George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s relationship was like a country song. Sad, rough, and melodic with two divorce filings. “Mr. and Mrs. Country” dominated airwaves throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and their marriage was profoundly intertwined with their success on stage and in the recording booth.
Director Abe Sylvia (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) is harnessing that artistic genius and relationship drama for the Showtime series George & Tammy. Sylvia, firmly entering the Tammy’s Only phase of his career, has a unique eye for real-world tragedy illuminated by the spotlight of intense fame. And since he’s pulled in Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon in the lead roles, the fuse of the dynamite is already burning.
Cut to a stirring rendition of Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” the trailer is an outstanding look at a very bumpy ride filled with iconic tunes, despair, and second chances.
The series, which launches December 4th, also features peerless character actors Walton Goggins (was there a doubt?) and Pat Healy, as well as Hell Or High Water breakout Katy Mixon.
It looks fantastic. The only question is whether their budget allowed for the hair to get as large as necessary. The trailer boasts some good looks, but there’s still room to go even higher.
Kevin Chen of Canada on Thursday won top prize in the piano division of an international competition for young musicians in Switzerland, with Japanese Kaoruko Igarashi coming third.
The 17-year-old Canadian was awarded 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,000) for winning first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition. Sergey Belyavsky of Russia came second, while Igarashi and Zijian Wei of China shared third place.
Kevin Chen (2nd from L) of Canada celebrates winning top prize in the piano division of the Geneva International Music Competition on Nov. 3, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland. Seen on his right is Kaoruko Igarashi of Japan, who came third.
Although 28-year-old Igarashi was disappointed not to win top prize, “I was happy and thankful to the orchestra and the audience,” she said. “I think it was rather good,” she added about her performance.
Kaoruko Igarashi of Japan performs in the piano division final at the Geneva International Music Competition in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov. 3, 2022.
A graduate of the Toho Gakuen Music School in Tokyo, Igarashi is a professional pianist. She played Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Prokofiev in the final.
Chen, who performed a Chopin concerto, said, “I am very happy and so glad that people enjoyed my music and that I could have transmitted my passion for music to everyone.”
Chen is also a composer and has written about 100 pieces so far, including symphonies and a piano concerto.
The Geneva competition, founded in 1939 to promote young talented musicians, is considered a springboard to an international career. Japan’s Michiaki Ueno won top prize in the cello division last year.
Related coverage:
South Korean composer wins Geneva music competition, Japanese 2nd
Japanese cellist Michiaki Ueno wins Geneva music competition
Canadian Liu wins, Japan’s Sorita 2nd in Chopin piano contest
Just how far can Luffy stretch? That’s a question “One Piece” fans have been asking for years of the Gum-Gum hero with the go-go-gadget arms. Sure, there are limits to Luffy’s flexibility, but if you look at the pirate adventure series to which he belongs — one that’s been serialized for 25 years running, generating more than 100 books, 1,000-plus anime episodes and 15 theatrical features — it would seem that “One Piece” creator Eiichiro Oda can stretch the entire franchise pretty much as far as he pleases.
Case in point: The series’ latest entry, “One Piece Film: Red,” expands into musical territory, focusing on a pop star named Uta who has been made powerful by the Sing-Sing Fruit. “One Piece” characters gain special abilities after consuming Devil Fruit (Gum-Gum is Luffy’s), and Sing-Sing skills allow this chic chanteuse with two-tone hair and a worldwide fan base to whisk listeners into a kind of parallel dimension she calls “New Genesis.” At first, this would seem to be a good thing: Uta loathes war and wants to make “a better world with none of the cruelty and violence.” But like Ultron in the “Avengers” movies, her plan to alleviate suffering would come at an enormous cost.
Available either dubbed or subbed in the U.S. courtesy of Crunchyroll, this blockbuster toon (already the sixth-highest-grossing Japanese film of all time in its home country) opens with one of Uta’s concerts. The daughter of Shanks — one of “One Piece’s” most famous pirates — Uta grew up practically alone on Elegia, the island of music, building a massive following from her remote home thanks to a special “One Piece” technology: video transponder snails. Her identity and past have been a mystery until now. No sooner has her opening song ended than Luffy swings down onto the stage to reveal a personal connection to this character.
As it turns out, Luffy and Uta were childhood friends (Shanks is the same pirate who gave Luffy his signature straw hat), and the long-limbed kid might be the only person on Earth who can talk Uta out of her dangerous plan: Basically, she promises that her anti-war concert will go on forever, not telling all those who attend that they risk being permanently trapped in her alternate reality.
Much of the film is dedicated to Uta performing her most popular songs (Ado supplies the vocals), which the dubbed version doesn’t translate. Subtitles convey the lyrics, but the tunes still sound too bland to have launched such a phenomenon. That’s a different strategy from Mamoru Hosoda’s far better “Belle,” for which GKIDS took the trouble to produce a terrific English-language soundtrack; ”Belle” also did more with viral sensations and virtual worlds in the narrative itself.
