Three Bands Rock BloomBars Friday at 9:00 pm!

Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship is a four piece rock band from Omaha, Nebraska formed in 2004 by good friends Andrew Gustafson and John Svatos. The band has undergone several lineup changes until being joined by drummer Rob Webster in 2007 and guitarist Rick Black in 2009. Influenced by late 80’s and early 90’s alternative rock the band combines noisy guitars, fuzzed out bass and hard hitting drums in a simple songwriting fashion.

John Wayne Hero is a four piece rock outfit from Washington DC. Formed in 2007 as a declaration of love for DC punk, 90′s fuzz and loud guitars, post-rock, and thought-provoking lyrics, the band has quickly garnered a local following since, notably for their “raw and honest” live shows. They released their debut album on iTunes this past spring, and will continue to write, record, and perform new material through the remainder of the year.

Blend synth melodies with driving beats and ethereal electric guitars, and add to it a delicious layer of sexy and seductive female voice that you can’t help but sway to, and you have just a taste of the four piece rock/dance outfit called Dance for the Dying. The mission of the band is to channel music through their instruments that will suit the evolution of human experiences while supplying music that crowds cannot avoid moving to.

• Suggested donation of $10
• All ages welcome
• Show starts at 9 pm!
• RSVP on Facebook!

Starts September 2nd at 9:30 pm!

Every first Thursday, celebrated flutist Arch Thompson will call on a listening audience to experience love for “Mother Earth” through his music and the music of special guests.

Arch is a strong advocate for the environment, and uses his music to help educate about the importance of clean air and being good caretakers of the planet.

According to Arch, “Every one of us is a flute waiting for life’s precious gift of clean air to fill our lungs, to feed our brain cells, give us life in abundance and keep our hearts pumping with the flow of blood through our bodies. I have learned throughout my life that music can vibrate the unseen core of the human soul.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Arch Thompson is a gifted flutist, composer/arranger and performer who upholds a rich and diverse musical tradition that extends from the shores of the Caribbean Islands and on to North, Central and South America.

Learn More about Arch Thompson’s distinguished background and preview his beautiful flute music.

• Date: Every First Thursday, Starting September 2nd!
• Time: 9:30 – 11:30 pm
• Suggested Donation: $10
• Learn More about Arch Thompson
• RSVP on Facebook!

Monday, August 30th at 9:00 pm!

The Garden Open Mic blooms every monday night with music, poetry, comedy, dance, storytelling and more. Signup list opens at 8:30; and the show starts at 9:00 pm.

This week, co-hosts Jonathan B. Tucker & Gowri K. welcome SongRise, Washington DC’s all-women social justice a capella group.

About SongRise:

Founded in 2009, SongRise is Washington DC’s all-women social justice a cappella group. Songrise uses its music to inspire people to fight for social and political change. Performing everything from Sweet Honey in the Rock to Salt N Pepa, SongRise offers up its singing talents at community events, rallies, protests, farmer’s markets, civil rights celebrations, DC voting rights events, arts showcases, in schools, at churches, and in prisons.

Date: Monday, August 30th
Time: Show starts at 9:00 pm
Donation: $10
RSVP on Facebook!

Starting on Sunday, September 5th at 12:00 pm – Register Here!

Have you ever wanted to sing? Do you want to get back into singing again? Are you ready to start auditioning for musicals? A band? American idol?

Well check this out! This voice class includes one-on-one interaction, techniques for breathing and connecting with your sound and voice, and adapts to various skill levels and experience.

Students bring in songs they want to sing, and songs will also be assigned to each student. This is a very nurturing class that encourages exploration of the singing warrior within. Who is this appropriate for? All artists from actors to singers to kids to adults – all ages are welcome! Alexandra wants to help you find your voice!

The class will begin with a 15-week session (the equivalent to a whole semester) that includes an hour per week of lessons. At the end of the session, students will perform a recital on the BloomBars stage.

For this program to take place, BloomBars requires preregistration of at least 7 participants. Register now to ensure this class will continue! $100 is due at time of registration, with the remaining $200 due on the first day of class. Altogether, that means small group classes from a trained professional for just $20/class!

