“What are your favorite DC bands and artists that nobody talks about?”
Memoirist Mike Scalise posted that question to Twitter on Thursday afternoon—please no super-famous acts like Fugazi or Chuck Brown, he told his followers. In response, the city’s music-lovers stepped up to the proverbial mic and shouted out their underrated favorites. Scalise even turned the guitar-laden soundtrack of DC into a playlist—consider it recommended listening as you scroll through some of the replies:
Darkest Hour, Periphery.
— Martin Austermühle (@maustermuhle) February 19, 2021
Early Humans, Shy Glizzy and this has prob been mentioned Black Eyes
— kam tambini (@TAMBIN0) February 19, 2021
Nobody's mentioned The Goons yet, the band that got me into punk. More recently, The Shirks.
— James Doubek (@JamesDoubek) February 19, 2021
have a hard time telling whether or not Nation of Ulysses is unknown outside of DC but they’re my fave
— wig-wag 📽 (@wigwagmag) February 18, 2021
Another vote for 9353, as well as the vast DC go-go scene, and then by the 1990s there was Thievery Corporation and the downtempo scene.
— Brendan Hasenstab (@pierrepont) February 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/Sailor_mourn/status/1362579748468228096
https://twitter.com/richmanmax/status/1362609266721517570
Jonathan Fire Eater (they were all from DC—I grew up with them)!
— elliott holt (@elliottholt) February 18, 2021
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