For all its pleasures, the “One Piece” TV series is known for its subpar-to-awful animation (spend some time on fan forums, and that complaint arises all that time). The team at Toei have significantly improved the quality for the feature, but no one expects first-rate visuals. The “Red” soundtrack falls in the same good-enough-to-better-than-you’d-expect zone. The fun here comes from surprising audiences with emotionally grounded plot twists and deep-cut cameos from characters like Mini Bepo and Rob Lucci (a villain whose motives echo Uta’s) — and of course, Shanks’ return, to face his adopted daughter.
Devil Fruits give powers but also take something away, and performing proves super-exhausting to Uta, who keeps herself going by gobbling Wake-shrooms between sets, knowing that this crutch will eventually kill her. But if she realizes this, then her plan can’t work as advertised. It means the world’s No. 1 sweetheart — and self-proclaimed “savior of the downtrodden” — can’t go on singing forever, as she supposedly intends. Add in the movie’s parallel realities, and things get awfully complicated, especially the fight scenes.
The battles between pirates, Marines and Uta’s purple-cloaked personal guards are every bit as spectacular as one might hope, if more than a little difficult to follow. With the action split between Elegia and New Genesis, what happens if someone dies in either of these worlds? Can listeners who change their minds leave Uta’s trance? And what does the Demon Lord known as “Tot Musica” have to do with everything?
Safe to say that director Goro Taniguchi and screenwriter Tsutomu Kuroiwa aren’t afraid of confusing audiences and seem to have very little interest in accommodating first-time viewers, who will have a tough time orienting themselves to the extensive “One Piece” universe of characters. For the faithful, however, Uta proves an exciting new personality — an influencer extraordinaire and powerful rival to the pirates — who serves to bring back Shanks and his Red Hair gang while steering Luffy and his crew on a new course.
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Astound’s Grande Communications held responsible for user infringement
Record label plaintiffs previously won $1 billion from Cox in similar case
(Reuters) – Internet service provider Astound Broadband’s Grande Communications Networks LLC must pay a group of music labels $46.7 million after its user pirated over 1,400 copyrighted works, a federal jury in Austin, Texas, decided Thursday.
Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Records and other labels convinced the jury that San Marcos, Texas-based Grande committed willful contributory copyright infringement by failing to act against subscribers who were repeat infringers.
An attorney for Grande did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The labels’ attorney Andy Bart of Jenner & Block said in an email that they were “grateful that the jury recognized the critical role that ISPs play in addressing piracy.”
Labels including Universal, Sony and Warner won a $1 billion verdict in a similar lawsuit against Cox Communications in Virginia in 2019. Cox’s appeal of that verdict is still pending.
The labels have also sued several other ISPs for allegedly turning a blind eye to user piracy, including Frontier Communications, Charter Communications and RCN Corp.
Grande, which is now part of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners’ Princeton, New Jersey-based Astound, was sued by the labels in 2017. The lawsuit said the labels own rights to “the great majority” of recordings sold in the U.S. from some of the most popular musicians of all time, ranging from Michael Jackson to Pink Floyd to Tony Bennett.
According to the complaint, the labels sent Grande notices of “more than one million infringements” by thousands of subscriber accounts that pirated music through BitTorrent software. They accused Grande of failing to act in order to avoid losing revenue from infringing subscribers.
Grande told the court that it was “merely an internet service provider and never induced or encouraged anyone to infringe.” It also argued the labels’ notices were flawed and that their alleged damages were excessive.
The case is UMG Recordings Inc v. Grande Communications Networks LLC, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, No. 1:17-cv-00365.
For Grande: Richard Brophy of Armstrong Teasdale
For the labels: Andrew Bart of Jenner & Block
Read more:
Cox to pay $1 billion to music labels, publishers over piracy infringement
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Blake Brittain
Thomson Reuters
Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Reach him at blake.brittain@thomsonreuters.com
Saturday night in central Newcastle upon Tyne and a small but hyper-committed audience is soaking in a 40-minute playback of melancholic space dub as it soundtracks a century-spanning montage of the north-east’s shipyards, estates, dancehalls and cafes. It is followed by an hour of blissful live ambient music from local duo Golden Shields, then a fearsomely intense set by the Newcastle-based Spanish singer-producer Laura “Late Girl” Stutter García which evokes minimalist composition, early grime and Björk all at once.
We are in World Headquarters, a venue in Curtis Mayfield House, every wall covered in portraits of Black radicals and musicians, anarchist and anti-racist texts, and an command to “love one another”. The event has been put together by Geoff Kirkwood, AKA left-field dance DJ-producer Man Power, head of community engagement for WHQ, and head of the label and promoters Me Me Me. He also played the opening set, under his Bed Wetter alias – a test run for a coming Royal Northern Sinfonia orchestral version, supporting the US ambient trailblazer William Basinski, at the area’s huge arts hub Sage Gateshead later this month.
Tonight is the product of an experimental music community – which also encompasses everything from the pagan electronic folk of Me Lost Me to the raw noise of Kenosist – that crackles with creativity and regional pride. It is a scene that’s persevering despite serious challenges. After nine years, the radical art and community space the Old Police House (TOPH) recently closed after being hobbled by Covid lockdowns. The equally exploratory, internationalist Tusk festival, which has showcased international underground mainstays from Moor Mother to Terry Riley, just failed to secure further Arts Council funding after nine years of previously successful applications, seemingly due to increased competition.
