On Friday, April 4, at 11 AM, local band Georgie James will be joining us for our very first arts & entertainment chat. Bandmates Laura Burhenn and John Davis will answer any questions you might have about touring, the local music scene, and their album, Places, a vibrant collection of indie pop tracks that seamlessly blend Burhenn and Davis’s vocals with catchy percussive beats and handclaps. Pitchfork described the album as “power pop all the way.”

The result of a series of practice and writing sessions between Davis and Burhenn at the Brookland Studios in 2005, Georgie James has appeared on the Conan O’Brian show, toured Europe and Japan, and recently performed at the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, alongside other DC bands.

Not familiar with Georgie James’s sound? Listen to some of their best tunes here, and check them out when they perform live at the Black Cat on April 5.

Submit questions early here, and check back Friday at 11 AM to see the band's answers.

Monday, March 31: LK and Meredith Bragg
Get two great bands for the price of one when LK and Meredith Bragg play the back stage of DC’s Black Cat this evening. One $8 ticket gets you the catchy indie-synth-pop sound of the sweet Swedish group LK (formerly known as the Lovekins), plus the moving pop-folk stylings of local singer-song writer Meredith Bragg. 9 PM.

Tuesday, April 1: Wine Tasting at Bistrot Lepic
Whether you’re looking to learn more about wine or just cash in on free booze, Bistrot Lepic’s weekly Tuesday wine tasting is the spot to be. From 6 to 8 PM at the cozy Georgetown restaurant, a sommelier will guide you through sips of a French wine or two. And yup, it’s free, though it’s worth sticking around to buy a glass or two of your own afterward.

• Internet radio station WOXY.com recently did an excellent in-studio session with a couple of local musicians: Martin Royle, formerly of Washington Social Club, and Pash, who’s been backing Royle while he opens for the Canadian band Stars. You can listen to the lively recording here.

• A blogger is leaving DC—but not before planning a list of what she must enjoy in the city before she leaves. It’s a great list, including Perry’s drag brunch, Friday-night jazz at the Natural History Museum, and plenty of Ethiopian food. If you were moving out of DC, what would be on your must-do list?

Every now and then, something happens at the theater—a line of dialogue, an image, a bit of stage business—that makes you think, “What I’m seeing here reminds me of . . . .” Fill in the blank. While watching Signature Theatre’s affecting production of Kiss of the Spider Woman, I became mesmerized by the silhouette of a prisoner with a bucket on his head. He had been tortured—offstage, thankfully.

The setting, according to the program, is “a prison in Latin America sometime in the recent past.” A repressive regime has imprisoned Molina, a très gay window dresser obsessed with a movie actress named Aurora, and Valentin, a muy macho Marxist who reluctantly admits that his girlfriend is a member in good standing of the bourgeoisie—she even drives a Mercedes. As cellmates, they have much to learn about each other and about a love that requires patience and sacrifice.

See the full theater review here.

Here’s our weekly guide to concerts and other events with tickets going on sale in the days ahead. Read on for this week’s lineup.

Her album’s title is We Brave Bee Stings and All, but singer/songwriter Thao Nguyen is braving a hell of a lot more these days. On the day of our interview, it’s a sore throat and a faulty phone connection. Tonight, it’s a sold-out show on the Black Cat’s backstage. Every day, it’s the dizzying buzz her album has picked up—NPR, Internet radio stations, and music blogs can’t get enough. Big stuff for someone who was finishing college just two years ago.

Back then, Nguyen was already wowing crowds, sometimes playing her guitar with a toothbrush, always delivering the goods. Cut to the present: Small school venues are out, a national headlining tour is in, and Europe is next. Quite the whirlwind, really. What’s remained unchanged through it all? Nguyen’s knack for greatness with the guitar. And the toothbrush. Read on for our full interview.

Yup, you read that right: The local outpost of super-duper shopping warehouse C-Mart is closing. But read on for details about a massive liquidation sale.

A news update on the Landover store’s Web site states it as follows:

“This is not a hoax or a gimmick. The rumors you have been hearing our [sic] true. We’re CLOSING our LANDOVER STORE in preparation for our biggest project EVER . . . ONLINE SHOPPING AT CMART.COM Coming 4/28!! (that’s right . . . NEXT MONTH!)