncy cadence of others. Yamandu Costa plays at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 31, at Miracle Theatre, 535 8th St. SE. educarteinc.org. $50–$70. João Bosco plays at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, at the Catholic University Hartke Theatre, 3801 Harewood Rd. NE. educarteinc.org. $40–$50. —Steve Kiviat

Saturday: Children of the Gospel Choir’s 30th Anniversary at Lisner Auditorium

Over the past 30 years, thousands of students in grades 4 to 12 from the DMV have become members and alumni of the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir. After a competitive audition, selected students participate in a year of choral training, intensive workshops, and a variety of performance experiences. “The roots of the Gospel Choir was to give a platform to the young people of the District of Columbia and the larger DMV area where they could express themselves and bring gospel music as an art form to these main stages,” shares WPA’s artistic director Michele Fowlin. Over the years, the Choir has performed at the White House and the Washington National Cathedral, for major events—such as President Barack Obama’s first inaugural prayer service and the national memorial service for South African President Nelson Mandela, and it has sung with noteworthy musicians such as jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker and Broadway and pop singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. In celebration of COTG’s 30th anniversary, this grand concert will feature former artistic directors Evelyn Simpson–Curenton and Dr. Thomas Tyler, as well as choreographer Diedre Neal, joining Fowlin, and this year’s cohort of Children of the Gospel Choir members, and more than 50 returning alumni. Fowlin, a public educator for more than 25 years, knows the importance of investing in arts and music education, citing studies showing that students involved in such programs earn higher grades, are more likely to complete high school, and likelier to attend and finish college. She notes that while some alumni of the program are now acclaimed artists such as opera singer Solomon Howard (who performs with the Metropolitan Opera), and Broadway star Stephen Scott Wormley, COTG has touched many more lives. “We’ve had those who have started their foundation here, and they’re now doctors, lawyers, and politicians,” she says. “They gained their confidence, speaking ability, and their discipline, right here in the arts.” Written by COTG’s first director Simpson-Curenton, who will direct the piece, the song “There’s a Dream/The Impossible Dream” has been performed by COTG since 1993, uniting 30 years of singers into one shared voice. Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir starts at 7 p.m. on June 1 at Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. washingtonperformingarts.org. $30-$40. —Colleen Kennedy

Saturday: Shannon and the Clams at the Black Cat

Shannon and the Clams are rock ’n’ roll lifers, but they still feel like the next big thing. Now seven albums into a 15-year career, they are riding the line between the buzzworthy bin and a legacy act. The four-piece are able to consistently release music that will make you want to dance and start a band, regardless of your musical proficiency or age. Their newest album, The Moon Is in the Wrong Place, is one of their deepest. It’s centered around the sudden death of the fiance of lead singer and bassist Shannon Shaw. While the group’s first six records may have more in common sonically with Guided By Voices and the Detroit Cobras, fellow band lifers that have a healthy appreciation of all things original in rock ’n’ roll, Shannon and the Clams’ latest album should satisfy those aural cravings, but it also offers some lyrical catharsis on par with Mount Eerie or Songs: Ohia. Just listen to the opening lines of the album’s closer, “Life Is Unfair,” (“How do you expect me to understand/ That the love of my life was taken away from me/ All the blossoms blooming/ Twilight looming/ Without you on this earth/ Life is unfair/ Yet beautiful”), and you’ll understand how their new stuff is deeper. But you’ll still want to dance. Shannon and the Clams play June 1 at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St NW, blackcatdc.com $25-30. —Brandon Wetherbee

Saturday and Sunday: Bill Evans at Blues Alley

Bill Evans, whether by way of a blessing or a curse, shares the same name with one of the most famous and influential jazz musicians of all time. The elder Evans, a pianist, who died in 1980, made his breakthrough working with trumpet titan Miles Davis. And would you believe it? The younger Evans, a tenor and soprano saxophonist (who is very much alive), did, too. In otherwords, this Evans has had to work that much harder to make a name for himself in jazz, what with that other guy’s shadow falling on him. Evans’ work with Miles came in the jazz legend’s 1980s electric era, which turns out to have been a boon. The work immediately identified Evans with the fusion movement, and in that regard he’s never been out of work very long. After Miles, he was a member of Mahavishnu Orchestra and of Elements; he also worked with Herbie Hancock, Randy Brecker, Medeski Martin & Wood, and most of the other major fusioneers. Yet he has never, in his 40-plus-year career, touched down at our own Blues Alley. That long-overdue engagement finally happens this weekend, which also serves as a release party for his 26th album, Who I Am, and a reintroduction to American audiences after years of working internationally. Evans leads an all-star fusion quartet with keyboardist Kevin Hays, bassist Gary Grainger, and drummer Dennis Chambers. Watch out: They burn. Bill Evans performs with Kevin Hayes, Gary Grainger, and Dennis Chambers at 7 and 9 p.m. on June 1 and 2 at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $50 (plus a $7 fee). bluesalley.com —Michael J. West

Ongoing: Spring in a Moon Jar at the Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial

The Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial is located in the lobby of the Silva apartment building, but it’s far beyond the average lobby art. Latela has a multipronged practice that advises individuals, businesses, and organizations building their art collections, offers support and resources to artists, and curates exhibitions. Latela has often worked with area apartment buildings and frequently draws from a well of local artists, a way of reinforcing and supporting the local creative ecosystem in its own backyard. The latest show at the Silva is from D.C.-based artist Julia Chon, who works under the moniker Kimchi Juice. Chon has been visible around town with several large-scale murals, a collaboration with the Phillips Collection for its 100-year anniversary, and exhibitions of her painted earthenware kimchi pots. Much of her work pulls from Korean mythology and symbolism, and her mural work often leans toward the epic, in both size and subject matter. Spring in a Moon Jar shows a different mode of work for the artist. The paintings here are smaller and more intimate, focusing on Korean floral arrangements called “cocoji” and domestic scenes of women resting, washing, or fixing their hair—the picture of relaxation and being alone but not lonely. The floral arrangements feel suspended in their dark backgrounds, like pieces of nature plucked and preserved first in a vase and then in paint. What better respite could there be from a hot summer day than popping into an air-conditioned gallery and being surrounded by serene, restorative art? Spring in a Moon Jar is on view at the Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial through June 30, open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon until 5 p.m. latelacurtorial.com. Free. —Stephanie Rudig

Opening Tuesday: New York City Ballet Presents George Balanchine’s Treasured Jewels at the Kennedy Center

The Georgian American choreographer’s name belongs right before any mention of his more-than-half-century-old, mineral-rich ballet Jewels. That’s largely because of the kaleidoscopic walk-through of brilliant stones that are still shining behind the windows of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry store on Fifth Avenue in New York. The three-part 1967 premiere of Jewels at the New York City Ballet allowed audiences to look into those emeralds, rubies, and diamonds as George Balanchine saw them. When the show first hit the stage, theatergoers were confused. Although it has since been performed at dance companies across the world, including stints on renowned stages for the Royal Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet, the storyline wasn’t easy to follow. Decades into his career as a dancer and choreographer, Balanchine had a penchant for readapting fantasy novels and narratives that could play out in dazzling theatricality on stage. But the plot behind Jewels isn’t as linear; it’s an ode to the personalities and lives of those gemstones inside the window displays. They don’t speak, but rather glimmer. Next week, that storied ballet will come to life at the Kennedy Center. Although the standard version performed worldwide is based on choreographic revisions to the first act of the ballet, “Emeralds,” in 1976, it still resonates with those displays that caught Balanchine’s eye. “New York City Ballet’s production of Jewels is performed as George Balanchine choreographed it and remains true to his vision,” according to a NYCB spokesperson. New York City Ballet will perform Jewels at 7:30 p.m. from June 4 to 9 at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW. kennedy-center.org. $39.–$139. —Heidi Perez-Moreno