Nevertheless, DIY spaces and collectives abound. The Star and Shadow cinema and event space (which hosted early Tusk festivals) has been volunteer-run on non-hierarchical principles since the 00s. Cobalt Studios is a gig venue, club, print workshop and cafe with workspace for hire in a labyrinthine building and shipping containers, in between a BMX social hub and a folk pub. (“We often get clog dancers coming in to the cafe,” says Cobalt founder Kate Hodgkinson.) Nonprofit music venue, bar, workshop and radio studio the Lubber Fiend is a new addition, co-founded by Stephen “Bish” Bishop of the outsider electronica label Opal Tapes.
Much of this is spurred by a sense of being unfairly isolated. “The north-east has been overlooked and cut off by a succession of governments,” says Kirkwood. “Especially after Covid there was a strong sense of: OK, nobody’s going to do anything for us – fuck it, we’ll do it ourselves.” Hodgkinson talks of visiting acts arriving “not expecting much, thinking of this end-of-the-line ex-shipbuilding and coal, stag-and-hen-do place that doesn’t afford cool spaces”. Her mission is to provide them with a welcome and an audience that prove otherwise.
Every day, gigs, workshops and projects continue. Tusk is rebooting, beginning with a new gig series. Kirkwood is launching a plan for cheap workspaces for locals in impoverished North Shields, which contrasts starkly with the neighbouring oyster bars and craft markets of the scenic and distinctly on-the-up Tynemouth.
And preservation of the hidden but vital past is under way. N-Aut (No-Audience Underground Tapes) gives away free cassettes of past gigs and festivals from spaces such as TOPH; it’s run by David Howcroft, allegedly the inspiration behind Ravey Davey Gravey of Newcastle’s own Viz comic. A wistful new documentary, The Kick, the Snare, the Hat and a Clap, by Susie Davis, looks back at the Ouseburn Valley outdoor raves of the 90s, and Tusk TV’s dizzying YouTube channel archives vast swathes of underground culture.
The Kick, the Snare, the Hat and a Clap documentary – video
Kirkwood will follow the Bed Wetter orchestration at Sage with a new composition with Fiona Brice. It will be performed partly by a choir of people with dementia, including his grandfather, who raised him, in the church where his grandparents married 70 years ago. The piece is about the past, of course, but it is equally about building an artistic future, and pulling more attention to an area that, as Kirkwood says, “isn’t just some outpost away from what’s happening, but has culture all its own”.
It is hard in an overwhelmingly white, Brexit-supporting area, but this scene fights to be inclusive. Mariam Rezaei is a turntable artist and academic who now programmes Tusk with founder Lee Etherington, and who co-ran TOPH with noise musicians Adam Denton and Mark “Kenosist” Wardlaw. She credits the avant garde harpist Rhodri Davies and William Edmondes of noise-pop duo Yeah You with not only inspiring and supporting talent but also providing an alternative social framework, including her in shows and collaborations from the turn of the millennium to today. “I’m a brown, mixed-heritage, working-class girl,” she says. “Working full-time while studying, it was always going to be difficult for me to make friends. I felt the lines of class and I’m so grateful I was included.” Her turntablism is now taking her career global with burgeoning commissions and collaborations.
There is an immense sense of hidden local history behind all this, too. Etherington has run Tusk since 2011; the previous decade, he promoted gigs as No-Fi with Ben Ponton of local ambient-industrial duo Zoviet France, who in turn built a local micro-infrastructure for weird music that dates back to 1980. Etherington traces these links back further still when he mentions the venues where No-Fi often programmed events, such as the Morden Tower, “a medieval craftsmen’s guild built into the old town wall, that hosted Ginsberg, Trocchi, Bunting in the 60s then all kinds of avant stuff later”.
A club night at Cobalt Studios, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Photograph: Michelle Allen
Club and rave culture provides a vital historical pillar, too. World Headquarters has been going since 1993, founded by Tommy Caulker, the first mixed-race licensee in central Newcastle. Before WHQ, Caulker had withstood National Front assaults to run the Trent House, a city centre pub that was haven to misfits including the founders of Viz. It was one of the first in the UK to play house music, spinning to a gay crowd at its night Rockshots. Although WHQ has new directors, including Kirkwood’s creative partner, Gabriel Day, Caulker’s insistence on it being an anti-discriminatory safe space remains etched into its policies – and its decor.
Throughout the 90s the north-east had a thriving illegal party scene, which ranged from techno tear-ups in valleys and warehouses to – as Suade Bergemann of Golden Shields recalls – “mad parties above a dodgy clothes shop in Whitley Bay where you’d get the weirder and more ambient end of Warp or Ninja Tune-type acts coming up and playing live”. From this scene, overlapping with the hippy rock world, came figures such as Coldcut collaborator and turntablist Raj Pannu – now making deep techno for Me Me Me – and Steevio, founder of Freerotation, the small festival that has become a social hub for the UK’s millennial electronic music community.
