live music

Jewish Musicians to Perform at Artisphere

By ARLnow.com

Ladino music and Yiddish punk will be coming to Arlington this week.

Two Jewish-American musicians, Sarah Aroeste (see music video here) and Daniel Kahn (see music video, above), will be playing at Artisphere on Thursday as part of the two-week-long Washington Jewish Music Festival.

“Sarah Aroeste will open with the premiere of an unplugged version of her album ‘Gracia,’ which fuses the Judeo-Spanish sounds of Ladino music with rock, pop, jazz and funk,” said a festival press release. “Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird employ an inimitable mixture of radical Yiddish song, punk sensibility and re-worked klezmer melodies.”

“Bringing together punk-infused Yiddish from Daniel Kahn and Judeo-Spanish sounds of Sarah Aroeste will create an exhilarating and unique experience for our community,” said festival director Lili Kalish Gersch. “This will be a festival that appeals to music lovers of all stripes and all ages and should not be missed.”

The performances will take place at Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $20.

Tickets and the festival schedule are available online.

Sisqó to Perform at Mad Rose Tavern

By ARLnow.com

Sisqó, the Baltimore native best known for his 2000 hit single “Thong Song,” is scheduled to perform later this month at Mad Rose Tavern (3100 Clarendon Blvd) in Clarendon.

Sisqó, also of the R&B group Dru Hill, will be performing as part of an “I [Heart] the 90’s Party” at Mad Rose at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 28. The event will feature a performance by Sisqó and 90s music played by DJ Chris Styles.

An event calendar entry says there will be no cover charge, though it also advertises a $15 “cut line pass.” The page says Mad Rose will be offering “mad specials… priced like 90’s gas prices.”

Today’s Featured Event

By ARLnow.com

The following is today’s featured event from our new event calendar. Submit your event to the calendar here.

ulikClarinet Capers with Julian Milkis — Saturday, Jan. 12 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. — Hailed as one of the world’s greatest living clarinetists, Julian Milkis remains the only student of Jazz Legend Benny Goodman, and has been described as a dazzling soloist, chamber musician and jazz clarinetist. Milkis will perform at Artisphere’s Spectrum Theater with members of the National Chamber Ensemble: Kathryn Brake on piano, Leo Sushansky on violin, and Uri Wassertzug on viola.

Today’s Featured Event

By ARLnow.com

The following is today’s featured event from our newly-redesigned event calendar. Submit your event to the calendar here.

Holiday pops concert, “A Singers’ Blue Christmas” –Dec. 14 & 15 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. — Join the Alexandria Singers, the DC area’s premier pops chorus, for our annual holidays pops concert weekend as we weave pop and jazz arrangements of traditional holiday classics with new tunes that will instantly become your holiday favorites! Note 3 show times! Friday Dec 14th 7:30; Saturday Dec 15th 2pm AND 7:30pm! The concert will take place at Convergence (1801 N. Quaker Lane) in Fairlington. For tickets visit: https://shop.AlexandriaSingers.com

Today’s Featured Event

By ARLnow.com

The following is today’s featured event from our newly-redesigned event calendar. Submit your event to the calendar here.

National Chamber Ensemble’s Annual Holiday Concert — Dec. 16 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. — The National Chamber Ensemble (NCE) celebrates the spirit of the holiday season on Sunday, December 16 with a show for the whole family. The performance will feature great music, an international guest artist and outstanding young musicians. An annual tradition, the concert will include seasonal favorites like Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride”, a Hanukkah Medley and more. The event will take place at the Spectrum Theatre at Artisphere (1611 N. Kent Street).

Today’s Featured Events

By ARLnow.com

Starting today, ARLnow.com will be highlighting select events from our event calendar. This is the first of what will eventually be daily “featured event” listings. Submit your event to the calendar here.

Symphony Orchestra of Arlington Family Holiday Concert — Saturday, Dec. 8 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. — The Symphony Orchestra of Arlington (SOA) will present its “Family Holiday Concert” at the beautiful Arlington Temple United Methodist Church. Tickets are now on sale — $15 for adults and $10 for age 12 and under. Purchases are available online at www.symphonyorchestraofarlington.com or at the box office by calling (804)-322-9328.

