Strathmore’s Friday Night Eclectic Returns Tonight (Jan. 21)

The Friday night Eclectic series, a music and art mash up featuring local bands, displays by visual artists, and a Pabst’s Blue Ribbon happy hour, returns to the Mansion at Strathmore tonight, January 21, 2011. Last year the series was named the “best reason to trek out of the District” by the Express newspaper and they want to keep up their rep. I heard rave reviews last year and with the $10 admission price (in advance) or $12 at the door (Stars price: $9), this is affordable nightlife right here in Rockville.

Here’s the Friday night lineup for the season:

Jan. 21 — Rhree of Washington’s most popular MCs: X.O., RAtheMC, and AB the Pro.
“A powerhouse of MCs inaugurates the new season of Friday Night Eclectic. The 24-year old, Petworth-raised X.O. joins forces with the DC rapper/singer RAtheMC, a 2009 MTV VMA Breakout Artist nominee who has toured alongside Wale, The Clipse and Afrika Bambaataa, for an evening of hook-ridden melodies, hard beats and hip hop artistry. AB the Pro, the mastermind behind X.O. andRAtheMC’s mix-tapes, opens the show, demonstrating what makes him one of the most sought-after producers in the DMV.”

Jan. 28 — Washington’s premiere alt-classical group Great Noise Ensemble
“Created in 2005 through a listing placed on Craigslist by composer and conductor Armando Bayolo, Great Noise Ensemble has become one of the most important ensembles in DC’s bourgeoning new music scene, winning The Washington Area Music Association’s 2007 WAMMIE Award for Best Chamber Ensemble. Their Friday Night Eclectic program celebrates the music of Baltimore-based composer Marc Mellits whose works encompass an eclectic combination of driving rhythms, soaring lyricism, and colorful orchestrations.”

Feb. 4 — Dance rockers Ra Ra Rasputin
“…a live act that reliably can get asses not only in the door, but shaking on the floor with their infectious dance punk” (dcist.com), Ra Ra Rasputin’s Strathmore debut is a night you won’t want to miss. Combining dance beats over high-energy electronica, this band’s showmanship and nuanced sound attracts audiences from all over Washington, D.C. Hume is a genre busting D.C. classical/experimental/folk 4 piece band influenced by the Smashing Pumpkins, Morton Feldman and Mustapha Tettey Addy.

Feb. 11 — A benefit concert for the Washington Animal Rescue League with Joseph, Bellflur and Screen Vinyl Image
“Three of D.C.’s premiere indie bands join forces to raise money for the Washington Animal Rescue League.”

Feb. 18 — Hip hop artist Incwell
“This genre-busting D.C. hip hop artist and his 8-piece band push the limits with such far-flung influences as Al Green, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Janis Joplin.”

Feb. 25 — Big band funk act Funk Ark
“The D.C.-based world funk ensemble Funk Ark draws on influences from African and Latin funk/dance music scenes of the 1960s and 70s. Their concerts are a gritty and soulful mix of inspired Afrobeat and big bang funk.”

Mar. 4 — Alt-bluegrass darlings Junior League Band,
“The Junior League Band is an old-time inspired rock band fronted by the Georgia grown banjo, vocalist, Lissy Rosemont. Based out of Washington, D.C., this nationally touring band has been compared to “Alison Krauss and the Band” by the Washington Post, and touts Levon Helm’s own horn players on their catchy single “South Carolina Blues.” The 5 instrumentalists merge these influences with delta blues and pop rock (50′s to Indie Rock) to make for an energetic, sing-song, string heavy, danceable yet mesmerizing live performance. Expect a show ripe with catchy melodies, toe tapping beats, sweet vocals, and some of the country’s most talented up and coming players.”

Mar. 11 — Rappers First Name Basis with Bo Jankans and Educated Consumers
“A night of hip hop when First Name Basis teams up with lyrical gymnast Seez Mics of College Park (aka Cole Policy) and Baltimore-based mix-master t.E.C.K! (aka Jason Fields) of Educated Consumers and the twenty two year-old Bo Jankans, whose music focuses on rhyme and message with compositions full of weaving hooks and catchy choruses.”

Mar. 18 — Sub-Continental Drift’s Fourth Stream and U.S. Department of Bhangra
“Established in January 2007, Subcontinental Drift is a collective of D.C. based artists and organizers who came together to foster and provide a supportive and collaborative South Asian American community for creative expression, encourage the sharing and involvement of community events, and expose people to new mind food. Tonight’s show features the funky jazz trio Fourth Stream, DJs U.S. Department of Bhangra, interactive art exhibitions and bhangra dance classes.”

Mar 25 — Nationally known folk rock group Scrapomatic
“As vocalists and songwriters, Derek Trucks Band’s lead singer Mike Mattison and his longtime partner, guitarist and vocalist Paul Olsen, break new ground with Sidewalk Caesers, an album that infuses the heart and soul of roots music with modern topics and incisive lyrics. The recording, enriched with themes that reverberate from urban to rural and back, showcases the duo’s breathtaking ability to mesh Mattison’s stirring vocal machinations with Olsen’s heartfelt tenor.”

Apr. 1 — Hard rockers ilyAIMY with the heavy metal cello quartet Primitivity
“Percussive, finger-style acoustic guitar, tribal percussion and lush male-female harmonies are the signature sound of ilyAIMY. The songs, a modern take on folk and roots music that includes elements of alternative rock, metal, country and R&B, have been recognized by the nation’s most prestigious festivals and contests. Primitivity is a cello and percussion ensemble that blends elements of classical and heavy metal music into a new genre called cello rock. Cellist Loren Westbrook-Fritts, former Strathmore Artist in Residence, composes the music and provides the leads, while cellists David Teie of the National Symphony, Kristin Ostling of the Baltimore Symphony, and Mauricio Betanzo of the Maryland Symphony all shred out intense riffs and harmonies. Specializing in the music of Megadeth, Apocalyptica, and Metallica, Primitivity also performs its own original compositions.”

Apr. 8 — The 8-piece Salsa band Sin Miedo
“ ‘Sin Miedo’ is Spanish for ‘Fearless’, and it’s also the name of one the best Salsa bands in Washington” (Washington Post). Led by French pianist Didier Prossaird, Sin Miedo’s 8-piece orchestra performs original music with Spanish and French lyrics and salsa hits from the ‘70s to today.”

The concerts are standing room only (with the exception of Great Noise Ensemble on January 28 and Scrapomatic on March 25).

All performances take place in the Mansion at Strathmore. Doors open at 8 PM and the concerts begin at 9 PM. To purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or go to Strathmore.org.

Pabst’s Blue Ribbon supports the series with a pre-concert happy hour from 8-9 PM with 16 oz. PBR’s for only $2. Restaurant Associates is open all night with a cash bar plus chips, cookies, brownies and other light snacks.

Parking & General Information: Take Metro to the Grosvenor-Strathmore station on the Red Line. Parking is available on-site on a space available basis in the Mansion parking lot. Enter at 10701 Rockville Pike

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