Jeff Draco: “Attitude (I Want More)” (Single)

Jeff Draco’s newest single, out May 31, begins in the same vein as MACHINA-era Smashing Pumpkins before segueing into a War on Drugs meets Vampire Weekend radio-friendly shifter. There’s some guitar layering that leans in to the atmospheric but there’s also quite a bit of pop radio shine that has the potential to get Draco on Spotify playlists with fellow DMVers SHAED. The new release combines two worlds, one suited for 2024 airwaves and the other for 2024 bedroom recordings. Strip away all the production and there’s a sensitive-sounding ballad (you can hear how this song would work well for an acoustic set). But the production gives it the potential mass appeal and will probably earn Draco more fans. In other words, Draco and production pals are making some good decisions. If this is any indication of future releases, he’s on a good trajectory. It’s both sonically and lyrically deeper than 2023’s “Never Gonna Be the Same,” a song that opens with an anecdote about waking up in a swimming pool. The songs don’t sound like they’re from different artists but it wouldn’t be surprising if Draco views himself in a different place. “Attitude (I Want More)” is as deep as you want it to be with some of the musician’s best hooks yet. It still sounds like he’s a young person making music for fellow young people but he’s writing much better lyrics and giving those lyrics a better chance to shine. You can pre-save the song here. —Brandon Wetherbee

5th of Four: “Love on Strike” (Single)

In 2024, alt-rock band 5th of Four were a double Wammie finalist for both Best Rock Group and Best Rock Album, for their debut, Hold on Tight—full of power chords, structured rhythmic guitars, and rock-operatic vocals. It was a nice follow-up to their 2023 nomination for City Paper’s Best of D.C. Best Local Original Band. Their new single, “Love on Strike,” exudes a mysterious aura with its seductive and somewhat sleazy allure. Recorded at Hill Studio 909 with recording engineer James Garber, and produced, mixed, and mastered at Hear Me Roar Studio, the song expands on their last album with a moodier, darker tone about self-searching and bad romantic choices, co-written by bassist Ryan Schmid and lead vocalist Faith Hayden. Guitarists Mitchell Norton and James Adelsberger throw in some hair-metal licks over Mort Rolleston’s heavy drumming, while Hayden, a classically trained singer, shows off her range from witchy seduction to power-ballad belting. “Love on Strike,” available on all streaming platforms as of May 14, offers a first glimpse into their evolving sound. The band take the stage at Songbyrd on the afternoon of July 6 for the Freebyrd Matinee Series with supporting act Never Elected. —Colleen Kennedy

Foggieraw and Ari Lennox: “Stay Awhile” (Single)

Summer may be a month away but D.C. rapper Foggieraw is beating the impending crush of laid-back seasonal singles with “Stay Awhile,” his latest offering featuring local R&B singer Ari Lennox, released on April 26. Having a rap song featuring an R&B singer on the hook is a 30-plus-year-old trope, and nothing new is brought to the table with this outing. Though Foggieraw’s fresh-out-of-a-coma delivery laid over a mellow musical bed works, the content of his lyrics is where he falters. In what seems to be an ode to a side piece who has been with him for eight years (!!!), Foggieraw invites us to Sesame Street by delivering alliterations using the letters B through H. “Baby, be a beacon of beauty via BBL,” he raps, giving shout-outs to Brazilian butt lifts quickly followed by hailing God and gang memberships in the same breath during the letter G and wraps up H with “Hell if I know what Heaven feel like/ Ain’t in Heaven yet.” (It’s a pity he ends there. I’d love to know what he’d come up with for the letter X.) In pops Lennox as Foggieraw’s “Side piece but she wan’ be the main” to sing the chorus, which features lyrics as enticing as “Stay awhile/ Don’t be rude/ I know you got things to do.” (Don’t we all?) Empowering, this song is not. During the bridge, which is oddly introduced with less than a minute to go in the song, Lennox, the understanding side piece, sings, “Don’t want to get in between all your obligations.” Yet there are signs of hope that she’s finding her self-esteem as she’s “running out of patience.” At this point, any licensed therapist would tell Lennox to head for the door. If Foggieraw had approached this song in a different manner lyrically, it would have the potential to be played on high rotation at every summer barbecue. Instead, it is a far cry from summer rap anthems like Jay–Z’s 2009 single “Empire State of Mind” (though released in the fall, it was such a hit it could be heard from every passing car radio the following year) and “Summertime,” the 1991 track from DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince—lyrically failing miserably and doing a disservice to side pieces everywhere. —Christina Smart

Vile Cherubs: Lysergic Lamentations

Listening to Lysergic Lamentations is like traveling back in time. The remastered album by Dischord Records veterans Vile Cherubs possesses the unmistakable, invigorating rawness of a 1988 punk band, with additional elements of psychedelic rock that place the group in a category all their own. As teenagers, Vile Cherubs landed a brief stint on Dischord when the label was a new staple of the D.C. punk scene. Co-founder Jeff Nelson signed them upon discovering their rowdy, LSD-fueled approach to rehearsal. In the years that followed, vocalist Tim Green went on to play guitar in Nation of Ulysses while other members delved into other pursuits, both music-related and otherwise.

Lysergic Lamentations, out right before Record Store Day on April 15, reworks the band’s lone 1988 album, Post-humorous Relief. The reissue offers a more polished version of the 10 tracks while still maintaining the original grittiness. An unparalleled strength of the album is its balance between the melodic and abrasive; the band layer on thick distortion and angry vocals while incorporating strikingly complex basslines and distinctive hooks. “Broke My Heart in Three” opens with a strong chord progression and concise, guttural scream before eventually descending into a double-time, syncopated riff alongside indecipherable vocals. “Perspective” builds into an upbeat, catchy melody that sets it apart from other 1980s punk tracks. But it’s not just “Perspective” that deviates from the typical Dischord release. Elements like a pipe-organ interlude and reverb-heavy drones add a ’60s-quality to Lysergic Lamentations that make it feel somewhat like the Animals fed it through an ’80s punk filter. Lyrically, the album betrays the age of its high school student creators. On “The ladder,” Green wails, “Nothing makes me quite as sick/ You choose the guy you pick/ Can’t believe you’re such a fool/ Spread your legs just because he’s cool.” In “My Mantra,” he repeats “Too many directions/ I don’t know which to take” almost like an incantation. Listening now, 25 years after these tracks first entered the world, there’s a fourth-wall feel in knowing that the band members have long since chosen their respective directions. —Dora Segall

Bacchae: “Cooler Talk” (Single)

Released on April 5, Bacchae’s new single, “Cooler Talk,” is a pop punk meets garage rock diatribe against all things 9 to 5. Songs like this should be just as popular as ditties about love lost. Sure, most can relate to a broken heart, but more people, at least people old enough to work, should relate to songs that rage against the corporate machine. Lead singer and keyboardist Katie McD has a really good voice, it’s an instrument that’s always in key, regardless of whether she’s striving to almost scream or harmonizing with bassist and vocalist Rena Hagins. There’s some Cars-esque sheen with some lo-fi chunkiness in this single, available now on Bandcamp and soon to be part of Bacchae’s forthcoming LP, Next Time, which will be released in July on Philadelphia’s Get Better Records. It would not be shocking to see this band opening for fellow D.C.-ers Gauche—possibly because Gauche’s best song is also about the futility of a capitalist noose (“Pay Day”). While both bands acknowledge the seeming never-ending monotony of being a rat stuck in the cage, Bacchae also deliver some music that’ll get you dancing, which is the preferable way to live. It’s much better to dance toward the grave rather than continuing to dig your own. —Brandon Wetherbee

