The District Awake Music Festival Returns to Rock DC

It seems that DC and its surrounding regions have a festival every month. This October, The DAM Festival will be the latest festival in the must do list for DC natives hungry for entertainment. Last year, I heard about The District Awake Music Festival from a forum on the 930 club website. This event was modeled after several successful experimental music festivals in San Francisco and Montreal. It was a showcase of the best in American Independent Music. In addition, it put the spotlight on local artists. Last year's performers included Cold War Kids, DJ Spooky, Cloud Cult, Dirty on Purpose, Pela and others. I attended the DC9 show with Bishop Allen and Pela, and it was an amazing show.

This year's festival will take place from October 11-15. The venues from last year remain the same. Those venues are DC9 Nightclub, The Red & Black Bar, and The Rock & Roll Hotel. The one of the biggest changes are the addition of the 930 club, Iota Café and Club in Arlington, VA., and the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue to the venue list. Another change from last years is the sponsorship of the event. Online radio station WOXY.com has signed on as this year's sponsor. Like last year, this year's festival isn't complete with some great artist on the bill. Two big name artists appearing for this year's festival are Stellastar and Cat Power and the Dirty Delta Blues. They are 2 of the 37 bands that will be performing at this year's DAM Festival.

Born Chan Marshall, Cat Power started playing in New York in the early 1990's. She released 7 albums since 1995, receiving critical acclaims for her unsettling, emotional songs and cathartic vocals. You can catch Cat Power plays on the final night of the District Awake Music Festival at the 930 club on October 15, 2007. Another big act performing at the District Awake Music Festival is Stellastar*. The band started off as Ghistor in the late 1990's by four college students from Manhattan's Pratt Institute of the Arts. The band broke up in a couple of years, but the original members regrouped as Stellarstar*. They released 2 albums and have toured consistently. They headline an amazing show at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue on October 13^th with Pela, Exit Clov and Sanawon. The only show on Sunday is at IOTA in Arlington. That show features Telograph and Arbouretum. In addition to concerts, they are post parties held at the Rock and Roll Hotel with DJ performances Friday and Saturday Night.

For more information and tickets, you can visit the DAM Festival website at http://www.damfestival.org.