Of course, it is impossible to talk about the north-east’s music scene without touching on folk. The Cumberland Arms pub, where those clog dancers gather, is at the heart of a scene that nurtured the Domino Records-signed art-rocker Richard Dawson and newer off-beam talents such as Me Lost Me and the hypnotic loop-pedal manipulator and singer Nathalie Stern. There is barely a degree of separation between the DIY circuit and well-established local folk acts such as the Unthanks. Even Mark Knopfler has recently been revisiting his roots in the same pub scene, decades ago. A city this size creates a connectedness that Kirkwood sums up in the canonical Viz phrase: “Sting’s dad did me milk”. (Ernest Sumner did, in fact, do a milk round where Kirkwood grew up in Wallsend.)
Me Lost Me performing at the Sage, Gateshead. Photograph: Amelia Read
In the midst of all these underground traditions sits the huge, shiny multi-arts venue the Sage. There is ambivalence towards its cultural dominance, to say the least: Etherington talks of “money being poured into landmark venues” (Sage, along with the likes of Gateshead’s Baltic Centre, has received millions over the years) while independents are frozen out. Rezaei briefly worked at Sage but left soon after it hosted the 2014 Ukip conference. “I just can’t and won’t tolerate hate speech and racism,” she says. Others are more forgiving: Day is a trustee there and Late Girl an artist-in-residence. Cobalt’s Kate Hodgkinson talks of it creating a cultural gravity when it opened in 2004, helping arts graduates like her to “stay and really make stuff happen” rather than “join the rat race” in London.
Kirkwood’s upcoming Sage show, then, is an attempt to use its big stage to showcase something distinctly north-eastern and underground. Mingling with the crowd at WHQ, who range in age from teens to seniors, we amble out to rejoin the Saturday night drinkers and meet with their fierce passion: an odd blend of hard-left politics and entrepreneurialism, and a definite geordie enthusiasm for getting stuck in. Unknowingly, several musicians repeat Kirkwood’s phrase: “Fuck it, we’ll do it ourselves.”
With a gaggle including local house DJs, poets and rag trade hustlers joining the musicians, we decamp to Zerox, a new mixed-LGBTQ+ indie bar where kids are going wild to Erasure, Grace Jones and Talking Heads. It is a far cry from the hypnotic immersion of the WHQ show, but in its way it too refutes the idea of the north-east as a monocultural “stag-and-hen-do place”. Nobody here is resting on their laurels. Every one of these DIY artists and venues struggles daily.
“It’s hard out there,” says Rezaei. “But we did things on our own and I’m proud of that.”
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery granted the Classical Music Institute a temporary restraining order against the union’s San Antonio chapter, Local 23, on Wednesday.
In his ruling, Biery said the union was engaging in unfair labor practices that could cause CMI “substantial and irreparable harm.”
An email obtained by the Express-News that alerted union members to the ruling said Biery had not heard the union’s position.
At the center of the dispute is Opera San Antonio’s staging of “Pagliacci,” which will be presented today and Saturday at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. CMI, a classical music educational and performance organization, had contracted musicians to play in an orchestra for the production.
Local 23 asserted that the musicians’ contracts do not meet local standards for pay and benefits, which is why the national union placed CMI on its unfair list.
On ExpressNews.com: SA musicians union escalates battle with Classical Music Institute ahead of opera
Union members are advised against performing for any employer on that list. In an email sent out to the musicians Sunday, union members were advised that they could face steep fines from their local unions if they took part in the opera and also would have to cross picket lines to reach rehearsals and performances.
In a complaint filed in federal court, Classical Music Institute said six musicians pulled out of “Pagliacci” rather than taking that risk. CMI paid for the rehearsals the musicians had completed and reimbursed their travel expenses. Some other musicians still under contract had expressed concerns about possible fines for performing and skipped three rehearsals, according to the complaint.
Union members picketed Tuesday’s rehearsal.
In his ruling, Biery noted that the musicians had been contracted before CMI was placed on the unfair list, and that none of the contracted musicians are members of Local 23. He also enjoined union members from any picketing of the production going forward.
CMI’s complaint alleges that the picketing that did take place was unlawful and that the union did not follow its own requirements when CMI was placed on the unfair list. According to the union’s website, a primary labor dispute must exist between the union and an employer before the employer can be placed on the list. CMI says there was no such dispute.
On ExpressNews.com: CMI receives $300,000 grant from Bexar County during contentious meeting
Richard Oppenheim, president of Local 23, declined to comment for this story.
In a statement, Donald Mason, executive director of CMI, said he is excited that the production will go on.
“Our objective is to promote artistic excellence in Bexar County and provide outstanding service to our fellow Tobin Center resident companies,” Mason said.
David Van Os, one of the union’s attorneys, said the American Federation of Musicians’ legal position is that it has not committed any legal violations and that it should be able to enforce its own bylaws.
Donna K. McElroy, a lawyer who is representing CMI, was unavailable for comment.
A hearing on CMI’s request for a preliminary injunction against the union has been scheduled for Nov. 10.
