Huge thanks to everyone who came out and danced with us on Sunday at Beats Maneuver at 12|30. We hope you had an amazing time! Major thanks to Jephté Guillaume for delivering an amazing set on the upper level, to Ramirez for pulling this one together, to Drew Hogans and UDP Music for all the hard work and help give the sound an extra boost, to our local support KayLaSoul and Baronhawk Poitier for bringing the heat on the lower level, to Kochi & Katrina Mir for keeping it real on the door all night long, and to all the bar and security staff at 12|30 for helping everything go smoothly. I especially enjoyed going back to back with Baronhawk Poitier on the lower level. Always great to vibe off super talented DJ! I hope we can do it again soon. With another great celebration of house music at Beats Maneuver behind us, we’re heads down planning our next moves, so watch this space for more Beats Maneuver news coming soon!
In case you missed it, here’s last Saturday’s DC House Grooves Show on Underground Quality Radio with me, Katrina Mir and Ramirez. 2.5 hours of quality underground tunes. Really feeling the vibe of this one, going some really interesting places. We’ve got things sounding real nice down the studio now, which helps keep things on point!
Another amazing line up of events this weekend, Thursday through Sunday. Check the Top Picks links below for the full list for each day. Just click the link to see the event list over on Facebook. For those of you interested in production and sampling, take a look at Sonia Maria‘s Sampling Workshop at Rhizome on Saturday afternoon. Looks like a super interesting exploration of sampling culture from hip-hop through electronic dance music. If you’ve got some free time on Saturday afternoon and want to learn more, the workshop is free with RSVP, although a donation of $10 is recommended.
Highlights for the weekend include Uncle Benny’s with Grant, Joe L & Benoit and Late Night Mischief with Fred Everything, Team Zapata and Philco on Friday.
On Saturday LoSoul with Navbox at Flash will be quality, as will Deep Sugar with Wayne Davis open to close at Club 1722 in Baltimore.
On Sunday, I recommend The House that U Built with Vanniety Kills, The Elders and Raptorstein at El Techo followed by Sam Burns and Hold Tight: Better Listen 12 Release Party at Eighteenth Street Lounge. All quality options!
Here’s are the Top Pick links for the weekend, Thursday through Sunday. Plenty to keep you busy!
Sorry about not posting anything last week; just had too much on, and couldn’t find the time. Gonna be keeping things short and sweet this week. Before I get into this week’s Top Picks of the best underground house and electronic music events and around Washington DC this weekend, I’ve got news of our next Beats Maneuver event. Hot on the heels of our season of summer rooftop parties at Public Bar, this Columbus Day weekend we’ve teamed up with Roots & Spirits, UDP Music and Vibe to bring you an epic celebration of real house music across two dance floors, featuring Jephté Guillaume (Tèt Kale Recordings, Shelter Recordings, Ibadan), Baronhawk Poiter (TNX), KayLaSoul and residents Ramirez & Andy Grant (yep, that’s me!). Continuing our tradition of booking quality, organic house music artists who you don’t often see booked in Washington DC, we’re super excited to hear Jephté Guillaume performing live! If you’re not familiar with Jephté, get familiar! It’s going to be a really special night, and because it’s a holiday weekend, we’ll be going late, until 4am. So when and where is all this magic going to happen? Sunday October 7 at 12|30 on 9th Street NW. It’s a great new spot with a quality sound system and a great vibe, so head over to Eventbrite now to grab your tickets, and we’ll see you on the dance floor on October 7. No work that Monday, so no excuses!
Sounds like fun, right? Well, before we get there, we’ve got to get through this weekend, and there’s a whole host of quality events to keep those feet tappin’ on the dance floor. Thursday night, celebrate Solomon Sanchez‘ birthday as he opens from Henrik Schwarz (Live) at Flash, then on Friday, kick off your evening at Sunset & Chill VIII before heading to the warehouse for SEQUENCE.887_Developer & Mary Yuzovskaya. Saturday night, celebrate 3 years of LENG with Martyn & Djrum, or for the very best in quality house music, head to Baltimore to celebrate 15 years of Deep Sugar with Ultra Naté, Lisa Moody, Donna Edwards, The Elders and all the usual Deep Sugar suspects. Miss you guys! Sunday, all roads lead to Eighteenth Street Lounge for Sam the Man Burns’ weekly residency and Sundays Rooftop with Detroit’s finest Norm Talley and Benoit. Can’t wait to hear Norm throw down!
Here’s my full list of Top Picks for this weekend. Click the link for each day to see the full event list over on Facebook.
That’s it for this week’s DC House Grooves Top Picks. Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to grab your tickets to Beats Maneuver with Jephté Guillaumeon October 7, a party you really don’t want to miss. See you on the dance floor!
