Joel Holmes>> Tonight, 22-year old pianist and recent Juilliard grad Jonathan Batiste will be performing at the Strathmore's Gudelsky Concert Gazebo as part of its summer concert series. 7 p.m. Free >> Stickman, a local jazz-fusion outfit that made a name for itself through the 1990s reunites tonight at Blues Alley for 8 and 10 p.m. sets. The band features Peter Fraize, head of GW's jazz program, on saxophone, drummer and Ellington School faculty......

One thing to be said for constant touring is that it's a very effective way to learn exactly what one's fanbase wants. When Delta Spirit started touring over a year ago in support of the Cold War Kids, they had an admirably high energy level and some fun percussion, but no songs that seemed particularly memorable. A year later, their gimmicks complement the songs rather than outshine them, and although Delta Spirit still falls into......

Karsh Kale We last heard from Karsh Kale (pronounced Kursh Kah-lay) with the release of Breathing Under Water, the talented producer/composer/percussionist's genre blending collaboration with Hindustani music's heir apparent, sitarist Anoushka Shankar. But apart from that recording, and a DJ set here and there at Science Club or Bossa, the District has not seen Kale perform in concert since 2003's Asian Massive tour. That will change on July 4, when the fireworks on the......

If you made it out to Mission of Burma's show at the Black Cat on Saturday night, it's likely you're still hearing those songs running through your head. If that's the case, it's probably because you can hear little else. The band may now be firmly entrenched in middle age, but don't tell them that there's a mellowing process that's supposed to go along with reaching your 50s. Saturday's show was quite possibly the loudest......

What is it about Bergen, Norway? The city of 250,000 is the home to numerous bands, including Kings of Convenience, Annie, Röyksopp, Sondre Lerche, and Datarock. The latter, a group of red jumpsuited goofballs, played Saturday at the Rock and Roll Hotel and did not disappoint. Half electronic, half guitar, the duo (which expands to a quartet on tour) lifts from ecclectic places, like the musical Grease ("Computer Camp Love"), Factory Records' funkier stuff ("Fa......

Bellman Barker MONDAY >> Provided any passing storms don't interfere, Fort Reno is back tonight. Indie rockers and Three Stars alums Bellman Barker are playing in the top slot, with the countryish The Moderate and jazz-punk experimentalists Gestures kicking things off. Free, 7:15 p.m. >> Some world music acts try to throw in too many different genres. Decide whether Rupa & the April Fishes, a San Francisco band, can pull off the multi-style approach......

The City Veins: Spencer Vliet (left), Aaron Tarr and Charles Gray. Photo by Darren Higgins When The City Veins first started in early 2007, they were a good band. A four piece with sincere musical ability, we took notice (and not just because one of them is also our Nats columnist). But after Adam Bayes exited the group, and left the remaining members, Aaron Tarr, Charles Gray and Spencer Vliet, to figure out how......

"I wanted to do a tribute to Shirley Scott, my mentor and a good friend who was very generous with me in my younger years." That is how powerhouse saxophonist Tim Warfield describes his latest recording, One for Shirley, a warm and loving tribute to the organist who passed away in 2002 due to heart failure brought about by her use of the diet medication, Fen-Phen. Warfield, who is based out of the Philadelphia area,......

All three of the songs on The Moderate's release, AM/FM, show a very strong imprint from singer/guitarist Jim Dempsey and drummer Drew Marks' home state of North Carolina. From Dempsey's twangy drawl to the songs' seemingly heat and humidity laden relaxed tempo, there's no question where this band's roots lie. The blues that they evoke on "Lost Boy", "Rock and Roll" and "Blue Eyes and Barflies" could make your puppy cry. The majority of The......

Omega Bugembe Okello >> Local mainstays The Redd Brothers, led by vibist Chuck Redd and pianist Robert Redd, celebrate the release of their latest album tonight at Blues Alley. Tickets to the 8 and 10 p.m. sets are $18 + $12.50 minimum/surcharge. >> On Thursday, head down to the Bossa Bistro & Lounge to check out recent Three Stars alum John Lee, as he plays with Improviso, a group that blends the improvisation of......

