It’s pretty cool that artists can distribute their music on their own with the press of a button these days, but it can be a double egded sword. The less  physical records need to be sold, the less record stores stay open. Record stores are often the heart (or some important organ) of a music community. This is certainly true of True Vine Record Shop in Baltimore, a beloved "record shop/community center/walk-in therapy stand." Times are tight for the folks of True Vine, so they’re throwing a fundraising party this Friday, at DIY space 5th Dimension, in the H&H Building (405 W.Franklin Street). The show will include “Rhodes Warrior” Liz Durette, Asa Osborn, Owen Gardner, Strange Times People Band, and DJ Jason Willett. True Vine has been featured by Rolling Stone as one of the best record stores in the USA, and is a Best of Baltimore Winner in the Baltimore City Paper. If you love music in Baltimore, make this your Friday night destination and bring a donation to help support both a local record store and a center for the music and art community. Check out some Rhodes magic by Liz Durette below. –Natan Press

DC’s Luray is currently on tour supporting their album The Wilder. The band, fronted by Shannon Carey on banjo, takes the traditional sounds of folk and country music, mixes them up delicately with pedals and synths for their beautiful recordings, and then retranslates those sounds for their entertaining and energetic performances. You can check out an interview we did with Luray a few months ago here. After a few days in New England, Luray is passing back through the DMV to play Iota on Friday, February 7th. –Natan Press

DC’s pop singer/songwriter, Andrea Pais, is refreshingly much better than the usual young piano-playing songstresses on the radio. Her voice is not simply cute and youthful, but practiced, strong and evocative. The compositions on her debut EP, Chasing Forever, are interesting and complete, promising a true pop songwriting talent, both musically and lyrically. You can catch her at Bikenetic in Falls Church, VA on March 2nd, or the Jack Morton Auditorium (GW) in DC on March 8th before she heads to Austin, TX for an SXSW show at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters on March 14th. Check out a video of Andrea performing one of the songs off her new EP below. –Natan Press

Northern Virginia’s JDVBBS released his first full length, subURBAN, this January. JDVBBS background includes classical piano, DJing, and A Cappella, and he lists influences as diverse as Kanye West and Bjork. The eclectic nature of JDVBBS is apparent in each of the 10 distinct tracks on his new album, which constantly surprises, forcing one to go through each track wondering “what’s next?” Self-produced, the album is indeed a “self-made symphony, ‘bout to change the industry.” The album is fun, engaging and impressive, and JDVBBS is a welcome addition to the DMV’s adventurous hip-hop scene. –Natan Press

DC based Kenny Wesley, the “Soulful Nerd,” is the most exciting artist since Prince. Woah. What did I just say? I don’t want to put too much pressure on him or anything, but the way he mixes genres, a smorgasbord of rnb, funk, alt-rock and love into a tight pop extravaganza denies any other comparison. His first full length, The Real Thing, was released in May 2013, and the title is no lie; Kenny is undeniable, and he’s about to explode into the national public consciousness. Already featured on Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” and 2nd prize winner as the U.S. representative for the 2013 Montreux Jazz Festival’s Shure Vocal Competition (in Montreux, Switzerland), Kenny is up for 6 Wammies this year (Washington Area Music Awards: Record Design, Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year, Urban Contemporary Recording, Urban Contemporary Vocalist). Kenny will performing at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, MD, on 2/6, and will appear with an all-star lineup at the Hamilton in DC on 2/14. –Natan Press

Baltimore’s Playground Etiquette released their new album, The Marionnette, on January 18th, during a sold out show at Baltimore’s Metro Gallery. The Marionette is thrilling from start to finish, as the band absolutely nails their ambitious prog/alternative sound. It’s hard to describe them in more specific terms, as they blend all sorts of musical ideas and genres into a cohesive whole. The arrangements are complex without being overwhelming. Each song engages the listener, at times to jump around, at others to head-bang, and always to grab your nearest friend and scream “this band is awesome! Why aren’t they huge?” Don’t let them sell a show out from under you again. Playground Etiquette plays the Velvet Lounge in DC, on February 7th. –Natan Press

DC’s Walk The Plank are keeping the hardcore punk they grew up with in the city alive and well. Forming in 2010, they’ve played a blistering amount of shows (literally hundreds), and their persistence is paying off with a strong following in the community. In 2013 they released a split 7” with Supreme Commander. In May of 2014 they will release yet another split 7”, this time with Daycare Swindlers. Walk the Plank play ALL THE TIME, so keep an eye on the listings and you’ll see them soon. Upcoming local shows include 2/7 at the Sidebar in Baltimore (for RABTFest), 3/11 at DC9 in DC, and 3/12 at Strange Matter in Richmond. 

The beautiful voice and loop pedal mastery of DC favorite Margot MacDonald have propelled her to national acclaim in the past year. NPR’s All Songs Considered featured her as one of their favorite discoveries at the 2013 CMJ Music Festival, and she is the current Washington Area Music Association "Artist of the Year." Her new self-released album, Canvas, includes an incredible cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop, which is about the ballsiest thing I’ve heard all year (also “oh that’s what the lyrics are”). Check out the lead single, Speed of Sound, below.

The Last Bison are authentic “mountain top chamber” indie-folk. The seven member band is comprised of family and friends from southeastern Virginia, thrilling audiences with their live shows as did the country troubadours of a past century, and moving modern listeners on record. While similar bands have been successful in the mainstream, The Last Bison have an original edge, representing the musical history and community of Virginia. Check out their video for Setting Our Tables below.

DC super-group Dot Dash (ex Julie Ocean, Youth Brigade, The Saturday People, Minor Threat, etc.) will be playing a show at Comet Ping Pong on February 1st. Dot Dash describe themselves as “post-punk pop,” combining and contrasting familiar “alternative” elements– melodic and dissonant, sharp and jangly, stern and whimsical—in earworm after engaging earworm. They will be joined on the bill by History Repeated (ex Government Issue) and a band from Russia called The Gumbas, who are described as “a band featuring professional male Russian Ballet Dancers from the world famous Mariinsky Ballet Company, who will also be performing earlier in the evening in Swan Lake at the Kennedy Center Opera House.” I’m intrigued. –Natan Press

Ambient music feels like you’re either floating or drowning in the chords. The slowed down reverberations (often miscateogrized as "minimalist") are usually unsettlingly beautiful. Don’t believe me? Listen to Justin Bieber’s "U Smile" slowed down by 800%. It will make you a Belieber. Josh Levi’s solo project Radiator Greys takes the genre’s ethereal nature and runs it through a horror movie soundtrack machine. Shrouded behind a dark veil of hair he churns out, what he dubs, "experimental noise." Not necessarily something you can float to, but it is easy to drown in. You can check him out and his haunted music on Saturday, January 18th, at Dr. Clock’s Nowhere Bar. –Alexandra Noghaven

Roanoke’s celebrated Eternal Summers are preparing to release their fourth album, The Drop Beneath (on Kanine Records), and their first since 2012. The “dream punk” trio has provided the world with the single “Gouge,” a synth-poppy rocker reminiscent of the Cure, with Nicole Yun’s delightful voice, and the aggressive yet dreamy guitars that are Eternal Summers’ hallmark. The Drop Beneath will be released on March 4, 2014. –Natan Press