DuPont Brass: Professional Development

You gotta stay positive—at least according to DuPont Brass’ newest release. Out April 3, Professional Development encourages listeners to keep going through the trials and tribulations of everyday life, from being broke to seeking out a therapist, handling PTSD to facing down the devil; this 10-piece are doing their damnedest to help you have a better life. If you’ve seen this band play, you already know they thrive as a live act. Any time a collective of this many musicians is onstage is both a scheduling miracle and a chance to hear varied musical stylings under one large umbrella. The same is true on this eight-song LP. “Sunny Days” sets the tone, preaching positivity over a mid-tempo track. “Meet Me Outside” closes with some Guitar Hero antics from Turn Up Deante that would make Santana proud. The most popular song on the release, “Summer Vibes,” has some Pharrell “Happy” vibes, while “Treat” has a very cool sousaphone line from Bass Heavy Slim. “Work” would work well on the jam band circuit, and “I Deserve It” preaches the prosperity gospel over a laid-back Earth, Wind & Fire-inspired beat. The album closes with “The Anthem,” another song about staying positive that ties quite nicely to the opener. Each song scratches a different itch, but it’s seemingly intentional: Professional Development serves as a sampler platter of what DuPont Brass offer. In the last two minutes of the album, DuPont Brass praise themselves as eclectic musicians and a supergroup of living legends. Once again, if you’ve seen them live, you know they are definitely eclectic musicians and this collection helps prove that point. Whether they are a supergroup of living legends is still up for debate. But they’re releasing some pretty good stuff and leaving well before you want them to wrap it up. Clocking in at under 30 minutes, Professional Development is over just when you feel like it’s hitting its stride. Go see them live. Their sets are a testament of the greatness they sing about throughout this record. DuPont Brass play on May 19 at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, May 29 at the University of the District of Columbia’s Senior Fest, and on June 19 as part of Anacostia Community Museum’s Juneteenth Freedom Celebration 2024. —Brandon Wetherbee 

Oh Violet: T-Minus 5 (Two Song EP)

D.C. neo-grunge band Oh Violet released their new EP, T-Minus 5, on March 26. The EP consists of two tracks, “hell is a sweater” and “Coastal City”; the latter is like pulling on a Baja hoodie after a long night oceanside with friends: The whole vibe is beachy, bouncy, and a little shaggy. Clocking in at almost six minutes, “Coastal City” begins with an extended surf-rock intro, drummer DarnL’s high hats crashing like waves, Zii’s grooving bass line, and tremolo guitars courtesy of Zoë and Rocky, until the dreamy call-and-response vocals kick in. Sure, the lyrics are a bit blurry, but it adds to the dreamy, coastal good times, fading out after the three-and-a-half-minute mark for an extended jammy outro. On the other hand, “hell is a sweater” evokes a sense of longing and loss, with Zoë’s plaintive vocals competing with the throbbing guitars and cymbal-forward drumming. It’s an angsty nod to slacker jazz, another improvisational-sounding track that plays loud and fast. Both tracks showcase Oh Violet’s mid-’90s through early-aughts influences (from the Pixies to Paramore) and their ability to craft newer sounds within the grunge framework. In true DIY spirit, the band decided to write, record, and remix the album on their own at R Street Studio after they couldn’t find the right local music producer to capture their sound. Oh Violet will be playing at A Taste of the DMV: Food, Music & Cultural Festival on June 15. Later this summer, the band plan to partner with Leesta Vall Sound Recordings in Brooklyn to create vinyls for several of their songs. —Colleen Kennedy

Friday: Zine Workshop at People’s Book

Even as the world becomes increasingly digital, zines (small-circulation magazines) persist as a common method of information dissemination and storytelling. In recent years, political movements have used zines to counter online disinformation and surveillance tactics and people across the globe have turned to zine creation to document their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re not all serious though, zines can also be silly and creative. For whatever purpose you have, zines are there for you as a medium to explore and Takoma Park’s People’s Book is hosting a free workshop for adults to do exactly that. Local educator and zine aficionado Julia Hainer-Violand will lead attendees in making their own zines. There’s no wrong way to make a zine. Playful and guerrilla in nature, this freeform approach to art-making is something overworked and lonely adults could benefit from trying out and maybe carry back into other parts of their daily D.C. lives. Zine Workshop starts at 6:30 p.m. on May 10 at People’s Book, 7014-A Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park. peoplesbooktakoma.com. Free. —Serena Zets 

Saturday: BANDportier’s All Tomorrows at Dance Place 

Some argue that green is the fourth primary color on the spectrum—alongside red, blue, and yellow—but the definitive answer denotes green as a secondary color since it’s a blend of blue and yellow. It’s even more telling of the way our worlds have mingled with shades of this hue. From the color of our U.S. currency to the grass brightening parks that people set their picnic blankets on, the shade forms around us and facilitates connectivity between others. It’s also one of the colors dance artist and choreographer Kendra Portier has selected to center and explore at this weekend’s performance of All Tomorrows at Dance Place. The main show will be a septet, with Portier, the main choreographer and director of the project-based dance collective BANDportier, performing a snippet of her own. The show’s design was born out of collaboration between dancers involved, educators and interdisciplinary artists: Brit Falcon, Daniel Miramontes, Rebecca Steinberg, MK Ford, Emilia Bruno, Bree Breeden, Chris Brusberg, and Zoe Walders. Through the Pantone project, a series of choreographic variations that began during the pandemic to continue dancing and stay connected, Portier was thinking about how each of her dancers brings out a color unique to the other performers. But she was also thinking about how these colors play out among their dance sequences and how it affects their rhythm and synchronicity between each other. Portier explores this connectivity in All Tomorrows, admitting that dance serves as both a collective and personal endeavor. “The kind of listening required to truly dance with one another and the trust you have to have in your own voice,” she says. These dynamics are also on display through rehearsal videos Portier has shared on her Instagram ahead of this weekend’s performance. One snippet shows the seven dancers moving in sync while paired with someone else, in another they sway all together. It’s the energy that keeps them alongside each other. All Tomorrows starts at 7 p.m. on May 11 at Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. danceplace.org. $30. —Heidi Perez-Moreno

Opens Saturday: IN Series Opera’s The Return of Ulysses at Source Theatre

“Through Westerner’s eyes, encountering my work is a state of defamiliarization,” shares Bangkok-born Jitti Chompee, the artistic director of Thai dance company 18 Monkeys. A classically trained dancer and choreographer, Chompee has contributed his talents to IN Series Opera’s newest show The Return of Ulysses—Song of My Father. “Creating space between tradition and a new interpretation challenges familiarity, which drives creativity, and provokes the audience to rethink traditional literature in a new light,” Chompee says. In this opera, the familiar story of Homer’s The Odyssey is reimagined as a response to the Vietnam War. Odysseus, the great tactician of ancient mythology, outsmarted his foes with the infamous Trojan Horse after 10 years of bloody war but was delayed from returning to his home and long-suffering family for another decade as he fought sea monsters and cozied up with demigoddesses. The Return of Ulysses—Song of My Father views Venetian composer Claudio Monteverdi’s 1640 opera Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (“The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland”) through the signing of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which marked the official use of U.S. military force in Vietnam, and interweaves popular Vietnam-era songs arranged in the style of Monteverdi madrigals. IN Series artistic director Timothy Nelson dug deeper into his own family history for the heart of the work, interviewing his father Charles, a Vietnam veteran, as well as other Vietnam veterans. The very word “nostalgia” is Greek for “the pain for home,” the idea that trauma and a prewar past can continue to haunt veterans even when they have returned to their loved ones. As Nelson says in a press release, “I wove, perhaps not unlike Penelope in Homer’s story, these threads into a new work that rejoices in the musical worlds of 1640s Italy and 1970s America equally, all in service of a profound story of what coming home from war means to soldiers and to the families, as well as our nation’s role in their wounds and in their healing.” (The Memorial Day performance is free to all Veterans.) The Return of Ulysses—Song of My Father runs from May 11 to 27 at Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW and May 31 to June 2 at the Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 W Preston St., Baltimore. inseries.org. $30–$65. —Colleen Kennedy

