Have Music, Will Travel

Continent-Hopping in DC's Live Music Scene.

By Alexandra Walker

Although it has helped record companies market international music to uninitiated American ears, world music, as a concept, has outlived its usefulness. Filing artists such as Senegal's Baaba Maal, who blends hip-hop elements with traditional Senegalese sounds, under the amorphous category ignores the sonic contours of his music. Generally, Americans interested in world music have some grasp of world geography and hunger for information about the musical traditions influencing the artist's sound.

DC residents take this understanding of international music a step further. Many have visited, lived in, or were born in the musician's country. The steady influx of immigrants, the diplomatic community, and the concentration of nostalgic former Peace Corps volunteers and homesick World Bank employees perform and patronize a variety of international music genres.

Where to Go

Fortunately, some of the best music in DC is free. Given the District's status as barely more than a protectorate of the United States, it's no surprise that the best of the publicly funded music programs come not from the city but from the federal government. Federal tax dollars help the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center bring world-class performers to the city all year.

In a recent two-week period, the city received two free performances hailing from completely different parts of the world: a Central Asian group, known as the Huun-Huur-Tu Throat Singers of Tuva, performed on the steps of the Freer; and playing at the Kennedy Center was Paris-based octet Les Yeux Noirs, whose music draws on the traditions of eastern Europe's gypsies and Jews.

A quick glance at the 'World' category of The City Paper music section finds restaurants, bars, concert halls, and big dance clubs all listed as venues for live international music.

To find out when big-name acts, such Baaba Maal, are coming to town, check this listing and concert venues:

Crossroads
A West Indian club in Bladensburg that announces blockbuster dancehall reggae acts by slapping posters on telephone poles more often than taking out ads in the paper.

George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium
Lisner hosts a promising lineup in fall and winter, including appearances by a Portuguese fado singer and Brazilian star Caetano Veloso.

Washington Performing Arts Society
This nonprofit arts organization has no facility, so WPAS uses concert facilities all over town. In addition to jazz, classical, and dance performances, WPAS seeks to showcase Latino performers and musical traditions.

Bigger Isn't Always Better

I'm biased toward more intimate spaces, where dancers must often compete with tables and chairs to get their groove on. In the below list, I also concentrate unapologetically on venues in the District. However, most immigrants move to the suburbs of Washington rather than the city itself, and occasionally good music sprouts in unlikely places.

International music lovers are encouraged to hop in their cars and mine the strip malls, restaurants, and community centers of the Maryland and Virginia suburbs to find Latin American cumbia, African soukous, and Pakistani qawwali.

Back in DC, Wednesday through Sunday nights are best to find live performances. Given the high number of African immigrants in the city, finding live African music is surprisingly hard, with the exception of reggae and the occasional Ethiopian performance.

Fans of flamenco music should check www.dcflamenco.com, an authoritative source of information on flamenco nights at restaurants throughout the region and well-known flamenco dancers and musicians coming to town.

Bukom Cafe
2442 18th Street NW
The sound of live reggae music spills out of this West African restaurant many nights of the week, but the schedule varies. A dependable location for reggae with a friendly dance floor, sometimes a lucky visitor will find a group playing other forms of Caribbean or African music, including soka and highlife.

Café Citron
1343 Connecticut Avenue NW
For flamenco guitar and dancing, visit this lively restaurant on Monday nights, one of the few places with a regular Monday performance.

Chi Cha Lounge
1624 U Street NW
Now a fixture on the new U, this darkly lit lounge filled with overstuffed couches showcases South American music from the Andes, salsa, Latin jazz, and, here and there, a performance of French music. There is always music on Sunday nights. Dancing is uncommon, but occasionally a few inspired patrons take the floor.

Rumba Café
2443 18th Street NW
The walls of this tiny restaurant are covered with religious icons, posters of Che Guevara, and work from local artists. True to its name, Afro-Cuban music usually dominates the stage on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Every Thursday night, Sin Miedo performs, described by one devoted fan as "lively, hip-shaking, toe- and finger-tapping" Latin jazz and salsa. On Friday nights, an outstanding Brazilian group plays a selection of classic bossa nova and samba.

Zanzibar
Soca acts from Africa and Caribbean reggae bands perform in this nightclub and restaurant located on the waterfront in Southwest.

Playing for Free

Kennedy Millennium Stage
The stage is hidden at one end of the cavernous lobby of the Kennedy Center. Most performances are early Wednesday and Saturday evenings, and all are free. Worth the hassle of schlepping to Foggy Bottom.

Smithsonian Freer Gallery
Musicians from South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East regularly populate the Freer's roster. Summer performances on the steps outside of the Freer Gallery number among some of the most spectacular in memory, but an indoor auditorium also exists. Other Smithsonian institutions, such as the Hirshhorn and the National Museum of History, have live music on an infrequent basis.

To learn more about international music, visit www.afropop.org or www.rootsworld.com.

The recommendations above are intended only as a starter kit for those in search of international music. If I've overlooked your favorite venue, if you know of an intimate DC location for live African music, or if you have any relatively pertinent comment, email me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Lacking the musical talent to master the tabla (or any other instrument for that matter), Alexandra Walker contents herself with a life of music fandom. During the day, she works as an editor.