As to be expected, we at This Is Our Jam love going to concerts wherever and whenever we can find them around the city.
And while we love the bigger and more well-known venues like 9:30 Club and Black Cat, off-the-beaten path places also have a ton of great bands coming in (and usually for just a few dollars!).
Some of our favorite venues include:
IOTA Club & Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington): Don’t be fooled by the Arlington address — IOTA is far from your typical Clarendon bar. With live music almost every night of the week, covers at this intimate venue are rarely more than $15 (and a lot of shows are free) and you’ll be able to impress your friends that you heard a band there before they were big — or even after (we caught Sons of Bill there for free last spring). And they also host a weekly open mic night for all you aspiring musicians out there.
Hill Country Barbeque (410 7th St. NW):
Hosting live acts from Tuesday to Sunday nights every week, Hill Country is amazingly accessible by most metro lines (so close to both Metro Center and Chinatown) and specializes in Americana and folksy music. The vast majority of shows hosted in the downstairs Boot Bar are free, with bonus weekly Rock N Twang live band karaoke, if you’re so inclined to strut your stuff on stage.
DC9 (1940 9th St. NW):
Only two blocks away from the 9:30 Club, DC9 is a perfect alternative for catching up-and-coming artists in a more intimate location. Not only do they host great concerts, but they also host the not-to-be-missedLiberation Dance Party (including an open bar for the first hour and a half!) every Friday night and a wonderful and often-overlooked rooftop bar.
See what concerts we have coming up and what we’ve been to (at these locations and all around the city!) at thisisourjamdc.com. Where else should we check out?