Marching Band Performing at Artisphere Tonight

By ARLnow.com

The MarchFourth Marching Band, a contemporary marching band featuring stiltwalkers and fire-dancers, will be performing at Artisphere in Rosslyn (1101 Wilson Blvd) tonight, Nov. 14.

MarchFourth will take the stage at Artisphere’s ballroom at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $15.

“MarchFourth Marching Band (M4 to its fans) is a kaleidoscope of musical and visual energy that inspires dancing in an atmosphere of celebration,” Artisphere said in a press release. “Visually enhanced by costumed dancing beauties, acrobatic stilt walkers, unicycles, life size marionettes and many more theatrics, M4 invokes dancing in the streets and beyond! The sound is huge, melodic and dynamic, taking audiences on a musical journey around the globe.”

The Portland, Ore.-based band, formed in 2003, has performed at the Burning Man Festival in California and as an opening act for singer Gwen Stefani.

More Amplified Music for Westover Beer Garden?

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Board is scheduled to consider an expansion of amplified music at the Westover Market beer garden (5863 Washington Blvd).

In June, the beer garden was granted a permit to allow amplified outdoor music on Saturday nights. In response to the market’s request to expand amplified music to three nights per week, county staff is recommending the County Board meet the business half way and grant a permit to allow amplified music two nights per week — on Fridays and Saturdays.

Only one neighbor has complained to the county about the amplified music, according to the staff report.

“No formal complaints have been made to the Zoning or Code Enforcement Offices since amplified entertainment was started one night per week in June 2012,” staff noted. “Staff has received informal complaints and concerns by one neighborhood resident. However, the applicant has been found upon investigation by staff to be compliant with the Noise Ordinance, and compliant with all conditions of approval.”

Westover Market also requested permission to operate the beer garden year-round, but staff concluded that such a move would require a change in the Zoning Ordinance. The ordinance requires all outdoor cafes in the county to be “seasonal” in nature — typically open from April to November and closed in the winter.

The Board is expected to consider the amplified music request at its meeting this coming Saturday, Nov. 17.

Concert Will Transform Theater into ‘Russian Palace’

By ARLnow.com

A classical musical group is promising to transform Artisphere’s Spectrum Theatre (1611 N. Kent Street) into a Russian palace this weekend.

The National Chamber Ensemble will be opening its sixth season with a concert dubbed “Night At the Palace II,” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3. The event is a collaboration with the Russian Chamber Art Society and will feature classical music from Russian composers like Glinka, Rachmaninov and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Arlington County Board Chair Mary Hynes is expected to be on hand as the concert’s “guest host.” Tickets are $28 for adults or $15 for students, and are available online. A reception will follow.

A description of the concert, from a press release:

The continuation of last season’s great success, the stage of the Spectrum Theatre will be transformed once again into a palace in St. Petersburg Russia. This concert, in collaboration with the Russian Chamber Art Society will showcase Russian romances, as well as instrumental music that will include the gorgeous “Trio Pathetique” by Michail Glinka, [Rimsky-Korsakov’s] Flight of the Bumblebee, Sarasate’s Introduction and Tarantella as well enticing collaborations with the singers. NCE will be joined by RCAS Artistic Director and Founder, pianist Vera Danchenko-Stern, baritone Anton Belov and soprano Yana Eminova to bring back to life the beauty and grandeur of musical life at the palace. Featuring music of Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and more.

The Washington Post hailed Anton Belov’s “voluminous sound, appealing stage presence and tone of rich vibrancy” while Opera News praised his “great emotional honesty; singing straight from the heart.” Soprano Yana Eminova has sung widely to great acclaim. Her singing has been called “a joy to hear,” and “a most satisfying operatic experience.”

The National Chamber Ensemble is redefining the meaning of “chamber music.” With its creative five seasons of programming, incorporating tango, ballet, jazz, guitar, opera, children’s choruses, stage sets and multimedia with traditional classical fare, the ensemble attracts a whole new audience while keeping traditionalists happy! The concerts are fun, inspiring, educational, listener-friendly and offer the areas most enjoyable musical evening.