Tuesday and Wednesday: 2024 New York Dog Film Festival and 2024 New York Cat Film Festival at Arlington Drafthouse 

This is what the internet used to be like! Really! Before social media run by social outcasts did everything it could to divide us and monetize hate and vitriol, the internet was pretty much just a place to share dog and cat videos. Ask anyone over the age of 40, it actually was better back in the day. While it’s not possible to get in a time machine, you can get out of your house and head to a movie theater to watch some dog and cat videos (well, short films in this case). The 2024 New York Dog Film Festival and the 2024 New York Cat Film Festival at the Arlington Drafthouse is a chance to enjoy two hours of short films, animation, documentary, and narrative featuring our furry four-legged friends. To make a very adorable evening even more appealing, all proceeds from both screenings will benefit the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. The high cost of the ticket ($38!) is at least somewhat justified by knowing who benefits from these showings. In a time when vice presidential hopefuls are bragging about killing their innocent dog, maybe a night of shorts featuring happy pets will make you feel a bit more optimistic. The Dog Film Festival starts at 7 p.m. on May 14; the Cat Film Festival starts at 7 p.m. on May 15, both at Arlington Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pk., Arlington. arlingtondrafthouse.com. $38. —Brandon Wetherbee

Opens Wednesday: “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli at the Capital Jewish Museum

This summer, the Capital Jewish Museum is bringing a special exhibit to its halls. Organized and curated by Los Angeles’ Skirball Cultural Center, “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli chronicles the American Jewish experience in the 20th century through food, specifically the deli. “There’s a story here about people and place in immigration, and Jewish life in America,” says Cate Thurston, one of the exhibit’s curators. Delis were places for immigrants to earn a living,  conduct business, build community, and more. “It serves a lot of different functions for a lot of different people across a range of Jewish identities,” says Thurston. The Jewish Deli will feature signs, menus, and other deli-related artifacts from across the country, including those from Capital Jewish Museum’s own collection of local items. But the curators have also made a point to integrate in pop culture deli moments, as evidenced by the title (for the uninitiated, a cheeky reference to When Harry Met Sally…). “We wanted to be playful,” Thurston says. “Jewish creatives returned to delis in movies again and again. It’s a place where people meet, it’s a place where a writer can showcase a character or characters Jewish identity without doing a lot of interpretation around it.” And while the exhibit explores the past of Jewish delis, the concept obviously still lives on today.  “The delicatessen is not a dead food way,” Thurston says. “It’s a vibrant food way that is still alive and still thriving.” “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli opens May 15 and runs through August 20 at the Capital Jewish Museum, 575 3rd St. NW. capitaljewishmuseum.org. $10–$15. —Hannah Docter-Loeb

Rico Nasty and Boys Noize: HARDC0RE DR3AMZ

Though I haven’t had the pleasure of confirming this, I imagine HARDC0RE DR3AMZ is best listened to while wearing a bikini and drugged-up on a dance floor, preferably in a Berlin nightclub or, if possible, aboard a cruise ship. A cruise ship because that’s where the two artists behind this glitchy, hedonistic three-song EP—rapper Rico Nasty, a Prince George’s County native, and German Iraqi producer Boys Noize—met eight years ago. Their party-filled friendship led to two singles: 2020’s pulsing “Girl Crush,” and “Money,” a 2021 track featuring Flo Milli that sounds like a playground taunt placed over a thumping electro beat. Both were departures from the rage rap, sugar trap concoctions Rico has been known for since her breakout hit “Smack a Bitch” took off in 2018. The duo’s latest effort, HARDC0RE DR3AMZ, released on March 29, is even further removed. The EP starts with “Arintintin,” a jubilant dance track with a nonsense title that Rico repeats over and over again in an addictive hook. (Speaking about “Arintintin,” Rico said she and Boys Noize wanted to make something “so fucking annoying that you’re going to be singing it all day.”) The equally unseriously titled “Vvgina,” featuring Locked Club, follows. In an auto-tuned voice, Rico recounts heartbreak, confessing: “I hate having fun/ ’Cause it reminds me of you.” It’s hard to believe her admission while she sings it over a joyful club beat that makes breaking up sound like a riot. Rounding out the EP is “H.O.T.,” a swaggering song on which Rico raps about sex, clubbing, and the lifestyles of the hot and famous. HARDC0RE DR3AMZ is certainly a left turn for Rico. Then again, slamming into a left turn is about the most Rico Nasty thing the genre-fusing artist, who has dabbled in hyperpop, pop punk, and screamo, could do. It doesn’t reach the heights of her best work, found on previous albums such as Nasty and Anger Management, but it’s not intended to. All that HARDC0RE DR3AMZ seems to be after is a good time, and it’s having one. Over the syrupy dance track driving “H.O.T.” forward, Rico tells you everything you need to know: “This shit fye.” Then she tells you about a dozen more times, for good measure. —Ella Feldman

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis: The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis

From the moment they formed in 2016, the Messthetics—the trio featuring Fugazi veterans Joe Lally (bass) and Brendan Canty (drums) with experimental guitarist Anthony Pirog—made a bold statement to the increasingly frayed notion of genre. Their loud and choppy instrumental music was conceived at the rarely visited confluence of post-hardcore, prog, and avant-garde jazz. It’s hard to call it fusion, per se, but neither does it fit comfortably into any of those streams. Does a collaboration with James Brandon Lewis, one of the most inventive and acclaimed jazz saxophonists of his generation, help crystallize things in the jazz direction on their zesty eponymous album, released March 15? No. It merely poses the questions anew.

