Rock Out For Vets benefit at Jammin Java

Awesome music venue Jammin Java in Vienna is hosting a benefit concert for Arlington veterans on Saturday, November 15. Local government contractor RazorX2 is organizing the event to raise money for the Rock Out For Vets concert to repair the John Lyon VFW Post 3150 building in Courthouse, which is a century old structure in great need for repair.

Two bands will take the stage that Saturday: Fairfax based rock band Traitors N Thieves  and Amsterdam. Tickets are $25 and includes open bar and hor d'oeuvres.

Bracket Room Veterans Day benefit

In honor of  Veterans Day this Tuesday November 11, Bracket Room is hosting a fundraiser to help out veterans and military families. This entire week $1 of every Coors Light draft sold will be donated to the Fisher House, the charity that gives military families places to stay when family members are hospitalized, and the Green Beret Foundation which provides immediate financial assistance to Green Berets who are injured in the line of duty. Also, if you show your military ID CAC card at the bar you receive 50% your drink on Veterans Day.

Halloween in Clarendon - Nov 1 Bar Crawl

Halloween isn't over on Oct 31! Here in Clarendon the holiday must always span two weekends, so save your costumes for the 2nd annual Clarendon Halloween Crawl on Saturday, Nov 1. Organized by Project DC Events, last year's bar crawl was massive and super fun. Be prepared for hordes of costumed party goers between 2 and 9pm who are taking advantage of each participating venue's specials, raffles and costume contests.

Early bird tickets are $10 until this Tuesday Oct 7. Then prices rise to $15 and then to $20 at the door. That price gets you a plastic mug, access to cheaper beer with that mug, $2 Bronx pizz slices, and prize contest entries. Despite all the controversy surrounding Arlington bar crawls over the past year, I'm really looking forward to this one because the costumed crowd was so friendly at the last Halloween crawl.

Register at Mad Rose or Clarendon Ballroom to start the day drinking out and expect long lines at both venues. Then hop to any or all the other participating bars, including: Whitlow’s, Spider Kelly's, SoBe, Hunan Number One, Mister Days, Hard Times, IOTA, American Tap Room, and Bracket Room.

Derek Evry's Halloween show at Iota

If live music in a fun setting is preferable than the throngs of wild drunken partiers at Ballroom, come out to Iota on Oct 31 for three live bands. The very talented local musician Derek Evry leads His Band Of Misantropes on Halloween night. Music starts at 9pm with Yum and Short Lives, $9 covers you for all three acts. More info on their Facebook event page.

Halloween in Clarendon - Ballroom DC101 Costume Contest

It's that time of the year again for the biggest party at Clarendon Ballroom on Friday, October 31. The annual DC 101 Elliot in the Morning Halloween party is the best night of the year at Ballroom, with party goers in creative costumes packing both the dance floor and rooftop to compete in the $3,000 grand prize costume contest. Last year's winner was the Invisible Man homemade costume.

The night starts at 8pm and cover is $15 before 10pm. Usually there will be a line wrapping around the block to get into Ballroom, so try to get there before 11pm. For costume contest rules check out DC101's event page.

Halloween in DC - Nightmare on M Street

The 15th annual Nightmare on M Street will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25th thrown by Lindy Promotions. From 5pm-1am you can enjoy $2 Coors Lights, $3 Blue Moons, and $4 Bacardi drinks at over 30 DC bars spanning from Dupont to Chinatown! Tickets are $20 on sale now and you can use my promo code NIGHTS to save 20% off that until Oct 17.

Hot Buttered Nuggets and Miss Tess at Iota

If you are a fan of eclectic vintage variety shows don't miss the bands at Iota on Friday Oct 10. This is a special show for the band, as the mother and father team of Hot Buttered Nuggets will be opening for their daughter's band that night, Miss Tess and the Talkbacks. Miss Tess is a Brooklyn-based singer and with her band make grooving modern vintage music that nods to the traditions of saloon jazz, country swing and early rockabilly. The Talkbacks have just released The Love I Have For You, their second on rootsy label Signature Sounds. $12 cover and music starts at 9pm.

White Ford Bronco at Clarendon Grill

The awesome 90s cover band White Ford Bronco is playing tonight, Thursday October 9 for a free show! One of the best local cover bands I've seen is on stage at Clarendon Grill at 9:30pm without a cover charge.

Doubleclicks at Jammin Java

I've been looking forward to the super geeky fun of The Doublclicks returning to Jammin Java for a while. When I last saw the Oregon based sisters Angela and Aubrey Webber at the Vienna venue I was laughing out loud at their whimsical and catchy original folk-ish songs like Lasers And Feelings and Spock Impersonator. They change up some of the lyrics for their live performances and have great audience interaction with their nerdy tunes themed around Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons, Minecraft and dinosaurs. Tickets to Monday's 7:30pm show is $12 online or $15 at the door.

The Cowards Choir at Iota

Local super talents Andy Zipf, Ben Tufts, Adam Neubauer and Ryan Walker form The Cowards Choir band playing at Iota this coming Saturday, Oct 4. This DC based band is releasing their new EP Cool Currency that night with Justin Jones opening for them.

In August of 2013, The Cowards Choir released the Reunion EP. Less than a year later, they have been featured on WAMU 88.5 Metro Connection, nominated as one of DC's best upcoming bands by Deli Magazine, and mentioned on Rollingstone.com after backing up Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic during a surreal performance of Lorde's "Royals". Their thrilling live show continues to evolve, driven by their camaraderie and the shared desire to make music that creates connection.

Advance tickets are available online here for $14, or $15 at the door. The first 30 people to purchase tickets will be invited to a special listening party at Republic one week before the show.