About the Instructor, Alexandra Phillips

Alexandra Phillips, Soprano, is a classically trained opera singer and performer, who loves to explore the collaboration and fusions of different genres and techniques. She has soloed at such venues as the Kennedy Center, the Folger Theatre, and recently returned from a three month performance tour in Italy. In addition, she has released her new recording “High Notes” which includes coloratura opera arias such as “Glitter and be Gay” from Bernstein’s “Candide,” as well as arias from “Lucia di Lammermoor” by Donizetti and “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” by Offenbach.

• Date: Sunday, September 5th, 2010 through Sunday, December 19th
• Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
• Donation: $20 per person per week for group lessons
• Payment Details: $100 Due at Registration; $200 Due on September 5th at the first class.
• Private lessons also available for a donation of $65 per person per hour.
• Registrater for Group Classes Now!

Join BloomBars as we say Bon Voyage to our BloomBars Ambassador, friend, and supporter Hope Leigh Rollins. Hope’s moving to LA and we will miss her and her beautiful music dearly.

Ms. Ally Way will also help send Hope off in the right style, so please come to BloomBars for amazing local music.

• Date: TONIGHT! Sunday, August 29
• Time: 8:30 – 10:30 pm
• Donation: $10
• RSVP on Facebook!

About Hope Leigh Rollins:

Hope is a local singer songwriter who is an alumni of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and American University, But before all of that, when she was four years old, Hope Leigh became a performer. Attending an arts preschool, she insisted on giving nightly violin and recorder concerts on the stage in her home [ to her it was stage, to the masses it was a fireplace ]. 2 decades later she was still playing on stages, but this …time, they were real. With her debut album ” Hey Mom, Look What I Can Do” which was released on Valentines day of this year, Hope is moving to Los Angeles at the end of the summer to pursue a career in music full time. Hope Leigh is a fresh voice for the times. Her tunes flirt with acoustic indie and pop and stand on a foundation of classical training . Her powerful voice is filled with emotion, and gives the listener a new take on a wide range of genres , making contemporary covers her own and delivering her original music with truth and charm.

About Ally Way:

Ally Way is a 2009 DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Young Artist Grant Award winner and CEO of AK Way Publishing and Florals and Foxtails Entertainment. She has performed around the world in several different genres and languages. Ally Way writes, records and produces all of her own material and encourages other artist to do the same. Music is Ally’s full time profession and had dedicated her academic career to such also. She attended University of Maryland, College Park, where she studied voice and music education with Carmen Balthrop and Francois Loup. Ally is a pianist, guitarist and poet. She is in the process of publishing two books: “Two Over Twenty” and “Power Affirmations for Artist”.

Saturday, August 28th at 8:30 – 11:30 pm

Come out for a spectacular evening of music!

Opening the evening will be Ralph Wittenberg, performing songs on the guitar that your heart will sing with, and your hips will shake to.

Next, Ramona and the Silver Hondas on summer tour will delight the night with their original folk rock songs.

Headlining: DC’s new acoustic rock band Amber Dutton, featuring the savvy songwriting skills of Amber Dutton with Gregg Hammond on guitar, bass, mandolin, and Rob Reid on percussion.

This evening will be one to remember!

This is a donation-based fundraiser for Bloombars and and Guitars Not Guns, please donate $10 to $20 to help these organizations support the arts in our community.

Date: Saturday, August 28th
Time: 8:30 – 11:30 pm
Suggested Donation: $10
RSVP on Facebook!

Enjoy a full day of BloomBars events to honor Columbia Heights Day: Saturday, August 28th!

Join BloomBars on Columbia Heights Day for a full day (and night) of programming to celebrate our community and all that it has to offer!

We’ll be open all day, with belly dance, yoga, capoeira, salsa, tap dance, samba, Storytime, Open Mic, live music, and even Sunrise Cinema (Movies all night!). Basically, we’re fitting our entire week of programs into one day!