Brooks to discuss criteria and selection process during CRS 2023
Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB) has announced the establishment of a new industry honor, the Garth Brooks “No Fences” Award. Presented by CRB and inspired by the influential career of Garth Brooks, and his groundbreaking 1990 No Fences album release, the newly established honor will recognize an individual in the country music industry who has boldly demonstrated innovation, creativity, and tenacity.
Recipients of the award will have defied traditional standards and practices, positively changed the face of the industry, and established higher standards for measuring success. Additionally, their achievements will have expanded the country music industry’s profile on a national level, not only for their benefit but for the industry as a whole, for a sustained duration and with proven significant impact.
The inaugural recipient of this newly established award will be honored at a future CRS, with a blue-ribbon committee comprised of CRB board members and representatives of Brooks’ team evaluating candidates based on the criteria articulated above. Additionally, Brooks will appear at CRS 2023 on Monday, March 13th for an exclusive and rare conversation to discuss the collaboration with CRS and the last several years.
The award’s namesake, No Fences, comes from his historic album release that further catapulted his remarkable career. With over 18 million copies sold worldwide, No Fences exhibited musical foresight, shattered sales and airplay records, and spear-headed country music’s historic expansion, decade-long dominance, and era-defining catalog of country music that continues to entertain fans around the world.
“We all know about Garth’s monumentally successful career, which established this genre as popular, sustainable, and mainstream,” shares CRB/CRS executive director RJ Curtis. “What many don’t know, however, is that concurrent with his many personal accomplishments, Garth Brooks has given unwavering support for CRS during the past 30 years by showing up to CRS annually and creating innovative ways to engage, entertain, and educate CRS attendees that perfectly match the ‘Growth through sharing’ mission of CRS. It’s fitting that we honor Garth’s innovative, tenacious spirit with this newly established award bearing his name.”
Country Radio Seminar will take place Monday, March 13th through Wednesday, March 15th at the Omni Nashville Hotel. Registration for CRS 2023 is open and is $649 per person. Unlike previous years, New Faces of Country Music Showcase tickets are sold separately for $100 per ticket. New Faces of Country Music Showcase tickets are limited and nearly sold out.
BIG NEWS We’ll be hosting a conversation with @garthbrooks on Monday, March 13th at #CRS2023! He’s joining us to discuss the last several years in Country music AND an exciting new collaboration with CRB: The Garth Brooks ‘No Fences’ Award. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/KxSm24yqA3
Stylie Music Studio, 808 High St., Suites B, C and most recently D, is celebrating its 12th anniversary this fall.
Owner and instructor Matt “Stylie” Steidle said he fell in love with music when he was very young.
“I believe, in this life, I’ve been tasked with giving music to people in some way, whether it’s performing, teaching, writing a song for someone or helping people finish their songs,” he said. “I hold a lot of hats, but I’ve been blessed to touch so many people in music.”
Steidle said that 12 years ago, Stylie Music Studio was opened in one studio suite in downtown Worthington next to the Old Worthington Library, beside Huntington Bank.
“Thanks to the Worthington community, we’ve been able to grow not only musically but physically with this recent expansion to three studio suites,” he said. “I’m excited for people to discover how we can help them and for them to join the Stylie family.”
Steidle and instructors Nick Purcell and Mark Rhodes offer lessons for all ages ‒ one-on-one or with others ‒ for acoustic and electric guitar, piano, ukulele, vocal lessons, drum, electric bass, mandolin, songwriting, composition and music production, technology and theory.
Erin Strouse said she discovered Steidle from a local moms Facebook group and researched online to see if he might be a good fit for her sons, who were 6 and 8 at the time, to learn to play drums.
“They had taken some piano lessons but found Mr. Matt’s style to be altogether different ‒ laid back and winsome,” she said. “He has invited them to play all the instruments in his studio, which they find fascinating, and they have cultivated a love for learning music. It’s been a great fit for our family.”
“While his music appeals to all, he really is a musician’s musician,” said Eric Ross, a student. “As a friend and teacher, he inspires me to keep working at my craft, and his nuanced playing is a constant reminder that there is always something new to learn and explore.”
Steidle is not only an active Worthington community member (local husband, father, small-business owner and member of the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce and Worthington Partnership); he also is a frequent performer for such Worthington events as the chamber’s Market Day, Picnic with the Partnership and Experience Worthington Sunday Fundays.
He also plays original rock, funk and soul music and crowd-pleasing favorites at Zaftig Brewery and other venues around Columbus and across Ohio, either as a solo acoustic act or with drummer Doug Schwarzwalder in the That’s The Breaks band.
For more information, go to styliestudio.com or call 614-668-2558.
Farm market on the move
The Worthington Farmers Market kicks off its winter market season at 9 a.m. Nov. 5 inside the Shops at Worthington Place, 7227 N. High St.
The winter season operates from 9 a.m. to noon through March.
A map for the layout of the indoor market is online at worthingtonfarmersmarket.com/market-map.
The winter market will be closed Nov. 26, Dec. 24, Dec. 31 and Jan. 7, 2023.
