The DMV continues to be a destination for touring artists who make music that doesn’t fall under the umbrella of American pop.
Fall highlights include longtime Mexican American singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas, who does make music that can be considered pop, but she sings her exquisite melodies in Spanish, and often plays accordion with additional indie-rock rhythms in her band. Julieta Venegas plays at 8 p.m. on Sept. 7 at Wolf Trap Filene Center, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna. $49–$149.
A Louisiana supergroup with Jourdan Thibodeaux, Cedric Watson, and Joel Savoy also uses the accordion, but they sing in French, and feature fiddles, guitar, and a triangle. Their dance music repertoire includes leisurely Cajun waltzes, up-tempo Creole zydeco, and wistful ballads. Jourdan Thibodeaux, Cedric Watson, and Joel Savoy play at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 at Hill Center, 921 Penn. Ave. SE. Free with registration.
Ustad Noor Bakhsh, a Pakistani musician from the country’s least populated region, Balochistan, is on his first U.S. tour. Bakhsh plays high-pitched ragas on an electrified benju, a long flat dulcimer-like instrument with strings and large typewriter-like keys. At times the buzzing sonics from his instrument—and his bandmates on the lute-like damboora—resemble North African guitar-led desert blues. Ustad Noor Bakhsh plays at 7 p.m. on Oct. 2 at Bossa Bistro and Lounge, 2463 18th St. NW. $20–$23.
Drummer Makaya McCraven was raised in the U.S., but he’s the Paris-born son of a Hungarian singer and flutist mom and an African American jazz drummer dad. McCraven and his big band play largely instrumental jazz, but his skittering stickwork also draws from James Brown funk, drum and bass, and hip-hop. Makaya McCraven plays at 5 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Sycamore and Oak, 1110 Oak Dr. S.E. Free with registration.
Archival flier courtesy of Union Station
Ghanaian guitarist Ebo Taylor started playing rhythmic highlife music in the late 1950s, then transitioned to Afrobeat with Fela Kuti in the 1960s, and, by the ’70s his own hybrid of funk, jazz, and Ghanaian genres. The now 88-year-old will be joined by 78-year-old Ghanaian vocalist Pat Thomas, whose affecting tone led him to be known as the “Golden Voice of Africa.” Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas play at 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 at the Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. $35–$60.
For more recommendations from our Fall Arts Guide, click here.