Here’s one: What the hell do we call the album’s third track, “That Thang”? All four musicians come charging out of the gate with punky aggression, Pirog and Lewis doubling the melody and Canty sounding like he’s punishing his poor snare drum and crash cymbal. But the tune they’re pounding on is rhythmically off-kilter. It has a triplet feel that’s more at home in jazz, a gait that suggests funk, and an internal cadence that might have been a hip-hop MC’s. Then comes Pirog’s solo, which would fit with those of the classic rock guitar gods were it not for the querying effects he uses on his ax; Lewis follows with a line that channels free-jazz icon Albert Ayler in its coarsening tone, the James Brown Band in its percussive attack, and Clarence Clemons in its swagger. That’s just one example. Elsewhere, “Emergence” begins with a psychedelic cavalcade of guitar, downshifts into hard-driving pop rock (with Lewis’ sax giving it a distinctly ’80s feel), then gives the sax an improvised workout against Ramones-like aggression. “Railroad Tracks Home” uses a hop-along country rhythm (think “Sixteen Tons” or “King of the Road”) that Lewis pours soul sauce all over with his solo; Pirog tempers it with a mellowed-out, atmospheric one. It’s tempting, but too easy to assert that Pirog and Lewis act as a partnered front line. That’s often outwardly true—if one overlooks how locked-in Canty and Lally are to what they’re doing. The throbbing figure that Lally plays on the medium-slow “Three Sisters” isn’t just an accompaniment to the intertwined guitar and sax lines: It’s a punchy counterpoint to them. And while Lewis grabs attention by building—from sinuous and seductive to brawny and adrenalized (paving the way for a manic rock ’n’ roll explosion from Pirog)—the whole enterprise hangs entirely on Canty’s relentless pulse. Change what he does even a little, and the thing falls apart. If it doesn’t merit the “fusion” tag, it’s because that tag suggests a blending of musical elements to create something new. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis is too organic for that. Lewis is a guest here, but he simply steps in and does what he does, and it works. Nobody needs to alter their course or meet anybody else halfway. Instead of presenting a new and separate hybrid, then, the collaboration shows us a strange and wonderful world where their musical approaches existed in tandem all along. They were just the intrepid explorers who thought to look there. —Michael J. West

dreamcastmoe: Molly’s Son

More joy, more warmth, more beats per minute—everything on dreamcastmoe’s Molly’s Son feels like the D.C. indie R&B/club singer has brightened his emotional horizons. The artist, who goes by Davon Bryant when not performing, has been in this mode before, including the brisk 2021 track “L Foot, Right,” but never so thoroughly. And he’s not hiding the reasons: The new six-song EP, released Feb. 16, was inspired partly by a buoyant poem his mom wrote about him, and partly the gratitude he feels for making it into his 30s with a global footprint as an artist. Sounds potentially corny, right? No worries: dreamcastmoe hasn’t lost his touch for gentle self-deprecation.

“Oh yeah you like pasta?” he ad-libs during “We Gone Make It,” a song about evolving love that’s backed with optimistic synth lines and a new jack-adjacent rhythm. Likewise, a celebration of pickup basketball, “Hand Down, Man Down,” is sprinkled with on-court gripes (“stop fuckin’ fouling me like that!”). The percussive backing track by previous collaborator ShunGu, meanwhile, speaks to decades of D.C. funk. The breezy, lusty “On the Beach” is a different kind of throwback. dreamcastmoe dug it out from a 2017 session in Los Angeles, and it not only fits the EP’s sonic vibe, but it also serves as a reminder that his core vocal talents—the fluid but occasionally achy delivery, the easy range—were mature a long time ago. A remix of the cut by New York production duo musclecars closes the EP with outdoor rooftop energy. Elsewhere, the bass-soaked “Preach” stiff-arms haters and sermonizers, while the sax-accented “Abuse It” brims with romantic possibility: “I see you smile/ It’s been awhile/ Since I’ve been inside your place,” dreamcastmoe croons, not with any specific expectations, but certainly with an open heart. —Joe Warminsky

Sub-Radio: “Ceilings” (Single)

Sub-Radio know a thing or two about going viral. During the pandemic, the D.C.-based indie-pop band gained international attention, using the power of Reddit to livestream their shows, resulting in a substantial increase in their social media following. So it only makes sense that they would cover a song that also gained notoriety virally: Lizzy McAlpine’s “ceilings.” While the original is a melancholy ballad of what it’s like to be young and in love, Sub-Radio take their version to the ’80s dance floor (right down to nicking the drum intro from Madonna’s “Material Girl”). While working on the song, Sub-Radio posted an Instagram video of band members lamenting that “ceilings,” with its 6/8 time signature, can’t be turned into a dance song. (Side note to Sub-Radio: One of the greatest dance sequences ever caught on film, “America” in West Side Story, is in 6/8—the tempo does not determine whether a person can dance to the song; it’s whether or not that person has rhythm). But with instrumentation and a brightness in the production that recalls Duran Duran, Erasure, New Order, and OMD, Sub-Radio’s astute arrangement on “Ceilings,” released March 1, alters the time signature (for people that clap on the one and the three) and brings the heartbreak to the dance floor. It’s an inventive adaptation of the song that turns longing into something you can shake your booty to. —Christina Smart

Blood Family Reunion: Lucky Mutation

Hey dreamsters, Blood Family Reunion bring all the breathy vocals, arcane lyrics, synthy sounds, fuzzy guitars, and heavy drums on their full-length debut, Lucky Mutation. Very appropriately recorded on Halloween weekend 2023, at White Star Sound outside of Charlottesville, the D.C. dream-pop quartet’s new album was released on March 8 and follows their promising 2022 four-song EP, Ghost Girls. The band—featuring Joe King on guitars, Donovan Lessard on drums and keyboards, and singer-guitarist Pam Carder, with Stephen Lilly, who also engineered, mixed, and mastered the album, on bass, with additional engineering help from Orion Faruque—crafts an album that’s atmospheric, moody, and intimate. The opening track and first released single, “Bluebird,” weaves a sonic tapestry with shimmering guitars, bouncing drums, and Carder’s haunting vocals floating effortlessly above it all. Tracks such as “Summer Day Lens Flare” and the standout title track showcase the band’s otherworldly vibes and decadent sound waves. The heavy guitars and drums closing out “Seaglass” bring out a darker, heavier dimension to their sound, something that they could explore more. Carder’s witchy vocals are the undeniable centerpiece, casting a sonic spell—a dash of delicacy, a note of vulnerability, and a sweep of seduction, but always strong in her conjurings. There are touches of the dark beauty of the Cocteau Twins throughout and the band even nods to the Cure’s “Pictures of You” in “Crawl Space.” Meanwhile, King’s sometimes soaring and often wonderfully staticky guitar work and Lessard’s keys add texture and depth to the music, while Lilly’s bass lines and Lessard’s buzzy drumming provide a solid foundation for the band’s sound. Even in the album’s more introspective moments—there are lots of references to Greek mythology, graveyards, and general esoterica—an underlying sense of hope shines through the murkiness. The 12-track album closes with the extended “Night Begins.” Over nine minutes long, the song is a lush, lovely lullaby, and a fitting closer to this sonic dreamscape. Blood Family Reunion’s Lucky Mutation, released March 7, is available for streaming or purchase on Spotify, Bandcamp, and iTunes. Blood Family Reunion play at 7:30 p.m. on April 5 at Galactic Panther in Alexandria with NAYAN and the Beanstock Library. galacticpanther.com. The band also takes part in QUEERING SOUND, running May 15 to 31 at Rhizome. rhizomedc.org. —Colleen Kennedy

NØ MAN: Glitter and Spit

It’s relatively early in 2024 but do not be surprised if Glitter and Spit by NØ MAN makes it onto year-end best of lists. One of the first things you notice on this record, released March 29, is the audio fidelity. It’s fantastic. Each instrument stands out. This is not a muddy mix that feels cold and detached. The separate guitar parts on opening track “Eat My Twin” (now that’s a great opening track title!) and standout track “Can’t Kill Us All” are especially clear. There’s a bit of Deftones in their White Pony era going on in Glitter and Spit. It’s hardcore that’s allowed to breathe. 

