What do you get when you book over a hundred bands to play in six different venues in one weekend all for free? If it were anyone but Dave Mann behind the wheel, it would have been a nightmare. Luckily the Sweet Tea Pumpkin Pie Festival lived up to every expectation and played into the ear drums of DC locals so well that Dave is considering a second festival in October. If October's plans are anything like June's, we might see a city takeover.


Mittenfields
Hiding Places
The Last Monarchs Pan Galactic Straw Boss

I got the chance to work with a few very talented local photographers to shoot that weekend including Eddie Diego, Mark Taylor and David Bersch. Check out Sweet Tea's flickr photos here.

An agreement between Vitaminwater and Brightest Young Things put an unassuming warehouse located at 14th and Flordida on the map as a major collaborative art space from May 20th to June 17th.

For those of you out there that don't know, Charm City Art Space is an integral part of Baltimore's art community, providing a drug & alcohol free space for artists to display and perform. It also gets packed as hell once you book a few amazing bands, so get there early.

From Connecticut, Hostage Calm takes the stage.


Boston's own Defeater opened up their set to the sold-out venue with "The Red, White & Blues."

A lot has happened the past couple weeks and I've been swamped. Being a grown-up requires you to have more time than is available on the clock. I could use some sort of time travel device or an intern.

Virginia has never been my preferred destination to see a show but if bands like Drawbridges and The Cassettes are playing - you'd better believe I'd travel the metro miles. On April 28th The Cassettes continued their return tour, landing at Iota Cafe in Arlington.

Joseph Jakuta appeared unassuming at first, dressed in a suit and murmering into the mic. But as soon as he hit the play button on his laptop, Jakuta and Carl let loose skits in falsetto, shrieks, shouts, screams, and operatic singing over thumping midi beats. This guy possessed the stage, dancing along with abandon, played a flute and paced in a circle.


True to the night, Drawbridges brought out their unique music to the stage, a combination of sounds from cellist Julie Bromberg, violinist Claire White, french horn Justin Higgins, and guitarist Dave Mann.



If you've ever held a deep love for Gogol Bordello, you will love The Cassettes. This band fills the stage with ecclectic musicians dressed to the 9's in old world European flair. What seemed like the end of this band was brought back with a fury. Lead guitarist Shelby Cinca introduced additional operatic singers to cross the stage and by the end of the night, the audience was amazed.

This Saturday was Sinking Ships Episode I - Baltimore Invades Burtonsville at Chapalas, a succession of shows from the kids who brought you Thug Mansion, Scumbag Nation, The Get Down, The Kennel and the Stronghold Series. If you've survived this night, you know how brutal it was.

Whenskiesaregray set the stage with Charm City fury. Singer & guitarist Brandon Winter's merciless vocals fused with Mike Harker's ripping guitar & detonating drumming by Jon Cole led the charge for bassist Jaysin Thompson's last show. This post-hardcore band is looking for a bassist, so contact them and join the ranks if you're interested.





Packing their own brand of screamo/post-hardcore, Hyattsville's own Voyage in Coma knocks the audience back with their surging wave of sound. Heartwrentching lyrics are screamed by vocalist Steven Kroll and reveal the darker side of the human experience. Guitarist Henry Mills, also known in the DC area for his powerful and political poetry, guitarist Ryan Carmody, and drummer Billy Saunders amalgamate volumes of intimate complexity with their new bassist, David Krasner. These guys are unyielding, interlacing hard hitting songs that blast ahead and pause for brief moments of refreshing clear tones.

Voyage in Coma is undoubtedly one of my favorite bands and they're releasing their album, You Appear Alongside Me, in May 2011. Until then you can download their first track, Predation for free. You can thank me later, it's the gift that keeps on giving.

On Friday I shot Carbon's Earth Day Eco Fashion Show at Woodley Park. In honor of Earth day, Katherine Limon hosted the Carbon DC's Eco Fashion Show, flaunting collections from designers Auralis Studios and Filili. Part of the show was donated to DC Threads, a local volunteer crafts collective.

The evening opened up with light refreshments and wine, welcoming in both the DC fashion elite and artists from around the country. The models wore a combination of free-flowing clothing and accessories, as Katherine put it, to "show you can be fashionable and eco friendly without having to wear burlap sacks."

Eco responsible & fashion conscious, Carbon DC is a stop away at Woodly Park metro. Make sure you stop by to browse or take a peak at Jennifer Miller's new necklace line!