Greene Turtle Granted Entertainment Permit

By ARLnow.com

The Greene Turtle at 900 N. Glebe Road in Ballston has been granted a live entertainment permit.

The Arlington County Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to grant the permit, which will allow the Greene Turtle to host bands and DJs inside the restaurant. Live entertainment will be permitted between 5:00 p.m. and midnight Sunday-Wednesday, and from 5:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday-Saturday and on certain holidays, like Cinco de Mayo, Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day.

Initially, the Greene Turtle also requested live entertainment outside on its patio, but dropped the request after encountering neighborhood opposition. Before Tuesday’s vote, representatives from the restaurant noted that the music from inside will not be broadcast outside by way of speakers, another neighborhood concern.

Two neighbors from the Continental at Ballston condominium building — located across Glebe Road, about 275 feet away from the restaurant — expressed concern about noise coming from live music inside the glass-enclosed restaurant. They requested the item be pulled from the County Board’s consent agenda on Saturday so that it could be discussed on Tuesday, but in the end did not attend the meeting.

During the Board discussion, it was revealed that some outdoor noise comes from patrons cheering in response to cornhole games that are set up outside. That prompted Board member Libby Garvey to provide a bit of background about cornhole for her colleagues.

“Cornhole is very Midwestern,” she said. “It’s fun.”

The adjacent Bluemont Civic Association has asked the Greene Turtle to move its outdoor seating area closer to Glebe Road, away from the neighborhood. Restaurant reps indicated that they were willing to do so — a move that would first require approval from county zoning officials — but the Board did not include any conditions about the patio in its vote.

The Greene Turtle opened in January on the ground floor of a new Virginia Tech research center.

Board to Consider Controversial Entertainment Permit

By Katie Pyzyk

Pines of Italy (3111 Columbia Pike) is trying again this weekend to get the County Board to approve its request for a live entertainment permit.

Board members deferred the issue at their April meeting, when a number of neighbors spoke out against allowing the permit. The restaurant co-owners were given five months to establish the business as one that police do not have to visit regularly, and to improve relations with neighbors.

The county staff report indicates that police have not encountered problems at the site during the past five months. There were also no complaints from community members. Additionally, the owners attended an Arlington Heights Civic Association meeting, and are working with county staff on conditions for allowing the permit.

One such condition is that music and dancing would not be permitted after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and not after 10:00 p.m. on weeknights. In addition, entertainment would be restricted to the ground floor in the section of the building closest to Columbia Pike, in an attempt to avoid projecting noise toward residences behind the building. County staff also requested that the restaurant hire dedicated security for the parking lot. To improve the restaurant’s standing with the surrounding community, the owners are to coordinate a standing meeting with the Arlington Heights Civic Association in order to foster a relationship and ensure that any problems are addressed.

The owners have agreed to all the conditions, along with the recommendation of an administrative review in three months, and a County Board review in six months. Should issues come to light during the three month review, the permit could be brought before the County Board for an off-cycle review. Plus, at any time, if more than two violations of the conditions occur, the County Manager can order the restaurant to immediately cease live entertainment until the Board re-examines the permit.

The Arlington Height Civic Association has stood firm in its opposition to allowing Pines of Italy to host live entertainment, based on more than a decade of trouble with owners and clientele. At April’s Board meeting, neighbors reported fearing for themselves and their children due to extremely drunk patrons stumbling through surrounding residential areas, destroying property and starting bloody fights.

Although three applicants are listed on the permit request, one of them has been involved with the property since he purchased it in 1999 when it was Coco’s. In 2001, the County Board revoked Coco’s entertainment permit because of excessive police issues, and a new one was granted in 2002. Problems have arisen off and on since that time, with the peak coming in 2011 when the property was known as Padrinos.

Due to the owners agreeing to the conditions laid out in the staff report, county staff members recommend the County Board approves the entertainment permit for Pines of Italy.

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