Wednesday: >> This edition of "The Beatdown" will be held at Geisha and feature the production prowess of Justus League member Khrysis (pictured). Joining him will be his Away Team compatriot, Sean Boog, as well as Kount Fif, Nick Da 1Da, Midas and DJ Nfinit. $10, 8 p.m. >> Bohemian Caverns once again plays host to an up and coming artist as a part of the Rhythm & Soul series. This week, San Francisco-based musician......

Silver Spring's new Fillmore music hall will be getting an $800,000 tax break over ten years under a law proposed by Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. The proposed measure applies to the county's arts districts in Wheaton, Silver Spring, and Bethesda, and a county memo says the only projects eligible for the tax break would be the Fillmore and any condos units in a Bethesda building, the Trillium, that are occupied by "certified" artists or......

Those of you who caught Motel's performance at Unbuckled 7 will no doubt remember the scorching axe work of John Lee. The self-described "Chinese-Irishman" is a fixture on the local music scene, playing with a multitude of bands around town. The 28-year old guitarist's journey began at the age of ten, when MTV hair bands like Warrant, Poison, and Motley Crüe inspired the young Lee. In high school, he became a fan of improvisational music......

New York's The Flail is a rarity in today's world in that they are an actual jazz band. While most ensembles are collections of musicians under the direction of a leader, or a group given a name solely for marketing purposes, the five members of this group have been a tight unit since their days as students at the Big Apple's New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music. This leads to another rarity in today's......

In the song "Elderly Women Behind The Counter In A Small Town", Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder sings, "I changed by not changing at all," a statement that also holds true for his band. Pearl Jam has made a career out of non-conformity, innovation and being one of the best live bands on the planet, and last night's show at the Verizon Center offered further proof that the band's endless summer shows no signs of slowing......

Middle Distance Runner has long been one of DCist's favorite local bands. They've been a Three Stars subject, an Unbuckled band, Unbuckled DJs, interview subjects countless times, recipe contributors and more to the site. And our main source of blog-space enjoyment always came from the wacky and wonderful Mr. Ian Glinka, the band's bassist. Through a note on MySpace this weekend, he announced that he's leaving the band. We talked with Ian this afternoon about......

The first full length album and follow up to Wake Up, Wake Up from D.C. foursome Red Racer covers a wide spectrum of sounds from early '80s ballads and '90s tunes of Tom Petty to radio-friendly post-punk outfits like Interpol. Front man Tom Townshend is a dead ringer for Paul Banks, and his unique and unusual vocals contribute to making this self-titled disc a complete polished pop package with no skipping necessary. The album kicks......

Sloan, doggedly plugging away at the elusive American market. The four guys in Sloan have always seemed like affable, well-adjusted fellows, which is a good thing, because if I were in that band, keeping my resentment at bay would probably be a full-time job. Canadian bands, even ones that share Sloan's affinity for 70s A.M. gold, are all the rage now, but in the mid-90s, when this Halifax, Nova Scotia quartet was trying to......

When the biggest names in jazz come to D.C., they generally play Blues Alley or the Kennedy Center, choosing the sterility of Georgetown or the concert hall setting and thereby only increasing the separation between jazz and the community from which it originated. But back in jazz's heyday, if you wanted to hear the best jazz in the District, you had to go to U Street. Unfortunately, with the death of Dr. King and......

The F Yeah Tour began as a music, comedy, and arts fest held in L.A. every summer, and this year it's going on tour, on a bus run by vegetable oil. Seven bands, mostly sharing a cut-and-paste DIY sensibility, played at the Black Cat last night: DCist fave Dan Deacon, Matt and Kim, The Death Set, Team Robespierre, Monotonix, Mannequin Men, and comedian Josh Fadem. The event also featured a table with voter registration, information......