Big thanks to everyone who came out to Beats Maneuver with DJ Heather and Team Zapata on Sunday! Another super fun time on the rooftop at Public Bar! We’re taking a few weeks off with Beats Maneuver, but we’ll be back on Sunday August 12 with an epic line up hosted by New York’s finest Rissa Garcia, making her Washington DC debut. Not to be missed! I also want to give a big shout out to DJ Soul for last Saturday’s Skate Fever! at Anacostia Skate Pavilion. An amazing idea, and whole lot of fun! Great sets from Hot Coffee, Katrina Mir, DJ Soul & Benoit, and it was nothing short of amazing seeing Katrina Mir throw down a DJ set in roller skates! The next Skate Fever! is on September 3, so mark it in your calendar, dust off your roller skates, and get ready to groove at the roller disco. And if you don’t have skates, don’t worry! Skate rentals at the Anacostia Skate Pavilion are 100% free.
Ok, on to this weekend. Got a bunch of gigs to get ready for this weekend, so will have to make this quick. Friday night, Katrina Mir and I will be opening up the room at U Street Music Hall for Anthony Naples and local heroes Rush Plus at what promises to be an amazing night of music. Spinning at U Street Music Hall is always a joy, and we can’t wait to set the tone for the evening. Tickets are just $10, in advance or on the door. Hope to see you there!
Then on Saturday, we’re at it again, bringing the sunny disco vibes to the rooftop at The Embassy Row Hotel at the Elevate Rooftop Pool Party alongside Zamkov and Tony Smooth. The perfect way to spend your Saturday afternoon and evening, dancing, sipping cocktails by the pool on the rooftop as the sun sets, with the sound track provided by a solid line up of local talent. Needle drops at 2pm, so grab your bathing suit and your sunscreen, and we’ll see you on the rooftop by the pool.
Saturday night, we’ll be at it again on the DC House Grooves Show on Underground Quality Radio with the always amazing DJ Ramirez (Roots & Spirits). The show kicks off at 10pm ET, and you know what to expect: quality, deep, underground tunes served up fresh from the wax.
One last thing before this week’s DC House Grooves Top Pick links, a new Meet the Locals podcast from Steve Kirn. A welcome change of pace from recent mixes on the podcast, this one is 80 minutes of hypnotic dark techno, not too fast, just the way we like it.
You can catch Steve Kirn next at Blueprint featuring Monix alongside Sequence‘s Ron Jackson at Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club on July 28.
OK, on to this week’s DC House Grooves Top Pick links. Just click the link for each day to see my list of events for each day. Wish I had time to compile them all here, but there’s just so many great events happening these days, I just don’t have enough hours in the day to list them all here.
Highlights for Thursday include Playlist with Jubilee & Hakob at Eighteenth Street Lounge and Headroom followed by Cadence with Total Science , Bachelors of Science and West Coast legend Onionz at Flash. Serious business all round!
Friday night we’ll be getting down with Rush Plus and Anthony Naples at U Street Music Hall, but later on we’ll be heading over to wish Uncle Benny a very happy 35th birthday at Uncle Benny’s 35th Birthday Express with Detroit’s Daniel Andres & Benoit at Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club.I mean, just look at the flyer… I mean, you’ve got to, right?
For after hours action on Friday, head to the warehouse for Sequence.734 with Erika, Sophia Saze, Arthur Kimskii& Associate. Always an amazing crowd at Sequence, real techno for the heads. Advance tickets recommended.
Saturday, there’s just too much to choose from: Eddie C at Darkroom in Baltimore, Deep Sugar Artscape Marathon Session with Ultra Naté, Lisa Moody, Wayne Davis and Mookie Brock at Factory 17, Baltimore, Sarah Myers all night long at El Techo, The NeedlExchange with In Training on the Grand Ancestor sound system everyone’s favorite warehouse location, DMV Deep‘s inaugural shindig at U Street Music Hall and Jake the Rapper at Flash, and that’s not even everything. You’re gonna need to make some tough decisions! Eddie C is always on point, but if you can’t deal with the trip to Baltimore, I’d say you can’t go wrong withThe NeedlExchange with In Training on the Grand Ancestor sound system.
Sunday is an easy choice: house heads head to Eighteenth Street Lounge for Sundays Rooftop with Javonntte (live), Daniel Andres & Benoit. Javonntte‘s one of the most prolific producers of quality house music right now, and every one of his releases is an instant purchase for me. Always a Javonntte release in my bag! Can’t wait to see what he’s got lined up for us on the patio at ESL this Sunday.
…and if you’re looking for a Sunday dose of techno, head to Public Bar for Younan Music‘s Rooftop Sessions with Boris, Saeed Younan and Oliver Caine. Always a good time on the rooftop at Public Bar!
Right.. gotta sign off now. Need to pick out records for Friday night and get some tracks ripped for Saturday. There’s so many more great parties this weekend that I just don’t have time to give the attention they deserve, so make sure you check the Top Pick links above, and apologies if I haven’t covered your party here. I try and spread the love as best I can! I’ll be back with more DC House Grooves Top Picks next week, same time same place. See you on the dance floor!