Christine Hawks, market manager, said market gift certificates are available for holiday gifting and proceeds from the redeemed gift certificates benefit the market producers.
“This is a convenient way to continue to support small and local businesses during the winter months,” she said.
The Worthington Farmers Market is an event of the Worthington Partnership, a Worthington-based, volunteer-supported nonprofit organization.
mkuhlman@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekMarla
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Stylie Music Studio notes expansion after 12 years in business
Phillips After 5: Life in Color at the Phillips Collection: Learn about the Phillips Collection’s newest acquisitions during pop-up talks at the Dupont gallery’s monthly after-hours soiree, then try your hand at coloring images of pieces from its collection. Local singer Tommi provides R&B and soul sounds, while Denizens offers a beer tasting. Suggested dress code: “The more vivid the better!” 5 to 8:30 p.m. $20.
Kaleta and Super Yamba Band at the Millennium Stage: From the 1970s to the 1990s, Beninese guitarist Leon Ligan-Majek, known as Kaleta, performed with two of the greatest African pop musicians of all time — first alongside King Sunny Ade, then as a member of Fela Kuti’s legendary band. Now residing in Brooklyn, Kaleta keeps the hypnotic Afrobeat funk flowing as the frontman of the Kaleta and Super Yamba Band. 6 p.m. Free.
‘You Are Ketchup’: A celebration for the forthcoming book by Kokayi at Byrdland Records: The central ingredient in “You Are Ketchup,” the terrific new memoir-slash-career-guide by D.C. rap mainstay Kokayi, is tough love, which he’s more than happy to dish up in person, too. “One hundred thousand new songs go up on Spotify every day,” he says. “You’re not special!” At least not to the grinding gears of a capricious music industry that treats musicians, in Kokayi’s words, like ketchup, an interchangeable sauce. So he’s written a book about accepting one’s fate as a condiment while ultimately nurturing all of the artistic ineffables that exist beyond the edicts of the marketplace. Written in a tone so conversational you can practically hear it in your ear, “You Are Ketchup” feels like a megadose of straight advice from a muso-mentor who’s been there. 7 to 9:30 p.m. Free.
Interview: D.C. rap hero Kokayi never did things by the book. Then he wrote one.
Salt & Sundry’s 10-year anniversary: November will be even more festive than usual at Salt & Sundry: This destination for colorful, boho home goods is celebrating a decade in business with a cocktail party Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at its Union Market location, passing out snacks and a cocktail from neighboring bar Buffalo & Bergen and offering 10 percent off all purchases. Pop-ups are happening throughout the month at both D.C. locations every Saturday. Stop by for a book signing with the “Afrominimalist” Christine Platt at Union Market on Nov. 5 from 1 to 3 p.m., a nonalcoholic drink tasting with local brand Mocktail Club at Logan Circle on Nov. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m., and a discount on Virginia-based Sydney Hale candles at both stores on Nov. 19, among other events. Through Nov. 26. Free.
Women in Spanish cinema screenings: The Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain organized the film series Mujeres de Cine, which showcases female directors of Spanish films in four showings this month. “¿Qué hicimos mal? (What did we do wrong?),” a feature from Liliana Torres about a woman questioning her past to improve her romantic life, screens at AFI Silver Theatre on Thursday. On Saturday, the East Building Auditorium of the National Gallery of Art hosts “Destello Bravío (Mighty Flash),” directed by Ainhoa Rodríguez. The surrealist film, which centers on a small rural town, explores its female characters’ desires to rebel against societally mandated norms. Both films are shown in Spanish with English subtitles. Thursday at 7:15 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. Free with advance registration.
National Gallery Nights tickets become available: The National Gallery of Art’s late-night events are going on hiatus after one more after-hours party. The theme for Nov. 10 is “Americana,” which covers multiple aspects of American life and culture. Among the highlights: American University professor Elizabeth Rule discusses her Guide to Indigenous D.C. app; Country Current, the Navy’s country and bluegrass band, performs; museum curators offer pop-up talks about American art; and Chalk R!ot creates a graffiti piece inspired by ’80s hip-hop. The two previous events “sold out” in the blink of an eye, so be logged on to nga.gov before noon and ready to click. If you miss out, there are two more chances to grab them: Once on the morning of the party, when extra tickets become available at 10 a.m., and at the door of the event, when a limited number of spaces can be claimed beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets available at noon. Free.
Museum after-hours events draw crowds with music, drinks and, yes, art
100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb at National Geographic Museum: On Nov. 4, 1922, workers excavating an area in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings for the English archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered a set of stone stairs buried under rock debris. They led to the largely intact tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen, who died circa 1323 B.C. The National Geographic Museum, currently hosting the immersive exhibit “Beyond King Tut,” marks the centennial of this important discovery with a weekend of events, including hourly tours; crafts and activities for families; documentary screenings; and a falafel workshop with Dina Daniel, the founder and chef at Egyptian restaurant Fava Pot. Through Sunday. $12-$20. Children younger than 5 admitted free.