• Events start at 9:00 am and keep going till 6:30 am on Sunday! View the complete schedule below.
• All ages are welcome for every event.
• Suggested Donation: $10 per event.
• RSVP on Facebook
• More info on Gregg Hammond/Amber Dutton/Rob Reid

Columbia Heights Day Schedule:

9:00 – 10:00 am – Belly Dance
10:00 – 11:00 am – Yoga
11:00 – 12:00 pm – Capoeira
12:00 – 12:45 pm – Children’s StoryTime with Mahogany Books
1:00 – 5:00 pm – Columbia Heights Media Project will be interviewing residents for a hyperlocal documentary
2:00 – 4:00 pm – The Garden: Open Mic: Special afternoon session
4:00 – 5:00 pm – Cuban Salsa & Tap Dance Jam
5:30 – 6:30 pm – Brazilian Hour! Samba lesson and performance.

8:30 – 10:30 pm – Live performances by local guitar & folk musicians Ralph Wittenberg, Amber Dutton, and Greg Hammond to benefit Guitars not Guns

And it doesn’t stop there!

2:30 am – 6:30 am – Sunrise Cinema: Don’t drink & drive! Watch movies until sunrise. Let us know if you’d like to help. We’re looking for comedians and film curators.

View Details on Facebook!

End of Summer Social, Friday, August 28th at 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Join WALA members, volunteer attorneys, artists and creatives of all kinds for a social/networking/mixer event at BloomBars! We’re raising money together to support two excellent organizations that are helping artists in our community: Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts and BloomBars.

Bring your business cards and network away! In addition, Sticky Fingers Bakery is generously donating delicious vegan fare and we’ll provide plenty of non-alcoholic refreshments.

To top it off, the amazing Nila Kay will be performing an intimate set- Check her out in the video below.

RSVP Now to make your donation online!

Nila Kay speaks a musical language that blends acoustic pop with funky neo-soul to create her own avant-garde dialect. While her sounds may be hard to define and her compositions difficult to conveniently box into a single genre, her passion is straight up.

Check her out below, rehearsing with Resident Artist-in-Bloom Terrence Cunningham:

Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:00 pm – See The Cornel West Theory prep for their upcoming show!

The Cornel West Theory is headlining at the Poetry in the Park festival, this Saturday at Carter Barron Amphitheater.

You can also come check out their open rehearsal at BloomBars on Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 to 11 pm! The suggested donation of $10 goes towards supporting Bloombars and keeping costs low for musicians to access its space for rehearsals like this one.

About the Cornel West Theory

The Cornel West Theory is a Washington, D.C. based hip-hop band. With the blessing of Dr. Cornel West, the Princeton University professor and renowned author, the band takes its name from his prolific writings and philosophies that have shaped contemporary thought throughout the world.

Inspired by the rich musical history of the nation’s capital and the struggles of poor people worldwide, the band was created in 2004 as a response to social oppression everywhere. They are here to deliver music that holds a mirror up to the world, with a core focus on political, cultural and spiritual commentary.

The band’s purpose is to speak the truth to the masses, while communicating to young and old alike. They create soulful music that entertains, informs, educates and provokes awareness and activism. Their sound, filled with drums, bass, piano, and electronic sounds, contains elements of all great music – from home grown Go-Go to jazz to rock to hip-hop.

Their music is rooted in hip-hop, but that single genre does not define the range and variety of the musicians in the group. Winners of the 2008 Washington Area Music Awards Wammie for Best Hip-Hop duo or group, the Cornel West theory released its debut album “Second Rome” in September 2009.

Check out DCist’s recent interview with the band for the latest update.

The first Tuesday of every month is Mind Power, a two-hour freestyle obstacle course open to MCs, producers, poets and singers who wish to sharpen their ability to spontaneously create while helping to unify a gifted music and freestyle community looking for space to be embraced.

During this workshop, different exercises are given as challenges to the group by the new host, Flex Matthews. As the exercises are introduced, every participant takes his/her turn at freestyling about the given topic or exercise.

• • • • • • • • • Date: Starting September 7th, then Every First Tuesday of Every Month
                • Time: 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm
                • Cost: $10 Suggested Donation
                • RSVP on Facebook