Music me in DC

February 3, 2018 12:29 PM

It's too cold for weeknight meanderings so I'd like to try and spend some evenings listening to live music. Where can I go to see, specifically, classical piano, string quartet, blues, funk, or bluegrass shows in DC, on weeknights, for under $20? Alternatively, what's the most exhaustively comprehensive listing of music events in DC? Needs to be in DC proper, not MD/VA suburbs.
posted by capricorn to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

Best answer: One resource I find useful is the Free in DC blog. There's a lot of noise, but it does catch some pretty neat stuff that I find nowhere else.

Now that DCist is dead, I'll also be following this thread with interest.
posted by General Malaise at 12:44 PM on February 3, 2018

Best answer: Oh, also the Brightest Young Things Agenda is another good resource. It's the most exhaustive listing of events in general that I've encountered, but it doesn't always catch the smaller things.
posted by General Malaise at 12:46 PM on February 3, 2018

Best answer: If you don’t get 730DC, I hear about a ton of random stuff that way.
posted by jameaterblues at 12:51 PM on February 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

Kennedy Center has their Fortas Chamber Series, which seems to run about $45 except when it’s not selling. I just got an email about $29 tickets for an upcoming performance. That’s almost your price range.

Also you should get on the WPAS mailing list. Some of their stuff fits the bill you describe.
posted by fedward at 12:58 PM on February 3, 2018

Also outside your price range, but Greensky Bluegrass is guaranteed to rock the Anthem to pieces tonight. I wish I could go. They are a blast.
posted by juliplease at 2:05 PM on February 3, 2018

Buy Friday's WaPo. It has a list of just about everything playing in just about every club in the metro DC area in the Weekend section. I'm pretty sure they still divide it up into DC/VA/MD.
posted by kuanes at 3:27 PM on February 3, 2018

Best answer: Keep in mind that there is a free performance at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage every evening at 6 p.m. (Acts include everything from performances by the National Symphony Orchestra to poetry slams.) There's a schedule on their website.
posted by gudrun at 5:00 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

One of the new venues at the wharf, Pearl Street Warehouse, seems to mostly traffic in Americana, bluegrass and blues.
posted by cyphill at 4:25 AM on February 4, 2018

Best answer: Besides Pearl Street Warehouse, a lot of bluegrass hits The Hamilton. Gypsy Sally’s specializes in the blues-rock-country-folk-bluegrass spectum. There’s also a ton of bluegrass at the 9:30 Club; some of it is cheap.

Chamber music in this price range is harder. Keep an eye out for performances in churches and synagogues, and for random Smithsonian events.
posted by musicinmybrain at 5:24 AM on February 4, 2018

Best answer: The Showlist is definitely the most comprehensive listing of music events in DC (also includes NoVa and MD). I consult it every week!
posted by deeparch at 6:33 AM on February 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Blues at Westminster Church in SW. Mondays. $5.
posted by jindc at 12:57 PM on February 4, 2018

Best answer: I know the National Gallery often have chamber music in their atrium. Other museums and galleries might also do this.

Anderson House, right by Dupont Circle metro, have free concerts in their hilariously elaborate faux-Baroque music room. Some are classical, some less so. Their museum is also quite fun to look around.
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:31 PM on February 4, 2018

Best answer: The Katzen Arts Center at American University often has musical performances that are free or low-cost ($5-10).

I used to be an usher there, and I really liked the end of semester performances of music majors whose concerts were their final projects. Lots of cool stuff.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 7:45 AM on February 5, 2018