Review: Immersive King Tut exhibit looks beyond the gold mask
Superorganism at 9:30 Club: The eight-member group Superorganism is on its second album of fun and sometimes frenetic pop music. The London-based band’s self-titled debut in 2018 featured eclectic production choices and jubilant melodies. Lead singer Orono Noguchi’s voice doesn’t compete with the group’s maximalist sound; instead, her dreamlike delivery grounds the music and makes the band’s insightful lyrics more meaningful. Mystical-sounding guitar riffs fading in and out and cartoony birds chirping in the distance make Noguchi sound like she’s singing in the middle of a lush garden. On the 2022 album “World Wide Pop,” Superorganism doubles down on its delightful chaos. The first song, “Black Hole Baby,” is a good encapsulation of what the band is doing: “Welcome back to the black hole, honey / Hold my hand ’cause the end is coming,” Noguchi sings as alien-sounding bells ring, explosions sound and clips from radio personalities play. The band is doing that quintessential pop thing — providing a soundtrack for the end of the world. 10 p.m. $25.
‘Broadway’s Brightest Lights’ at Strathmore: The National Philharmonic kicks off its 2022-23 season with a tribute to some of Broadway’s biggest stars. Singers Megan Hilty (“Wicked”), Michael Maliakel (“Disney’s Aladdin”) and Luke Hawkins (“Annie Live!”) perform greatest hits from Gershwin to Sondheim, and guests can expect new orchestrations of beloved tunes — and plenty of tap dancing. If you miss Friday’s performance at Strathmore, check out the same program at Sunday’s show at Capital One Hall. Friday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 7 p.m. $19-$102; free for children.
Día de los Muertos at the Kennedy Center: In honor of the Mexican Day of the Dead, the New Orchestra of Washington — conducted by Guadalajara native Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez — presents a program of pieces by Mexican composers, including Silvestre Revueltas and José Pablo Moncayo, and the world premiere of “Cantos de Requiem” by Jorge Vidales, which was commissioned by the New Orchestra of Washington and Choral Arts. 7:30 p.m. $45-$59.
The Big Build at the National Building Museum: The National Building Museum puts a new spin on a petting zoo during its family-friendly festival, returning for the first time since 2019: Instead of animals, construction equipment will be parked outside the museum, and kids can get up close to and even climb inside the heavy machinery. The Big Build’s booths inside the museum’s Great Hall will introduce children and teens to building pros like roofers, structural engineers, plumbers and carpenters. Fun interactive activities include a nail driving contest and an earthquake simulation, as well as story time and free admission to museum exhibits. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. No tickets or reservations required.
Side Yards at Yards Park: Sword swallowers! Escape artists! Contortionists! Stilt walkers! What sounds like a roster of attractions hawked by a traveling carnival barker are the star performers at Side Yards, an annual tribute to sideshows along the Capitol Riverfront. Viewers of all ages can marvel at magicians, acrobats and other entertainers, sit for tarot and palm readings, and purchase food and drinks from local restaurants. While the Side Yards Eventbrite page says the event is sold out, organizers say that walk-ups are welcome. 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Free.
Hammered Hulls Record Release at the Black Cat: For D.C. music fans of a certain age, few bands in recent memory have generated as much excitement as Hammered Hulls — a punk supergroup featuring vocalist Alec MacKaye of Ignition and the Warmers, bassist Mary Timony of Ex Hex and Helium, guitarist Mark Cisneros of Des Demonas and Medications, and drummer Chris Wilson of Titus Andronicus and the Pharmacists. After dropping a seven-inch single in the summer of 2019, the quartet has finally released its debut LP, “Careening,” a collection of 12 songs that snarl and groove, with jagged edges of guitar lines tempered by deep, steady bass lines and whip-crack drums. It calls back to classic D.C. hardcore sounds while also looking forward. Hammered Hulls marks the record’s official release with a show at the Black Cat. Divorce Horse and Saffron open. 8 p.m. (doors open). $20.
Interview: Eavesdropping on the new post-punk supergroup Hammered Hulls
Children’s Africana Book Awards Festival: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art hosts a festival celebrating books that encourage accurate representation about the continent. Award categories include books suitable for young children, older readers and new adults, and winners include writers such as Safia Elhillo and Johnnetta Betsch Cole. The day also features an author Q&A, book signings, art activities and a master class writing workshop led by Lesina Martin, which requires advance registration. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free.
16th annual Parade of Trabants at the Spy Museum: The Spy Museum has a significant section on Cold War espionage in Berlin, so it’s only appropriate that the museum has long hosted a commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But this quirky party celebrates the occasion through the lens of the Trabant, the clunky, smoky, nostalgia-inducing East German car that’s now sought after by collectors. View a collection of Trabis — cars made of resin plastic and cotton fibers — and chat with owners while listening to German tunes from the Alte Kameraden band and creating “Berlin-style” graffiti. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free.
‘Noche de Baile’ at La Cosecha: Union Market’s La Cosecha, dedicated to the flavors and styles of Latin America, combines shopping and dining like few other places in the area. (It helps that the merchants are never far away from the large, central bar.) Each Saturday in November, the space hosts a different DJ for three hours of dancing, food and drink specials, staying open past its usual closing time. 8 to 11 p.m. Free.
