Rob Riggle at Sixth & I

If you can't get enough of Rob Riggle's muscular idiocy on the Daily Show, mark your calendars- he'll be at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue on February 19. Tickets here.

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival

DC may not have hosted infamous Harlem Renaissance, but since the 1900's DC has been a foundational national outlet for the expression of African American culture, namely, jazz music. And a main staple of DC's rich history is Duke Ellington, a jazz pioneer.

Today, Wednesday October 1st is the beginning of the week-long Duke Ellington jazz festival. Concerts associated with the event are happening all over the city, and many of them are FREE!

There are so many options, and the schedule website is incredibly easy to use, so there is definitely sometime for every jazz (or even non-jazz) lover out there!

Outdoor Opera

The Washington National Opera season's started up again, bringing with it a ton of events aimed at filling seats with first-time operagoers. One is this concert at the Woodrow Wilson Plaza of selections from operas in the 2008-2009 season, including La Traviata, The Pearl Fishers, and Carmen. Even if this is the extent of your exposure to opera, you're sure to recognize something. The WNO also has a really great program offering tickets to people under 35 at deep discounts.

WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Perform a Lunch Series Concert
Thursday, Sept. 25
Noon-1:30
FREE

H Street Festival

Street fair season continues with the H Street Festival on Saturday, September 20. There's quite a range in attractions-from burlesque to a former Redskins cornerback-so your whole posse is bound to find something of interest. Hint for the non-Metrobus savvy- you can get on the X2 at Gallery Place under the big gate and it'll take you all the way down H Street. If you get there early grab a latte at lovely Sidamo, one of the most pleasant coffee shops in the city.

H Street Festival
1200-1400 H St. NE
Saturday, Sep. 20 12-6
FREE

Frozen Tropics: H Street Festival Saturday

Adams Morgan Day

I've noticed it too...it's getting darker, hints of yellow are blossoming on the leaves, fall is quickly approaching. Take advantage of the gorgeous end of summer/beginning of fall weather and come out to Adams Morgan Day! What, Adams Morgan is alive, awake and running during the day?! Shocking, I know. I had a hard time believing it at first too. Adams Morgan makes for a great stroll without the lingering waft of Jumbo Slice (and etc.)

Sunday the street is closed off to cars and will be celebrating local vendors and local performs. Food and fun for the whole family.

In the very least, you should check out Batala, who will be performing on the Dance Stage (basketball courts) at 1:30pm. They're an all-female afro-brazilian drum band and amazing (it may be that one of the blog writers is in the band).

Adams Morgan Day
18th St. NW, between Florida Ave and Columbia
http://www.adamsmorgandayfestival.com/
noon-7pm
FREE

Free snacks and a steel drum band?!

Quick update on tonight (from The Washingtonian):

Hudson the restaurant celebrates the winding-down of summer with an extended happy hour featuring a bunch of tropical-themed specials ($5 Red Stripes; $8 Dark & Stormies) and a buffet of free hors d’oeuvres. The party kicks off at 7 PM with a steel-drum band. At 9, DJ Adrian Loving takes over until midnight. Entry is free and open to anyone—RSVP to Victoria@vmpublicrelations.com.

2030 M St., NW
202-872-8700

Bliss/Ladytron afterparty at Redeem

Brightest Young Things is hosting an afterparty on Saturday at Redeem for the Thievery corporation / Ladytron / Seu Jorge and TV on the Radio concert at Merriweather and the Bliss show at the Black Cat back stage. You'll have to wait until 1am if you don't have a ticket stub from the Outernational Music Tour or a Bliss dance party hand stamp, hopefully the free booze won't run out first. RSVP here. Once you get in, you're sure to forget the producers are "fueled by Toyota Matrix."

Bliss/Ladytron Afterparty
Saturday, June 28

Redeem
1734 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Sara Bareilles

You know, the one from the Rhapsody commercials? She'll be performing at Union Station from 1-2:15 on Saturday as part of...National Train Day? There's a whole bunch of other events going on at Union Station that day, including an appearance by Al Roker and book signing by Chef Michel Richard, model train displays, and appearances by the mascots of the Nationals and Wizards.

"Pay What You Can" at Improv

Washington DC Metblogs relayed the info that DC Improv has begun a monthly “Pay What You Can” night. The first one will be April 30th for the Marc Maron show. Show up that night and if there are seats available, you pay what you can. No 2-item minimum either.

Pay-What-You-Can

As someone broke, the Studio Theatre shows can often be out of my price range. SO...I like the ... Pay-What-You-Can shows. Pay what you can for Amnesia Curiosa on April 8th at Studio Theatre. The performance starts at 7:30 and tickets are available IN-PERSON 2 hours prior. It’s cash only. Try your damnedest to get there at 5:30, grab a ticket and then grab a quick bite (and cocktail) at Saint-Ex or Bar Pilar.

1501 14th St. NW

Headliners for 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival

The headliners for the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival, scheduled for August 9 and 10 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, have been announced. The headliners- Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West, and Jack Johnson- skew pretty heavy towards the aging rocker variety so the other acts (still unannounced) will have to be pretty spectacular for me to consider it. Tickets for both days last year were $175 for general admission and getting to Pimlico without a car will be no small feat. But if the lineup is speaking to you and you'd just as well skip the mud and questionable toilets that seem to be a feature at other summer music festivals, or you'd like the chance to recoup what you paid for your ticket at the track, it could be a good bet.

DC Cowboys Hoedown

What better way to unwind after a long week than with a little gay line dancing? I'd never even seen real live line dancing before I went to watch a former coworker perform with the DC Cowboys, an all-male, all-gay country dancing group, but I don't know how often Christina Aguilera's "Candyman" enters the rotation at other country bars. The Cowboys will perform tonight at Remington's at 11:30, but get there early to catch the regulars, whose elaborate moves are just as impressive. The fast-paced numbers are interspersed with sweet, slower, kind of waltzy-looking songs that draw couples of all ages. Not convinced? No cover with coupon.

DC Cowboys Hoedown Party
10-12
Remington's
639 Pennsylvania Ave., SE (Eastern Market Stop)

MetOpera in HD

While we're on opera, one of the nice things about Generation O is that you can get great tickets for an opening night without forking over $350. Black tie is optional, but even if you leave your elbow-length gloves at home it makes for great people-watching. On the other hand, even the discounted ticket can seem steep if, like me, you tend to fall asleep within ten minutes of the lights going down, no matter what's on stage or screen. But for just $22 you can nap relatively guilt-free during the Metropolitan Opera's live high-definition broadcasts of selected operas in theaters around the country. The schedule for the rest of the season is here. Ballston Common airs the live performances, which are held on Saturday afternoons. Hoffman Center 22 near the Eisenhower Ave. Metro airs the live performances and an encore the next day at 3. They definitely call for snack packing- even the shortest tops three hours and most have two intermissions. If you're new to opera, Puccini's La Boheme (April 5, 1:30-4:50) is a touching classic, if a little bit of a downer. If you're daring enough to brave Wagner's major downer Tristan und Isolde (March 22, 12:30-6:05)...bring a pillow.