Thursday, May 8: Rolling Stone political writer and all-around funnyman and author Matt Taibbi is at Politics and Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave., NW) this evening at 7 to discuss his book, The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire.
The Everybodyfields play haunting, lovely, and twangy country-rock. Grab a beer, sit back, and enjoy them tonight at Iota (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). 9 PM; $12.
Wanda Jackson, the official queen of rockabilly (she toured with Elvis back in the ’50s), is playing tonight at Jammin’ Java in Vienna (227 Maple Avenue E.). 7:30 PM; $18.
The first-ever NoMa Outdoor Film Festival kicks off tonight at the intersection of New York and Florida avenues, Northeast. The theme this year is James Bond, and tonight there will be a screening of Dr. No. The event starts around 8—whenever dusk comes—and is free. Bring a blanket or low lawn chair, something to snack on (but no alcohol, please), and settle in. The festival will continue every Thursday night through August.
Friday, May 9: Tonight is the opening of Artomatic, the unjuried mishmash of 600 visual artists, performers, partiers, and more that’s always a heck of a lot of fun. It’s true that because literally anybody can showcase his or her art at Artomatic, you may not see the highest-quality work that local artists have to offer. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of gems in there—and the entire experience is a great sensory overload, with installations everywhere you turn, live music, and drinks. Artomatic will be open through June 15: Friday and Saturday noon to 2 AM, Sunday noon to 10 PM, Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 10. This year’s location is in the NoMa neighborhood at 1200 First Street, Northeast.
Last weekend, more than 100 filmmaking crews competed to see who could film the best movie in 48 hours for the 48 Hour Film Festival. Starting this weekend, the results are being screened at AFI Silver (8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring). Judge for yourself. Screenings are at 7 and 9:30 PM, and tickets are $9.75.
Saturday, May 10: Learnapalooza is one of the best concepts we’ve heard of in a long time—teach what you know, and learn things you don’t, all for free and from members of your community. People sign up to teach everything from how to manage personal finances to how to get out of a speeding ticket to how to how to make Ethiopian coffee—and lots more. See the full list of workshops here (they take place at a variety of locations all over the city), and sign up to learn something new. Bonus: There’s an after-party at Local 16.
Today’s Georgetown Garden Tour is a self-guided walk through nine of the most beautiful gardens in the neighborhood. You can tour all day from 10 to 5; start at Keith Hall (3116 O St., NW) to buy your tickets ($35). Want more? Check out our guide to other upcoming garden and house tours in May.
Break out the sundresses and big hats and head to Leesburg for the America’s Polo Cup, where the US Polo Team hosts Italy’s in the World Championship match. Polo is the main focus, but there are other activities going on as well: Huey Lewis and the News is playing, plus there’ll be fireworks, crafts, and other live performances. Tickets for the match, fireworks, and Huey Lewis concert are $50. 2 PM; 41793 Tutt La., Leesburg. More info can be found at the Web site.
Sunday, May 11: It’s Mother’s Day! Do your duty and treat Mom to some brunch (our Mom’s Day brunch guide is here) or take her to a spa (see our Great Day Spas package).
It’s the concert of the spring: Radiohead makes a long-awaited return to Washington with its concert tonight at the Nissan Pavilion. The show appeared to have sold out almost immediately, but to our surprise, upon a quick search, it seems there are (as of publishing time on this post) still lawn tickets available. If those run out, you should try your luck on Craigslist, where we’ve seen lots of semireasonable offers. And trust us—almost any amount of money is worth it to see what is, in our opinion, one of the best live acts out there. 7:30 PM.
Since 2000, illumination artist Gerry Hofstetter has been using 6,000-watt projectors to shine images onto buildings, monuments, and mountains. His latest project is an illumination of Washington National Cathedral (Massachusetts and Wisconsin aves., NW) that ends today. Get more details here.
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