Día de los Muertos Masquerade Gala at the Mexican Cultural Institute: Check out the Mexican Cultural Institute’s ofrenda, or Day of the Dead altar, at this after-hours party, which includes live mariachi music, dance performances and lessons, a Mexican buffet, open bar, and tours exploring the building’s historic murals. The dress code is black tie optional or masquerade-style. 8:15 to 11:45 p.m. $135.
Fall Festival at River Farm: The American Horticultural Society opens the gates of its 27-acre estate to visitors for a fall festival featuring a beer garden and holiday shopping from local vendors. Kids might enjoy a show by children’s band Rocknoceros (performing hits like “Washing My Hands”), a petting zoo with pony rides or the crafting station. Visitors can grab a bite from food trucks including Rocklands Barbeque and Lost Boy Cider. A portion of ticket proceeds benefits the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, based in Alexandria, and the American Horticultural Society. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. $9-$20.
13th annual D.C. Tweed Ride: D.C.’s Tweed Ride began in 2009 as a way for the city’s snappiest dressers to show off their stylish houndstooth jackets, vintage dresses, boater hats and newsboy caps along with their new and antique bikes while parading around the city. This year’s ride covers just over eight miles, beginning and ending at Logan Circle, followed by a picnic in the grass. There’s no need to RSVP — just show up in your coolest outfit. 10 a.m. Ride begins at 11. Free.
John Philip Sousa Birthday Concert at Congressional Cemetery: Among the many famous residents of Congressional Cemetery is John Philip Sousa, the “March King” who composed “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” “The Washington Post March” and “Semper Fidelis,” the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps. Sousa was a member of the Marine Corps Band before returning as its director. Each year on his birthday, the band honors Sousa with a performance at his grave. The tribute begins with a ceremony and a talk by a Sousa impersonator before the band marches in at 11 a.m. for a 25-minute concert. 10:30 a.m. Free; RSVP requested.
Sherry Week: This is a great week for fans of fortified wine, as restaurants across the city celebrate sherry with tastings and events. Among the highlights: try special flights and cocktails at Jaleo, Cranesand McClellan’s Retreat; watch a sherry cobbler cocktail competition at Service Bar (Tuesday); taste a one-night-only menu of sherry cocktails at the Green Zone (Tuesday); taste rare bottles at Maxwell Park (Wednesday); or visit the theater with a performance of “La Llorona” at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, with pre- and post-show drinks and a discussion about Spanish influence on Mexican food and drink (Friday). Through Nov. 13. Prices vary.
Election night events: Midterm elections don’t usually inspire the same fervor as presidential elections — in the bar world, that is. Viewing parties with special cocktail menus, bingo games and coloring sheets? So 2020. But there are still opportunities to go out and watch the results roll in. Boundary Stone hosts an election-night pub quiz, with all the big screens tuned to political coverage, beginning at 7 p.m. (Arrive early or make a reservation if you want to join in.) Busboys and Poets, probably the city’s most politically conscious bar, hosts watch parties with all-night happy hour at all nine of its locations beginning at 6 p.m. Fight Club, which installed a projection screen and TVs just before football season, offers $7 beer-and-a-shot combos, $10 wine and $2 off punches, and a 15 percent “Eat Your Feelings” discount on all appetizers from 4 p.m. on.
The Red Derby shows the results on big screens on both floors, but let’s face it: You’re going for the specials, which include half-price chicken tenders (it’s “Tendie Tuesday”), $3.50 whiskey and tequila shots, and $3.50 “mystery beers” selected by bartenders. Doors open at 5 p.m. Election night conveniently aligns with Taco Tuesday at Shaw’s Tavern, so you’re getting $10 taco trios and discounted margaritas — $8 each, $28 pitchers — beginning at 5 p.m. and a party with TVs and full sound at 7 p.m. Union Pub, located steps from Senate office buildings, has its own take on democracy: The Capitol Hill bar is running Twitter and in-person polls about which beer it should give away on election night. (The choices are Bell’s Two Hearted, Bud Light, Guinness Blonde and Pacifico.) Voting ends Sunday; the results will be announced Monday. The first 200 people in on election night will be able to claim the winner for free; other specials include $5 margaritas and $1 off tequila shots from 4 p.m. to close.
I’m sure you’ll love this song “hill that i’ll die on” by singer-songwriter Jonah Kagen. The track is out on Arista Records and came with an amazing visual accompaniment.
Dominated by an acoustic guitar and heartfelt lyrics, “hill that i’ll die on” is a sentimental indie-pop ballad.
Jonah says, “‘hill that i’ll die on’ is such a special song to me. It speaks to the sentiment of knowing that you’ll love someone and be there for them even at their lowest point, and that there’s nothing in the world that would ever make you question that. I was lucky enough to get to bring the song to life with my two incredible roommates (Sarcastic Sounds and Hayd), and it feels good to finally have all three of our names on something. Aside from that, I think this song marks an important direction for the sound and style of my music moving forward, and I can’t wait to share more stories with you all. Sending love!”
Enjoy the song and connect with Jonah Kagen on Instagram.
