Monday, December 6, 2010

DC Music Fest | DC's very first Local Music Festival arrives this May


You'll be hearing plenty about the DC Music Fest in this spot in the months to come, so some official background and information is in order. —Ed.


The wait is finally over. An annual music festival dedicated solely to celebrating the wealth and diversity of music talent in the Nation’s Capital has arrived! The all new DC Music Fest showcases the next generation of DC area music talent, as well as established acts, across ALL music genres in one unmissable day. Taking place on May 7th, 2011, at the newly-renovated The Yards Park, this inclusive, all-ages, open-air festival is set to transform Washington, DC’s South East waterfront into a local music mecca.

Uniting a stellar array of bands, DJs and singer-songwriters across multiple genres, DC Music Fest connects the best of Washington, DC’s music scene into one cohesive event. Headline acts include Billboard World Song Contest Winners Honor By August and acclaimed experimental hip-hop band Restoring Poetry in Music (RPM), with support from blues quintet Kelly Bell Band and hard rockers Along Those Lines. Guinness Battle of the Bands winner The Chris Collat Band will be opening the festival after competing against 16 other local bands to win the chance to perform at this prestigious event.

Born from a love of local music, the DC Music Fest was founded by music industry entrepreneurs Jonathan Chevalley and Ashley Estill. Chevalley says: ‘‘Over the years I’ve heard many people talk about the need for DC to have its own local music festival. After meeting Ashley, we finally took the initiative to make this happen. We really want to increase the status and support of homegrown talent in the area, and also provide an opportunity to improve the city’s creative retention. Washington, DC is a great place to live with a vibrant and eclectic music agenda. We need to celebrate this!”

All Washington, DC area musicians are encouraged to submit their music for performance consideration via the DC Music Fest website. The festival’s complete line-up will be announced in the following months.

The Vinyl District Holiday Takeover | The Superions


Feeling a wee bit 'ho-hum' or 'bah-humbug' (or something hyphenated) about singing the same old Christmas tunes year in and year out?

Well, fear thee not ye keepers of the yule log flame, The Superions—Fred Schneider, Noah Brodie and Dan Marshall—have come to your rescue with 11 future standards on their brand new holiday release, "Destination...Christmas!"

On their new holiday collection, the B-52's front man and his cohorts "perfectly capture the many moods of the season: despair, avalanches, deranged abominable snowmen, leaden fruitcakes, and of course, laughter."

Not content to put the period on the sentence just yet however, The Superions are joining us all week and handpicking an additional five Christmas favorites of theirs that portend to become holiday favorites of yours in the days to come.

It's the Superions' "Destination...Christmas!" and "Destination...Vinyl District!" all this week...



Grace Jones – The Little Drummer Boy | “The Little Drummer Boy” has always been one of our least favorite Christmas songs. Pa rum pum pum pum… boring! But Grace Jones does the best version on the Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special from 1988.



Grace is amazing! Why was this song never released? It’s similar in sound to her 1986 album “Inside Story” produced by Nile Rogers, which featured one of our favorite Grace Jones’ songs “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect For You).”


The Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special features lots of special guests including Charo performing “Feliz Navidad” or as Pee-Wee says, “Feliz Naviblah!”



TVD's Press Play


It's our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices and PR agencies want you to be hearing. We post you decide.

The Dust Engineers - Swallowed Up (And Washed Down) (Mp3)
Jaytram - You Know They Out (Mp3)
Crushed Stars - Eyeliner (Mp3)
The Savings and Loan - Swallows (Mp3)
Lady Lazarus - The Eye In The Eye of The Storm (Mp3)
Scattered Trees - Love and Leave (Mp3)
Peelander-Z - How Are USA (Mp3)
Young Man - Strangers (Mp3)
Christopher Paul Stelling - Flawless Executioner (Mp3)
Sweet Lights - Message on the Wire (Mp3)
Terry Ohms - Alone At Last (Mp3)
I Was A King - Someone is Waiting (Mp3)
Vacations - Blue Skies (Mp3)
IO Echo - When Lillies Die (Mp3)
Jonathan Boulet - You're A Animal (Mp3)
All approved for download!


TVD Pick of the Week:


Wildlife - Stand In The Water (Mp3)
Approved for download!