Although the District was renowned for its tight-knit hardcore punk scene during the 1980s, the rock scene has been less unified since despite obvious talent. D.C. area fans of independent music will flock to various clubs around the city this weekend to take part in the second annual District's Awake! Music Festival. One of the fest's main goals is to bring the different branches of the D.C. scene closer together and to re-establish the District's musical reputation.
The fest's founder, Eric Boucher, has worked to revive the scene for quite some time. His Web site, bigyawn.net, has featured reviews of local and national bands and also features a compiled schedule of all upcoming shows in the D.C. area. After realizing he had a healthy collection of connections with bands, owners of venues and others necessary for a successful music festival, he decided to take on the project.
After getting local venues The Rock and Roll Hotel, DC9, The Velvet Lounge and The Red & The Black on board, Boucher organized a festival similar to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. The festival will take place in many venues across the city with a lineup of bands that tend to be below the radar. The philosophy of incorporating national and local acts featured on bigyawn.net was apparent in the fest's format. Last year, the festival was a success with an impressive lineup, including local acts Travis Morrison (ex-Dismemberment Plan member), Laura Burhenn (of Georgie James), Bellflur and Let's French, as well as out-of-towners Cold War Kids, Geologist (of Animal Collective) and Cloud Cult.
But this year, everything is bigger and better. Quite a few bands included on the DAM! Fest bill are prominent enough on the national scene to attract a fair share of attention to the event. Cat Power, who has been recording acoustic folk for more than a decade, has received positive media attention with her 2006 record "The Greatest." A Place to Bury Strangers, the self-proclaimed "loudest band in New York," is currently indie rock media darlings with their caustic yet strangely catchy walls of synth-generated noise. Others include Cloud Cult, So Many Dynamos and stellastarr*.
The festival is seeing a return of some of last year's favorite locals. Morrison recently released his sophomore LP, "All Y'all," which mixes almost every musical idea one could possibly think of, resulting in an irresistibly quirky pop album. The Beanstalk Library will come around for some more light and breezy folk, and Exit Clov are sure to impress with an odd blend of pop punk and the D.C.-esque atonality that bands like Fugazi made famous. Other popular locals set to play this year's fest include These United States, Drunken Sufis and Vandaveer.
Some other advances that the festival is making this year include the option to buy a $35 festival pass, which allows the holder into any of the 10 separate shows that will occur over Oct. 11 to 15. Also, this year, the fest will take place at The Rock and Roll Hotel, DC9 and The Red & the Black in addition to three new venues - the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue will host the stellastar*, Pela, Exit Clov and Sanawon show; Iota Club and Café in Arlington will host Telegraph and Arboretum, and the 9:30 club will host Cat Power with her Dirty Delta Blues band and The Childballads. Much of this expansion of including new venues as well as more nationally prominent artists was the result of the decision to take on a few music-friendly sponsors, including insound.com, the Live Nation booking company, WOXY.com and Filter magazine.
Overall, the fest will be improved in almost every way over last year's and should be a great look into D.C. music as well as some talent from around the country. Visit damfestival.org for complete details, including band profiles and venue schedules.
