 |
| Prize Easter egg...or egg-shaker abuse of superstar talent? |
I'm a bit surprised to be back with you again so soon. I normally don’t like updating the blog unless I have some big news, a creative presentation [like pretty new pictures : ], or at least something otherwise at least mildly entertaining to share. When I do write, however, I like to catch you up on whatever else has been going on-—particularly what’s happened since the last time we got together with emphasis on anything breaking at the moment. I know I’m not your only source of music news, but I may very well be your only way to get this unique perspective. Also, forgive me for pointing out that people on the Internet tend to be more than creatively lazy and often need to have things distilled & highlighted for them, even though they could dig up the same info themselves without too awfully much effort! Once I do start writing, I’m always surprised at how much actually has happened during the time “nothing really happened”! That was the situation this time around as I feverishly worked to add relavent current events to the Surviving the Facebook Facelift blog. Rather than kill myself or make you wait, I decided it was a better plan to resolve to fine-tune my way of working a bit, publish that previous blog as is, catch you up in a fresh future entry, and then see where we need to go from there. If you have ideas, feel free to share. As for the planned update, this is it.
Last time we got caught up like this was Another YEAR with MARGOT MacDONALD; so, I guess
 |
| Margot MacDonald, Artist of the Year |
One of if not the biggest excitement last time was the prospect of a new Margot MacDonald album, and Margot continues to work long & hard on that. Few things that could possibly happen are cooler than anticipating fresh studio cuts of Margot MacDonald music and we can’t wait to hear them, but the downside is missing our Margot dearly while she works. This is ultimate recluse time for her with few live shows or related events to give us face time. In addition to devoting countless hours to the studio (both before & since), Margot took her second major break from recording (the first was to plan, organize, rehearse, setup & execute her holiday show back in December). Margot recently traveled to
 |
| Photo by Listen Local First |
This time away from Margot, combined with an increasingly warm/fuzzy with her growing base of fans, has brought home some important lessons for me. Biggies include how lucky we are to have Margot MacDonald with us here in the area and how much time & effort she really does devote to us and to making her amazing music happen. When much more than a couple of weeks go by without a live concert, I start to feel how much we all need our Margot fix. People generally don’t come out & say, “God, I miss Margot MacDonald!” but the message is pretty much precisely that clear: “Hey, is there a show this Friday?” “Have you heard if Margot’s playing at the…this year?” “I’ve got people visiting, and they want to go see a Margot show 'cause they've heard so much about her but never been; is there anything coming up?” A fairly new but increasingly common trend is the opportunity to share directly with those fans who have never met Margot or even seen her perform live, including her growing, glowingly enthusiastic group in the UK. They’re always eager for the next photo set, curious about the particulars of the shows in Margot’s online videos or just speculating about how awesome it would be to "one day" get the chance to see her live. It’s a double-edged sword for me. On one hand, again, it emphasizes what a great gift Margot’s presence here in the area is to us in DC (and how awful it is to miss even one show); on the other, it can make me feel pretty selfish for crying about doing just that! [Either way, infinite thanks to you guys for always offering a sympathetic shoulder to cry on by reading the Denuine blog. : ]
MARGOT MacDONALD in NYC TONIGHT!
Speaking of live shows, there are [quite conveniently : ] some new dates popping up on
 |
| Sidewalk Cafe / Photo by Yun Cee Ng |
If you can make it here to Sidewalk Cafe tonight, please do stick around after Margot's
 |
| Ace Elijah |
1. RSVP to Margot MacDonald's TONIGHT! Margot at Sidewalk Cafe NYC
2. RSVP for Ace Elijah's 7 songwriters live @ Sidewalk.
June is a huge month for Margot MacDonald shows with 2012 occurrences of some of the most
Things only get more awesome from there, as we head into the spring/summer season of Margot's
 |
| Margot MacDonald's huge talent seems particularly at home on the area's bigger stages. |
The first of these huge shows is scheduled for Saturday, June 9th, 2012 at 7:30PM in Arlington, VA's spacious Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre. Encore Presents: Margot MacDonald is the must-see show your friends will be talking about through next year, and tickets are on sale right now. You can purchase them directly from Encore. You can also call 703-548-1154 for more information, check out the event on Margot's band page or read the great article about the show in the Clarendon Patch. I've personally been so excited about this show I bought my ticket the very first day they went on sale. Don't forget to RSVP for this awesome show at Encore's official Facebook event, Encore Presents: Margot MacDonald! If you can make it; I'll definitely see you there!
It's still quite early in the season and new shows are added all the time (watch the event section of Margot's band page for her frequent updates [I'm actually frequently checking myself while I write this, because I'm sure a new show will be announced to date this blog the second I publish it! ; ]), but the final future date currently on Margot's summer schedule is another exciting episode of her amazing Lubber Run Amphitheater show June 29th at 7:00PM. LRA was rescued from ruin last year just in time for a long-overdue summer season of memorable acts--including Margot MacDonald. This year should be every bit as exciting. Many new Margot fans I've talked to lately have been fans precisely since experiencing her via last year's edition of this show. LRA's event schedule on their website is still (at this writing) displaying the 2011 schedule, but there's probably a better than average chance the 2012 schedule will replace it (at the same link) once the new season is announced. [UPDATE: I just checked the LRA event schedule link I gave you last sentence, and it's currently down. I'm thinking this may be a sign the new schedule will be up soon, but I wanted to give you a couple of additional links just in case. Good, permanent links for related information once it's announced will be the Lubber Run Amphitheater Main Page & Arlington Arts--both also excellent sources of information on some of the best happenings in the DC area.] In the meantime, you can refer to Margot's band page event listing. NEW! You can now RSVP for Margot MacDonald: Lubber Run Amphitheater 2012 Summer Concert Series here! This is another show I wouldn't miss for the world; hope you feel the same way! As we strive to stay patient awaiting this show, we can see photos from that awesome last season & more in Margot's live show album on Facebook.