Like most hardcore acts, you can easily ignore the lyrics if you want. The growl is good, but it’s still a growl. At first listen, you can only really decipher what Maha Shami is singing during breaks on songs like “Glitter and Spit” and on their cover of Lydia Lunch and Rowland S. Howard’s “Burning Skulls.” But once you do decipher the lyrics on your second and third listen, man, this record gets much better. The lyrics are dark and timely. This is not an opportunistic release or an attempt to capitalize on the atrocities currently unfolding in Palestine. But it’s absolutely related to those atrocities. In the aforementioned “Can’t Kill Us All,” Shami, the daughter of Palestinian refugees, sings, “Balfour dreams of exile and the natives are getting hostile/ Balfour dreams of exile birthright cleansing.” The song is relating the 1917 Balfour Declaration to exactly what’s going on today in Gaza even though this record was written before October 2023. The final lines on the album come from the cover song. Shami may not have penned them, but she sure embodies them throughout the album: “Nothing scares me anymore/ Burning skulls rise once more.” The record closes with “Damaar دمار,” an instrumental that’ll make you want to put the record on again. In the era of TikTok and Instagram Reels, having a closing track that nicely segues into the opener isn’t a bad idea. This is, start to finish, an excellent record. At 28 minutes and 27 seconds, it’s over before you want it to end. —Brandon Wetherbee

The North Country: The Future’s All We Need 

Passports aren’t required for the North Country’s latest album, The Future’s All We Need, out April 26 on House of Joy. The semi-D.C.-based experimental pop collective releases their fourth full-length album in the past 12 years, the follow-up to 2022’s collaborative EP, Born at the Right Time (Exquisite Corpse). The Future’s All We Need continues the self-styled indie-pop futurists’ delightful combination of catchy melodies and poignant social commentary, all written by the various band members. The two released singles, “Be Here Now” and “The Invisible Hand,” demonstrate the North Country’s thoughtful pop prowess. “Be Here Now” is an uplifting pop song that melds bits of jazz and funk into a meditation about mindfulness amid a cacophony of distractions, overthinking, and FOMO; the accompanying music video has all the color and playfulness of Sesame Street. “The Invisible Hand” brings together 1980s new wave sounds and Gordon Gekko vibes, as the band’s founder and frontperson Andrew Grossman purrs about the conspicuous consumption and casual cruelties of the uberwealthy over breathy background vocals and catchy synth. It’s the sort of song that North Country excel at: You’re not sure if you want to dance all night or start a revolution. The latest album calls upon a wide range of influences including the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, David Bowie, and LCD Soundsystem in addition to that glorious year 2017 when both the Killers and Arcade Fire heartily embraced disco. Grossman often sing-speaks the straightforward but clever lyrics with singers Margot MacDonald and Laurel Halsey harmonizing, la-la-ing, and cooing as backing vocals. The rhythm section of Austin Blanton on bass and Kirk Kubicek on drums provide a bouncy, happy foundation, with sonic explorations by guitarist Jon Harmon, keyboardist Halsey, and Grossman on synth. The Future’s All We Need is 11 tracks of genre-defying, danceable deliberations on 21st-century civilization and its discontents: “San Antonio Pot Brownies” is a springy, silly ode to quietly quitting, and “No One’s Listening” is a space-age cabaret warning about solipsistic oversharing, while “We the People” is a funky manifesto against corrupt politicians. All band members contribute to songwriting, which adds to the eclecticism of their influences, sound, and lyrics, but together the songs are connected by themes of nostalgia, disillusionment, and brokenness, with an underlying thread of hope and self-betterment tying it all together. The North Country’s The Future’s All We Need vinyl is available to preorder on Bandcamp. Stay tuned for the band’s upcoming summer tour. —Colleen Kennedy

Thursday through Saturday: The DC History Conference at MLK Library

The 50th annual DC History Conference will offer presentations from historians, journalists, graduate students, and current and former area residents with specialized knowledge on the myriad aspects of D.C. life from the 1700s to the present. Thursday night, April 4, the event kicks off with a discussion on the 1968 uprising following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. between the Atlantic’s senior editor Vann R. Newkirk II and Atlantic staff writer Jerusalem Demsas. The two will also discuss the creation and 50th anniversary of 1973’s Home Rule Act. Friday’s diverse schedule includes a talk on enslavement and displacement of Black Americans in Chevy Chase, a look at the 1870s paintings of Rock Creek Park by Jewish immigrant Max Weyl, a narrative on local Black Pride celebrations over the years, and a guide to Aunt Pigeon, a once-enslaved Black Catholic woman who worked for Georgetown Jesuits. Saturday’s equally varied offerings include a panel discussion by those involved in the 1980 creation of the 9:30 Club at its original F Street NW location, moderated by Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye. Additionally, University of Delaware graduate student Alan Parkes will discuss his research on the interrelationship between D.C.’s go-go origins and politics during the late 1970s. Another talk will cover Thomas Smallwood, who bought his own freedom and organized group escapes for others from slavery in the 1800s. The day will also showcase a panel of five Black women who were part of D.C.’s Black feminist movement from the 1960s through the 1990s, including Howard University grad Loretta J. Ross, now a professor at Smith College and a 2022 MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient. The 50th DC History Conference starts at 6 p.m. on April 4 and runs until 6 p.m. on April 6 at MLK Library, 901 G St. NW. conference.dchistory.org. Free. —Steve Kiviat

Friday and Saturday: District Dreamers Film Festival at STABLEarts

The inaugural District Dreamers Film Festival at STABLEarts this weekend is the brainchild of filmmaker and cultural events producer Emmett Ferra, along with STABLEarts’ director Maleke Glee and creative strategist Andrew Williams. The three joined forces last fall to problem-solve a gap in the local film landscape: lively screenings of well-curated works by DMV filmmakers that could both boost their profiles among local audiences and foster connections to the film industry. “This is an area that has a lot of talent,” Ferra tells City Paper. “With District Dreamers, we want to set the precedent that there are stories that are coming out of D.C. and people coming out of D.C. telling them.” The event, scheduled over two half-days, starts with a program of film shorts, including Tribeca Film Festival-premiering Chicken (produced by local entrepreneur David Jack) and post-screening Q&A with its director Josh Leong, that all exemplify, according to Ferra, “what success in indie film looks like.” To assemble the second evening’s film showcase, a selection committee reviewed short films that local filmmakers submitted to the festival’s open call. That lineup, which Ferra describes as “literally watching the fabric of D.C. roll out in front of [you] through storytelling,” ranges from the documentary Federal Stone, which explored why the swimming pool edging material produced by the Virginia-based company of that same name is a favorite of the region’s skateboarders, to the moody dark comedy Mandarins, about an estranged mother and daughter filmed in D.C.’s Chinatown. A series of panels on both days with industry experts—among them Women in Film & Video’s executive director Melissa Houghton and producer of the film DC Noir Kyle David Crosby—will look at behind-the-scenes topics such as financing, distribution, and local impact. The festival’s organizers also intend to create an intimate setting for film-watching and conversation that can’t be found at larger theaters: They’re bringing in Persian rugs (courtesy of Parthia Carpets) to transform the art space into a cozy, off-the-beaten-track micro-cinema, and D.C.’s Blossom Beverages and Lost Generation Brewing Company to supply the libations. The weekend will offer a set of diverse cinematic tales of D.C. that Ferra promises, “builds pride in the city.” District Dreamers Film Festival runs April 5 and 6 at STABLEarts, 336 Randolph Pl. NE. dreamersfilmfest.com. $20 per day. —Coley Gray 

Opens Saturday: Tim Brawner’s Feels Like Heaven at von ammon co.

