Whoa, have you walked by the old Borders bookstore at 14th and F St, NW lately? The huge windows are not covered and reveal the much anticipated Hamilton (to be open 24/7 with an 800 person capacity) from the Clyde’s group:

Founding father, mover, shaker, lover & dueling politico, Alexander Hamilton’s vision for America helped it to become the world’s venue for opportunity and success.

Washington DC’s newest destination for music and entertainment is dedicated to celebrating the talent and passion of America’s best artists. DC is a city where polish and sophistication have been charmed by a bohemian spirit creating a new thriving artistic underground.

The Hamilton will offer local, national and international musicians the unique opportunity to entertain a city that is never short on opinions, all within earshot of The White House.

Check out the renderings of the music space here.

And here’s a glimpse from street level:



Photo by PoPville flickr user rpmaxwell

From a DCPL press release:

“The DC Public Library now offers library cardholders access to more than 2 million songs to download on their MP3 players. Library users can keep the music they download. The files never expire.

Music from Sony Music’s vast music collection and more than 10,000 independent artists are available at the library. Library users with valid library cards can download up to three music tracks each week — 156 songs a year —at no cost from the Library’s web site, dclibary.org. Songs can be searched by artist, song title and genre.”


The following was written by Lina Khan with photographs by Alison Klein. If you have a show you’d like to see reviewed send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail

With a sound so distinctly urban, Phantogram‘s small-town origins come as a surprise. The self-described “street beat/psyche pop” duo has earned a reputation for hipness since the 2010 release of their debut album Eyelid Movies, recorded in a barn by their very rural Greenwich, New York hometown.

Back on tour with Nightlife EP, the band played to a full house at Black Cat Wednesday night. A smooth mix of electronic loops, synth beats, and hip hop evocations, Phantogram professes an eclectic range of influence – old soul, French pop, shoegaze – that fuses subtly on their recordings. Live, though, that range flattened, producing a sound highly energetic but rarely powerful.

Keyboardist Sarah Barthel’s cool, breathy croon briefly came through on “16 Years,” a catchy electro-pop track, but remained mostly overpowered by percussion. “Mouthful of Diamonds” brought out the band at its strongest: Barthel’s confident vocals, guitarist Josh Carter’s tender riffs, and a pulsating backdrop of synth beats that roll unremittingly. The casual synthesis was lent depth by the single line “I wish I could believe,” repeated with a simplicity that verges on hypnotic.

Continues after the jump. (more…)


This great mural is from the side of the Sewell Music Conservatory on Kennedy St, NW. I especially dig the mix of old and new.



Junior Marvin (left) headlines Jamaican Joe’s Grand Opening Festivities

Well this is very cool. Thanks to a reader for sending the shot. Last we learned that Bistro 18 was becoming a Jamaican Joe’s at 2420 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan. Sat. night they had some grand opening festivities and headlining was Junior Marvin formerly of the Wailers. The man used to play with Bob Marley.


From an email:

“Among the 125+ bands that will be performing in and around the U St. Corridor and in Logan Circle for this FREE music festival are Sleepy Vikings (Tampa, Florida), Bird Call (NYC), The Hipstones (AUSTRALIA via NYC), Drop Electric (DC), Nunchucks (DC), Johanna and the Dusty Floor (AUSTRALIA via NYC), Shark Week (DC), Dangerosa (DC) and that’s just for starters.”

More info including complete list of the festivities found here.

And for those who have Monday off – have a great 3-day! And don’t forget about the metro closures.


Wilco is playing Merriweather on Sept. 25th and I’m psyched to be able to give away 2 tickets. Though to be honest I hate giving away these tickets because I love Wilco but I hope this will make up for my being away last week. I’ll announce a winner on Friday afternoon. To enter just let me know your favorite Wilco song/album/story or just tell us a random good story about anything or, as always, you can just let me know why you want to go in the comments. Good luck!


A few folks have been writing in noticing the construction going on inside 2917 Georgia Ave, NW. At one point this former pharmacy space was looking to become a a liquor store but a new alcohol application permit now says The Enterprise will be:

“New Multi-Purpose Facility. Jazz Lounge with live performing art. Serving sandwiches/soups. Occupancy load of 88. Summer Garden with 8 seats.”

If it’s anything like HR-57 this’ll be great!


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