My Night with Carbon Leaf!

The band, Carbon Leaf, is described as indie rock, alt country, Celtic, and indie folk, but I know them as fellow classmates who roamed the campus of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia with me. Last night, I got to hear and see them in performance at The Hamilton in Washington, DC. They formed Carbon Leaf in 1992 while we were all attending Randolph-Macon, and judging by their energetic performance and the obvious love of the singing, swaying, screaming, dancing audience members, they've not wasted one minute of those 22 years. What a night it was and here are a few images from my first of many Carbon Leaf concerts:) For more Carbon Leaf images, go to my Facebook page!

Gangstagrass Brings It's Bluegrass-Meets-Rap Party to Artisphere for a Wild Party!

If you thought that Donny and Marie Osmond blending their little bit of country with a little bit of rock and roll was subversive, then brace yourself for Gangstagrass - yes, your eyes are not deceiving you! The man behind the curtain is the creator of this mashup musical style, Rench, a California boy who grew up listening to the music of his Oklahoma-born daddy. On Friday night, the group kicked off its spring tour with a rousing performance at Arlington's Artisphere (formerly the old Newseum space that's quickly turning into a great live music venue, so take note). The crowd, clad in everything from flannel shirts and cowboy boots, to old-school hip-hop-head Adidas and dashikis, was on their feet the moment Gangstagrass took the stage. What followed was controlled, glorious, sonic mayhem as the band played back-country grooves with our MCs laying down frenetic raps. Oh, what a night! Here's a link to their website for more information and tour dates, and here are photos from their Artisphere performance:)