Omaha-born, New York-based artist Tim Brawner’s first solo exhibit at von ammon co. in Georgetown, Feels Like Heaven, offers a journey into the depths of the grotesque and uncanny. With his large-scale acrylic paintings on canvas, Brawner delves into the darkness of the human psyche, recalling Hieronymus Bosch’s surreal hellscapes and Francis Bacon’s fantastical portraits with screaming mouths. In “Winnie, 2024,” a well-dressed woman with the grayed complexion, wasted skin, and vacant expression of a zombie sits in a fancy restaurant. In other works, there are serpentine hybrid creatures with violet giraffe heads or yawping Medusa faces. In “Thoss, 2024”, a doctor lies prone in a desert, screaming, her skeletal arms stretched ahead. Visceral, surreal, and painted in acidic colors—screaming cobalt, Barbie pink, absinthe green, and livid lavender—faces are distorted, bodies contorted or combined with animal forms, and skin decomposes. But the works are even more unsettling and challenging than that: Some of the faces may be screaming in ecstasy or torture, such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s famous sculpture “The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa,” or the cover of Hanya Yanagihara’s novel A Little Life, or, for the ’90s kids, the postapocalyptic distended smiles in Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” music video. The exhibition may be nightmare fuel for some, a confrontation with mortality or an exercise in jouissance for other viewers. Brawner’s technical skill and his themes of alienation, existential dread, and the fragility of the human condition ask us to view his works as a sort of postmodern, fever dream memento mori where the grotesque sublimates into the beautiful. Tim Brawner’s Feels Like Heaven opens April 6 and runs through May 5; an opening reception takes place from noon to 3 p.m. on the April 6 at von ammon co., 3330 Cady’s Alley NW. Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., and by appointment. www.vonammon.co. Free. —Colleen Kennedy

Saturday and Sunday: Capital Art Book Fair at Eastern Market

If you’re not heading out of town to catch this weekend’s solar eclipse, there’s still an abundance of beauty to behold in D.C. An impressive amount of it will be found densely packed into Eastern Market’s North Hall when the second annual Capital Art Book Fair takes over the space. Organized by East City Art, the two-day event is free and open to the public with the hope of introducing attendees to the wide-ranging and dynamic universe of art books, which are often art themselves. This year’s fair features 34 exhibitors representing more than 100 artists, presses, and designers not just from across the DMV but from around the world. Some of 2023’s inaugural vendors, including audience favorites inner loop press and HOMOCATS, are returning alongside an array of new exhibitors including the Glenstone, Montana State University’s Courier Press, and three international exhibitors. Old and new alike, these exhibitors will sell art, limited-run art books, prints, zines, graphic novels, art magazines, and more. Event organizer and East City Art founding publisher and editor, Phil Hutinet, tells City Paper that the fair is “a feast for the senses, offering a tactile and visual journey through the contemporary and traditional landscapes of art book production.” Attendees are invited to interact and engage with both the fair’s books and also art throughout Capitol Hill. “By organizing this large-scale annual event, the aim is to reestablish Capitol Hill, particularly areas around Eastern Market, as prime destinations for arts and culture. This effort comes at a critical time, given the recent closures of most of the art galleries in the neighborhood due to the pandemic and escalating rents,” says Hutinet. Of course, D.C. is known to most outsiders for its rich museum culture, but residents support an eclectic and robust local art scene, which East City’s fair aims to uplift. Hutinet adds, “In essence, the Capital Art Book Fair is a catalyst for cultural enrichment, economic vitality, and community cohesion. It’s an opportunity to showcase Capitol Hill’s rich cultural fabric, support local businesses, and celebrate the arts in a way that resonates both locally and internationally.” The Capital Art Book Fair runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 6, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 7 at Eastern Market’s North Hall, 225 7th St. SE. artbookfair.eastcityart.com. Free. —Serena Zets 

Monday: Curtis Sittenfeld on Romantic Comedy via Zoom

Are you in the mood for love? Writer Curtis Sittenfeld sure is as she continues her press tour for Romantic Comedy, one of the hottest books of 2023. The rom-com novel’s much-awaited paperback tour brings Sittenfield to East City Bookshop this week via Zoom where she’ll discuss Romantic Comedy with Elissa Sussman, author of the acclaimed novel Funny You Should Ask. Sittenfeld’s writing captures the neurosis, absurdity, and joys of being a modern woman with incredible specificity and clarity and in Romantic Comedy Sittenfeld is at her best as she writes about Sally Milz, a woman writer on a Saturday Night Live-esque late night show whose skits troll the real-life trend of male comedy writers ending up with gorgeous superstars (a la Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson, Dave McCary and Emma Stone, Pete Davidson and everyone). Sally is thrown off upon finding herself enamored with Noah Brewster, a pop star who comes to host the show. The book weaves sharp cultural commentary on gendered dating realities and expectations into a heartfelt romantic plot that leaves you rooting for Sally whether she ends up with Noah or not. Sittenfeld packed Sixth & I last spring for the book’s initial tour so don’t pass up the opportunity to hear her speak for free. You just might fall in love! Curtis Sittenfeld in conversation with Elissa Sussman starts at 7:30 p.m. on April 8 on Zoom via East City Bookshop. eastcitybookshop.com. Free. —Serena Zets 

Opens Tuesday: Peter Pan at the National Theatre

The classic musical Peter Pan lands at the National Theatre this month for a 12-day run. J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and its adaptations have been mainstays of all-ages entertainment for more than a century. Originally staged in 1954 with Mary Martin in the title role, this theatrical adaptation features music by Moose Charlap and Carolyn Leigh, and has proven to be the most popular of tellings. After 70 years, however, the story and show were in desperate need of updates: This all-new production features a revised book by Larissa FastHorse, a Native American playwright who has worked to remove Peter Pan’s incredibly offensive Native stereotypes. Additionally, this production features all the classic songs (including “I Gotta Crow,” “I Won’t Grow Up,” and “Neverland) as well as new songs by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jule Styne. Other prominent names on the team include choreographer Lorin Latarro and Emmy Award-winning Lonny Price in the director’s chair. With an intermission, the show’s run time is about 2 hours and 20 minutes and it’s selling out fast. Peter Pan opens April 9 and runs through the April 21 at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. broadwayatthenational.com. $59–$139. —Allison Shely 

Editor’s note: This post has been updated to correct the name of the documentary film Federal Stone.

Saturday and Sunday: The Music of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church

Although romantic-era composer Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) received the same education as her famous younger brother Felix Mendelssohn (best known for the ubiquitous “The Wedding March”), even her own father declared her musical output as “only an ornament” to her calling as a wife and mother. Despite her family’s indifference, she composed more than 400 musical works, though only a handful were published during her lifetime. She never received the recognition of her brother and usually played piano only in private settings. But this weekend Capitol Hill Chorale will present a concert devoted to Mendelssohn Hensel for Women’s History Month. Some of her works, such as “Easter Sonata,” which will be performed at the concert, were wrongly attributed to her brother for many years. In a phone interview, Radharani De, president of Capitol Hill Chorale, told City Paper there is something of a Fanny Renaissance at this moment: Last year, filmmaker Sheila Hayman—Mendelssohn Hensel’s great-great-great-granddaughter—released her documentary Fanny: The Other Mendelssohn and in January the Wall Street Journal published the article “The Rediscovery of Fanny Mendelssohn.” The Capitol Hill Chorale is excited to take part in this renaissance. “We’re pretty excited to be able to finally give her her due, because she was very prolific in her time,” says De, who credits the Chorale’s artistic director Frederick Binkholder for finding overlooked composers to highlight in their programming. “He does a really great job of programming music for us that has not gotten the attention that it should have in the choral world,” says De. “In June, we’ll focus mostly on [musical compositions by] Shaker women, including “Mother” Ann Lee, who was the founder of the Shaker community in the United States 250 years ago.” Capitol Hill Chorale, which has more than 100 members from across the DMV, will be joined by mezzo-soprano soloist Kristen Dubenion–Smith for the Music of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. Thirty minutes before the concert, Dr. Michael Cooper, biographer of both Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, will share a lecture on her life and music. The Capitol Hill Chorale presents the Music of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel at 7:30 p.m. on March 16, and 4 p.m. on March 17 at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 201 4th St. SE. capitolhillchorale.org. $25–$30; pay what you can and streaming options available. —Colleen Kennedy 