Laura Burhenn has a beautiful voice. Pure, strong, clear, emotive. I've heard her live many times before, both as part of Georgie James and in solo performances, but her voice may never have sounded so astoundingly lovely as it did inside the acoustically perfect Sixth & I Historic Synagogue last night. And when Adele took the stage after her opener, she put the talented Burhenn to shame. Adele turned 20 years old last month, and......

Orchestra Baobab >> Tenor saxophonist and local native Elijah Balbed leads a group tonight at Twins Jazz. Call 202-234-0072 for set time and cover information. >> We already told you how much we loved their latest album, Made in Dakar, so now is your chance to catch Orchestra Baobab live. They will be performing in the dance hall at the Birchmere tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. $37.50 + Ticketmaster fees. >> Saxophonist and local favorite......

Let the joyous news be spread, the wicked old arsenic is finally dead. It's been a trying year for Fort Reno's summer concert series; from the initial panic to the slow realization that there was nothing actually to worry about, it's time to "dust off the arsenic," as Fort Reno's organizer Amanda MacKaye put it. The 2008 schedule has been officially announced, and it's looking like a great summer. Things get started next Monday, June......

MONDAY >> We're just going to quote directly from the Black Cat's write up of mainstage headliners Firewater, because it's pretty damned interesting: Firewater was birthed in a Brooklyn basement in the long, hot summer of 1997. Depressed, broke, and desperate, ex-Cop Shoot Cop leader Tod A tossed away a major label deal and a free meal ticket to launch what - at the time - was a crazy proposition: a punk band fueled by......

The local music community has come together several times over the past year and a half to support Callum Robbins, the son of local music mainstay J. Robbins and Janet Morgan. Cal was diagnosed with a genetic motor neuron disease called Type 1 SMA, or Spinal Muscular Atrophy. As explained on the DeSoto records page supporting Cal, The disease affects the brain's ability to communicate with the voluntary muscles that are used for activities such......

With June inevitably comes summer music. We're not just talking about the catchy pop singles you blast on your car radio with the windows rolled down, but also the songs that seem to drift from the speakers during those late-night talks with your friends on somebody's porch. Washington D.C.'s The Fairline Parkway exists in that dreamy space inhabited by bands such as Yo La Tengo and Grizzly Bear, where slide guitars mingle with the occasional......

So you were at the big R.E.M. show last night? Yea, verily. How was it? On balance -- awesome! The two Professional Journalists in my car rated it “a solid B” and a B+ on the way home. I might even go as high as an A-. It was the fifth time I’d seen R.E.M. perform a full set since 1995, and it was certainly the second-best, if not the best. What was so good......

It's not everyday that The Sugarhill Gang, Sisqo, and Dru Hill are hanging around a party at a house in D.C.'s Chinatown. The artists were in town yesterday to lobby, not for thongs or hip hopping to hippie, but for the Performance Rights Act, which would give terrestrial broadcast royalties to performers of songs. Currently songwriters and composers get royalties. The party, held in an ultramodern house, was organized by SoundExchange, a music industry non-profit......

Peter Hadar Wednesday: >> Peter Hadar's skills and versatility as an artist have caused a lot of people to take notice, especially his peers. He's on the road in support of his sophomore release, Fresh Attire. His set will take place at Bohemian Caverns. $TBA, 8 p.m. Thursday: >> DJ Nitekrawler holds another funk, disco, and Afrobeat party at Saint-Ex. Free, 10 p.m. Friday: >> She's probably the most highly regarded R&B singer over......

The Mancuso-Suzda Project >> One of the freshest jazz drummers to emerge in the past decade, Ari Hoenig leads a burnin' trio through 8 and 10 p.m. sets on Wednesday at Blues Alley. Tickets are $20 + $12.50 minimum/surcharge. >> Three Stars alums The Mancuso-Suzda Project will host a CD release party + performance on Wednesday at the Mansion at Strathmore. The show will include special guest MC Christylez Bacon and vibist Chuck Redd.......