Vote for Wolf Trap's Venues in Washington City Paper's Best of D.C. Poll!

If you would be so kind, take a few moments during your lunch break this week and give Wolf Trap some love in the Washington City Paper Best of D.C. Poll. We are currently nominated for "Best Outdoor Venue," and "Best Music Venue." Both of the links will direct you to our nomination page in each aforementioned category. We know you'll do the right thing :)

Feel free to nominate us in other categories..."Best Place to See Local Music" comes to mind, and also "Best Theater Company" for the Wolf Trap Opera Company.

Thanks for all that you have done, do, and will hopefully continue to do to help ensure that Wolf Trap carries on in its glorious tradition!

Move Over Rhapsody and Pandora, Because Here Comes Lala

It's inevitable, current digital technology is always surpassed by something bigger, faster, sexier, and more streamlined. And in the case of the streaming music service, Lala.com may have just made Rhapsody and Pandora completely obsolete.

It's remarkably simple...all you need do is sign up for a free membership account (no CC information required), and you can browse Lala's licensed archive of 8 million songs from all four major labels and supplementary indies.

Free first time listens, 10 cents for unlimited web streaming, 89 cent Mp3 purchases, a revolutionary social media function, and a one-of-kind merge with your existing digital music library comprise the bulk of Lala's convenient membership benefits.

It's amazing how everything these days comes with some type of "share this" function to remain consistent with web trends towards real time information sharing, and Lala is no different. For me, the most interesting part of Lala is the ability to follow friends and industry experts, giving you a window into their streams and purchases. That person's new activity is automatically distributed to your feed on a daily basis. It's a great viral tool, exposing you to an unlimited supply of new music recommendations by following those whose music tastes you trust and admire.

I encourage you to browse Lala.com to get a sense of its offerings for yourself. I'm just ramping up myself, but am very impressed thus far.

Use this week's schedule of Barns at Wolf Trap shows as your first Lala experiment. We've got Cherish the Ladies, Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Christian Tetzlaff Trio and Eric Brace & Last Train Home. First time web streams are free!

Live: 90s Female Pop Stars

Recently I attended performances from two artists whose music I had never taken much of an interest in - Joan Osborne (Strathmore) and Paula Cole (last night at The Barns). After exiting the venue following their respective encores, it furthered my notion of how inaccurately and incongruously radio singles can often portray very talented musicians. Both women had some serious chops, and projected vocal talents far superior to their radio singles from the 90s, which are, incidentally, "One of Us", "I Don't Wanna Wait" and "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone".

Osborne played the majority of her set with the Holmes Brothers, and powered through raw, bluesy originals and some pretty recognizable covers by the Dead (whom she toured with in 2003), Otis Redding, and Sly & The Family Stone. The majority of her performance selections showcased tremendous range and versatility that I was completely unaware of, mostly because I had only taken the time to listen to what pop radio spoon fed me with 1995s "One of Us".

Paula Cole came off in the same light as Osborne. She of course performed her two pop-friendly singles, but she really shined while performing new cuts off her forthcoming album. The soulful "Waiting on a Miracle", a song that she described as a healing mechanism during her recent divorce, was particularly excellent, featuring punctuated piano licks a la Tori Amos, and driving blues riffs from her longtime guitarist.

Basically, this is part of my continuing plea for folks to focus on the entirety of an artist's catalogue, not just their hit on a Billboard chart. There is ALWAYS more than meets the eye. Err...ear.

90 Shows Announced, and a Brilliant Promotional Tactic from our Wolf Trap Opera Company director

Check out the list here! We've got a jam packed summer. With two more on-sales to come, we've already booked more shows than the entirety of summer 2008.

Generally, as we move into the late winter/early spring is when some of the more indie-oriented, younger acts put their tours together, so our next announcement should be equally, if not more exciting.

In addition to shows at the Filene Center, our in-house Wolf Trap Opera Company (WTOC) announced its 2010 season at The Barns, and Kim Witman (WTOC director and author of Wolf Trap Opera Company Blog: The Future of Opera) has taken a highly innovative approach to publicizing the season. Through a series of interviews and posts on various highly trafficked blog sites, Kim has created an excellent cross-promotional campaign for our forthcoming season, and each respective blog host. Stop by the WTOC blog for a comprehensive list of blogosphere interviews with Kim thus far. You'll also get details on show dates, casts, and other performance info.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 13 for all shows included in Monday's announcement.

For Loyal Readers - Grammy Winning Summer 2010 Artists

Yesterday I alluded to the eight Summer 2010 Wolf Trap artists that took home Grammy Awards, and in advance of our 2nd season rollout installment scheduled for February 8th, I thought it'd be fun to share a few of those names, as well as tease a handful of additional artists...

Levon Helm for Best Americana Album with Electric Dirt

Jeff Beck for Best Rock Instrumental Performance with "A Day in the Life"

Bela Fleck for Best Pop Instrumental Performance with "Throw Down Your Heart" AND Best Contemporary World Music Album with Throw Down Your Heart
*Bela Fleck is appearing with the Chick Corea Freedom Band

Colbie Caillat for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals with "Lucky" (w/Jason Mraz)
*Caillat was also a featured artist on Taylor Swift's Album of the Year, Fearless
*Caillat is opening for Sheryl Crow

Chick Corea & John McLaughlin and the Five Piece Band for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Five Piece Band - Live
*Chick Corea is appearing with the Chick Corea Freedom Band

Additional teasers:

- The originator of the Outlaw Country, this musical icon is “On the Road Again” and heading to Wolf Trap for the first time in seven years.

- This country-folk “Hometown Girl” got her start in the D.C. area, first performing at The Barns in 1988.

- R-E-S-P-E-C-T this soul diva; the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Any guesses?

Also, please keep in mind that the general on-sale for these shows is March 13, but if you join as a member now, you can buy tix before the general public starting on Monday, February 8th.

Eight Wolf Trap Grammy Winners...and Neil Young's First. Ever.

While generally disappointed with the variety of performances at last night's Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in L.A., excluding the Lil' Wayne/Eminem/Drake w/Travis Barker on drums performance of "Drop the World" & "Forever"(it was phenomenal...check out the video below...it's heavily edited, but you get the idea...Eminem is particularly on point), I was thrilled to see eight 2010 Wolf Trap artists take home the coveted awards. I can only list two until February 8, but perhaps you could take a few guesses and chime in with comments. Would love to see your predictions.



And believe it or not, Neil Young, THE Neil Young won his FIRST lifetime Grammy in the relatively obscure category of "Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package", for The Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972). He's been nominated multiple times, including a 2nd nom this year for "best solo rock vocal", but lost to The Boss. What took them so long to give Young his first award in 50 years as one of the most recognizable musicians in the world? Just shows you how subjective the selection process can be...

2010 Wolf Trap Artist Winners (that I can announce):

Best Traditional Folk Album (Vocal or Instrumental)
High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project
Loudon Wainwright III

Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental)
Lay Your Burden Down
Buckwheat Zydeco
Performing at The Barns this Wed, February 3