Starts Sunday: A Fine Madness Workshop at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Justin Weaks is one of the D.C. theater scene’s brightest young stars—garnering Helen Hayes Awards (2023’s Outstanding Lead Performer in There’s Always the Hudson) and nominations (2024’s Outstanding Supporting Performer for his work in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, for which WCP theater critic Chris Klimek called him “superb”)—and generally offering nuanced, authentic portrayals of characters in plays across the District. His performances are raw, riveting, intimate, and utterly arresting. A member of Woolly Mammoth’s company of artists, he is now writing and performing in A Fine Madness, which reflects on his experiences as a Black gay man living with HIV. Weaks has adapted prose and poems from his personal journals alongside movement and choreography, scientific data, affirmations, audience engagement, and more in this memoir-in-performance. “Receiving my diagnosis was a surreal, scary time with many unknowns. It felt like being sucked into a black hole and I couldn’t escape,” Weaks shared in a recent press release. “Telling my story is a liberating experience and an opportunity to begin moving forward. There is so much joy and life to be experienced and I’m finally ready to live again.” Knowing the beauty of Weaks’ performances when he embodies a fictional character, this workshop of his work in progress is also designed as a site of communal healing. Justin Weaks’ A Fine Madness workshop runs  March 17 through 24 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. woollymammoth.net. All seats pay what you can, starting at $5. —Colleen Kennedy 

Through March 23: Jo Levine at Studio Gallery

Grasses may be easy to overlook, but to photographer Jo Levine, they offer plenty to contemplate. Levine prefaces her exhibit at Studio Gallery by noting that some grasses seem “bent over in acceptance of their fate”—that is, their inevitable disappearance at the end of the growing season. Yet, she adds, while individual blades of grass will vanish, the broader community of grass serves as “a reminder that life as a whole continues on.” Levine’s Contemplating Grasses consists of just seven images, but each helps support the metaphor. One image offers a pleasant mix of beige, green, and purple strands; another depicts a bundle of wispy shoots poking out from an indifferent, rocky floor. A third shows shoots curling like Katsushika Hokusai’s wave. Levine’s two finest images are “Transition,” a largely monochromatic study in beige that features dying blades of grass in artful curls that suggest those of ribbons for wrapping a gift, and “Nurturing the Future,” a green-and-beige symphony of wind-tousled stalks that has the inescapable texture of velvet. Jo Levine’s Contemplating Grasses runs through March 23 at Studio Gallery, 2108 R St. NW. Wednesday through Friday, 1 to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. studiogallerydc.com. Free. —Louis Jacobson

Ongoing: Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea at the National Museum of Asian Art

Spring may be looming, but there’s no bad time for tea. Running through 2026, Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea welcomes guests to explore Japan’s tea-drinking culture through a collection of tea bowls and ceramics on view. This exhibition showcases ceramics built by hand instead of a wheel, a uniquely Japanese process described as “knotting clay.” Sol Jung, NMAA’s Shirley Z. Johnson assistant curator of Japanese art, curated the exhibition. Fired in small indoor kilns at lower temperatures, these tea bowls were created using a “a slow, concentrated effort” by early Raku potters, according to Jung. As a result, these cultural forms have a playful look—often asymmetrical, iridescent, and visibly hand-molded—because “early Japanese potters weren’t aiming for perfection.” Jung’s favorite ceramic from the collection is a shallow black Raku tea bowl titled “Tagoto no Tsuki,” meaning “a moon in each rice field.” The name references a popular mountainous landscape in present-day Nagano. Not only does the bowl’s roundness evoke the moon, but when filled with green tea, it also evokes poetic imagery of the moon reflecting on the watery surface of the rice paddies. Though naming tea bowls was initially uncommon, the practice grew in popularity in the 16th century, demonstrating the evolution of Japanese ceramic artistry. Jung hopes that in addition to enjoying the different types of Raku bowls, guests will see how the knotting clay practice has “led to creative outbursts in the landscape of Japanese visual art over time.” Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea is on view through 2026 at the National Museum of Asian Art, 1100 Jefferson Dr. SW. Daily, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. asia.si.edu. Free. —Irene Bantigue

For Shanara Gabrielle, the newly announced producing artistic director of Theater Alliance, the performing arts serve a civic duty: creating communities of artists and informed citizens, sharing stories about social justice and opportunities for effective change, and opening up dialogues about contemporary topics. 

“Along with justice comes joy,” she says about socially engaged theater, “No matter how isolated, divided, and lonely we are in the world these days, I believe that we all know in our core, that we need to come into this space together to share stories and learn together, to be in a place where we’re not afraid and connect with other people.” 

Gabrielle moved to D.C. in 2017, and she has become an integral multihyphenate theater artist in the District, working with many of the region’s stages as a director, actor, and producer. If you’ve seen a show in the greater DMV during the past seven years, you’ve probably seen Gabrielle at work. An Iowa transplant, Gabrielle long ago realized that her heart was in regional theater: “It’s where the best art happens and it’s where the best service to a community happens, where an arts organization becomes vital.” 

Before she moved to the region, Gabrielle had already worked at theaters across the country in a variety of roles and established herself in the theater scene in St. Louis. Within days of arriving in D.C., she and her husband, Alec Wild, director of Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University, saw Word Becomes Flesh at Theater Alliance, a moving performance about a young Black man sharing letters to his unborn son, which incorporated hip-hop, dance, and music. She claims it remains in her personal top 10 “great theatrical experiences.” 

Now she calls her new role at Theater Alliance “a full circle moment.” 

“I’ve had the opportunity to really stretch my wings in acting, directing, and producing, really digging into the intersection between civic engagement and the arts, how theater can be of service and vital to our communities,” she says. “Those values just matched with Theater Alliance, this socially conscious, thought-provoking theater really rooted in the community.”

Theater Alliance—recognized for developing and producing new plays about contemporary topics and socially relevant issues—offers a chance to continue the meaningful work Gabrielle has been so deeply invested in while creating new opportunities, too. Already she has started working alongside outgoing artistic director Raymond O. Caldwell, and the two will overlap for his final six months until Gabrielle fully takes over leadership, which, according to DC Theater Arts, will be on July 1. She relishes the theater’s approach to “radical hospitality,” which, she explains, moves beyond accessibility to create “an exciting invitation that you can’t miss because it’s vital to your life.” In addition to being an arts leader, she is a generous collaborator who looks forward to using her connections across D.C.’s interconnected theater scene to continue to grow Theater Alliance as a brave space to collaborate and share new ideas. This includes hosting a series of artist open houses and the return of Hothouse, the organization’s development workshop and reading series for new works. 

“[Theater Alliance] is a place where I want to say, ‘Bring me all your dreams. Let’s dream big,’” she says. “This is a chance to stretch. We have a strong foundation already. I’m for pushing artistic boundaries and creating support for extraordinary, artistically excellent work on stage.”

As far as her own big dreams for Theater Alliance, Gabrielle is confident that she’ll be able to announce next season’s plays during the run of this season’s final play, a revival of Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience. She says, laughing: “I have had seven days to think about it so far.”