Once again, the best way to keep abreast of Margot's shows is to check her band page events frequently. The summer festival season is always exciting & fast approaching, and as Margot's new album nears completion, things will only get hotter with release-related events. It'll be our chance to make up for lost time with our favorite person & share her joy at finally having a record that truly reflects who she is as an artist--good stuff for Margot & all of us who love her.
Again, along with a convenient opportunity to wish you guys a happy Easter, my purpose here has been to catch you up on recent DC music happenings. For me, great DC music & Margot MacDonald really can't be separated, but cool things are going on with some other great friends you'll want to check out as well. These are in no particular order:
One of my favorite DC bands (other than, of course, Margot MacDonald Band & Honor by August) is Sing Me Insomnia. They have a polished pop/rock sound that, like the other musicians featured in this blog, makes them more globally significant than might generally be expected of local talent. They take the "boy band" thing to a new level of coolness to where none of us need to make excuses for listening, because, well, yeah, they ARE that cool! They have many great originals, but their latest accomplishment is a great new cover of Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend"--check it out!
Some of you will remember Derek Evry as one of the leads playing hot guitar at Margot & Friends
 |
| Derek Evry |
If you've been following this blog for any length of time you know that as we honor fans, the finest musicians in DC & beyond (including our beloved Margot), our favorite venues big & small, and the music/music scene that brings us all together, we're careful to remember our fellow bloggers. Yes, there are more than a few of us out there, but rather than compete for territory, I think we're all smart enough to realize how much territory there is to go around. Some of us are foodies. Others cover photography. Still others advise about things to do in DC--specialized even to "soulful" things to do in DC by blogger buddy Rohan! Some of us even refuse to specialize at all, blogging about whatever suits our fancy at any given time, either globally in DC, NYC or a specific neighborhood. Even looking just at music, for every artist who's covered the way Margot is covered here, there are probably a dozen perfectly awesome artists who aren't on a single blogger's radar. I was talking to great DC artist, sweet lady & treasured friend Carey Creed the other day, and she commented, "Den, every artist should have one of you!" Yeah, there are plenty rock stars to go around. If you ever get the urge to blog, you'll easily find one of your own to adopt! ...so rather than compete, we work hard to support each other.
A blogger who has held a particularly special place in my heart since I've been working at becoming more active myself has been Amy, or @ClarendonCultur. Amy made a huge splash in my online life when she seemed to be interested in all the same things I was--my favorite artist, favorite venue AND my favorite Arlington neighborhood! Amy is also (I remember fondly) the first Clarendon blogger to follow @Denuine on Twitter. Yes, Amy has left us in the Clarendon space but the ending is happier than my tone so far might suggest. She's now covering an exciting new area of the DC-area space, Bethesda, MD via her new @Bethesdan! Amy, thanks for being such a delightful ally in the quest to keep the DC area safe for art & music. I wish you all the best of luck with your new Bethesda-focused blog and will hold you to your promise not to be a stranger at Margot's shows, at IOTA or around Clarendon! : ]
Speaking of bloggers, I'd also like to welcome Philippa Hughes @PinkLineProject to the Margot blogger fam via her recent post of An amazing rendition of Massive Attack's "Teardrop". Phillippa is a long-time Facebook friend, but I wasn't fully aware of her important work promoting the area's arts. Philippa, I'm looking forward to working with you & Pink Line Project as we mutually support DC music in the future!
I believe that about does it for this installment. While I'm being all mushy & appreciative, thanks to all of you who read the Denuine blog regularly. If this is your first time, welcome! Again, a very happy Easter to each one of you. Speaking of Easter, I'd like to end by re-sharing one of my very favorite Easter-related images. Coincidentally, it's also one of my favorite photos of Margot. Yeah, it's the one below of Margot MacDonald as The Stern Bunny--such an awesome photograph she shared with us via Twitter one Easter past. It makes me smile every time I see it and reminds me what a delightful, creative person Margot is. It's almost a paradox that someone this amazing at creating & presenting world-class music can without blinking become the "just Margot" who refuses to take herself too seriously. Enjoy your day and please remember to support local music & the artists who make it. They ask so very little of us--often just the chance to entertain us--yet supporting them just that tiny bit helps so much and literally means the world to them.
 |
| Margot MacDonald as The Stern Bunny |
- SEE Margot MacDonald live
- SIGN UP for Margot MacDonald's mailing list
- LIKE Margot MacDonald on Facebook
- FOLLOW Margot MacDonald on Twitter
- SUBSCRIBE to Margot MacDonald's YouTube channel
- Margot MacDonald
- Anna Dagmar
- Gideon Grove
- Sing Me Insomnia
- Derek Evry
- Ace Elijah
- Listen Local First
- Sweet Tea Pumpkin Pie
- Bethesdan
- Pink Line Project
- READ more of the Denuine blog
No comments:
Post a Comment