Just about recovered from another amazing weekend on the dance floor right here in the District, excited for the next one! Katrina Mir and I had an amazing time at U Street Music Hall on Saturday with the Deep Sugar crew, throwing down a set of pure disco bliss to get the party started. Wayne Davis, Lisa Moody and our very own local super star Ultra Naté, fresh off the plane from Ibiza, all brought their A games; the energy in that room was incredible! We may not have The Paradox anymore, but the legendary Deep Sugar magic is still intact. The high point of the evening was a live PA from house diva Dawn Tallman, and wow, did she deliver! Don’t take my word for it, check out the video below.
Huge thanks to Ultra for inviting me and Katrina to open the night, and to the whole Deep Sugar crew for their warmth, energy and professionalism, contributing to an amazing night for everyone! The next Deep Sugar is Lisa Moody‘s birthday celebration at Baltimore Sound Stage on June 30, with Ultra Naté, Lisa Moody, Wayne Davis, The Elders (miss you guys!), Michael Joyner and a live performance from Michelle Weeks. Mark it in your calendar and get your ass to Baltimore on June 30!
So what am I so excited about for this weekend? Well apart from all the amazing events happening Thursday through Saturday (more on those soon), we’ve got the third edition of our Sunday rooftop charity event Beats Maneuver this Sunday, featuring none other that former Smartbar resident Miles Maeda with support from Beats Maneuver residents yours truly Andy Grant, Kochi and local special guest Aaron Sparks. The weather was not our friend for the last Beats Maneuver with Trinidadian Deep at Public Bar, but the forecast for Sunday is looking like sunshine all day long, so join us on the rooftop at Public for a pure house music workout in the sunshine to close out your weekend. If you find DC House Grooves a useful resource, if I’ve supported your events on these here pages, why not return the favor and come out and support Beats Maneuver? As always, we’ll donating a portion of the proceeds to charity, so it’s a great time for a great cause. We’re only charging $5 cover for this one, a great deal for a line up of this caliber. Please RSVP on the event page, and we’ll see you on the rooftop this Sunday!
Right, here are this week’s DC House Grooves Top Picks, featuring all the best underground house and electronic music events in and around Washington DC, Thursday through Sunday. Just click the link for each day to see the full list over on Facebook.
Highlights for this weekend include Playlist with Jubilee and special guest Sarah Myers at Eighteenth Street Lounge on Thursday, then on Friday, I recommend heading up to Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club for Reflections with the homies DJ Nav, Joe L, Steve Kirn and Jandro. With a line up like that, you can’t go far wrong.
If what you’ve got in mind for Friday is the opposite of an intimate music session at Jimmys, then I’ve got just the thing for you. While I don’t usually include event at Echostage on these page, because let’s face it, they hardly quality as underground, I’ll make an exception for this Friday, as none other that the man, the legend, Carl Cox will be gracing the stage for an extended set with support from local hero Saeed Younan. Carl Cox was resident at the first club I attended regularly back in the late eighties, the Zap Club in Brighton, England, and it’s amazing to see how far he’s come. $40 advanced tickets are still available, grab yours now.
Up in Baltimore this Friday, the 4 Hours of Funk crew will be celebrating their 9 year (!) anniversary at The Windup Space. Congrats to Graham Hatke and Fleg for keeping it going so long! If you’re in the neighborhood, put this one down on your list.
Saturday night, I recommend you kick off your evening at Flash, which hosts Traumer with support form Jus Nowhere and KayLaSoul. Up in the Green Room, it’s the debut of We Dig Vinyl, a celebration of music in my favorite medium. The debut event features We Dig Vinyl founders Elliott Sloan and Wade Hammes, alongside Joss. Please show your support! Down in the bar, it’s another edition of Juice with Jacq Jill and StrikeStone!
For afters on Saturday, head to the warehouse for ROAM Triple Threat Lisa x Jett x Juana, featuring ROAM residents DJ Lisa Frank and Jett Chandon with Discwoman‘s Juana going back to back to back all night long. Advanced tickets are only $5 for what promises to be a quality late night / early morning at the spot.
Now I know you’re all coming out to support us at Beats Maneuver with Miles Maeda at Public Bar on Sunday, but if you just want to kick back and listen to tunes in a social media free setting, I recommend checking out U Street Music Hall‘s new regular Sunday listening event The Universal Listening Room. Tunes from all genres from Will Eastman and guest selectors, played in their entirety, all night long. A great concept, which I hope will be a great success.
That’s it for this week’s DC House Grooves Top Picks. See you on the Public Bar rooftop this Sunday! Failing that, you know where to find us, same time, same place next week, for all the best info on what’s going down on the dance floor in Washington DC.
