It was only a matter of time until Imagine Dragons‘ meteoric rise to the top would bring them to the Merriweather stage. On Friday, September 20th, the Las Vegas outfit will bring their monumental indie rock to the DC area. We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away before they go on sale to the public this Friday. What do you have to do to win?

Imagine you’re in Khaleesi’s shoes. You have a pet dragon. What would you name it and why? The more detailed and crazy your answer, the better. Leave your responses in the comments below.

STREAM: Imagine Dragons – “It’s Time”

On Saturday, June 9th, All Things Go will be kicking off a brand new emerging artists series at Living Social‘s intimate 918 F Street space. Our maiden show will feature two bands you need to know this year: X Ambassadors and Gemini Club. New York’s X Ambassadors are coming off a BIG first half of 2013, which included some big radio plays and a record deal with this little label called Interscope. Their Love Songs Drugs Songs EP, produced by Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds, dropped earlier this month and is required listening. Following them will be rising electro upstarts Gemini Club, whose live wizardy — which includes plenty of on-the-fly remixing — is a spectacle worth witnessing.

This all goes down Saturday, June 8th, 7PM at Living Social’s 918 F Street. Tickets are for the show are now available for $15 at the link below. Jump on it, folks.

STREAM: Gemini Club – “By Surprise”

Electro-pop stalwarts CSS return to the 9:30 Club with IO on Monday, July 1st, their first DC appearance following the release of their upcoming Dave Sitek-produced LP, Planta . We’ve got two tickets to give away to see our favorite Brazilians. What do you have to do to win?

In Portuguese, CSS stands for cansei de ser sexy (“tired of being sexy”). We want you to take a band name — an existing one is fine, but bonus points if you make one up for yourself — and translate it into the language of your choice. The coolest sounding one will take the cake. Leave your answers in the comments below. Those of you who don’t win can grab tickets here. Have at it!

STREAM: CSS – “Hangover”

Photos by Dan Schenker Photography

When you go to a rock show on a special holiday, you never know what to expect from the crowd. When that special holiday is Cinco de Mayo, you really don’t know what to expect from the crowd. An uneasiness settled in when I first arrived at The Wellmont Theater, located in the heart of Montclair, New Jersey, for that very reason. Were attendants there to support the bands and have a good time or get drunk out of their minds? I was in no mood to deal with a shitty crowd. Luckily, when I got inside I realized I was in good company. And the night only got better from there.

STREAM: Silversun Pickups - ”The Pit”

STREAM: Bad Books - ”The After Party”

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Former War on Drugs frontman Kurt Vile will be making his way to the 9:30 Club on July 20th to make his first live appearance in DC since the release of his latest album, Wakin On A Pretty Daze. We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away for this special show. What do you have to do to win?

Kurt said that Wakin On A Pretty Daze is “just about [his] life, without thinking too much about it.” We want to know what album just feels like it represents your life. Like, it just gets you, man. You dig? Leave your comments in the answer below. Have at it!

MP3: Kurt Vile – “Wakin On A Pretty Day”

The Sweetlife Festival will cement itself as a District music tradition this Saturday as it returns to Merriweather Post Pavilion for its third annual run. To get you excited we’ve teamed up with the fine folks at Sweetlife to bring you the official kick-off party this Thursday, May 10th at U Street Music Hall. Headlining the night will be MS MR — who will also be playing on Saturday — along with support from Sir Sly and Magic Man. Three of our favorite artists together in one place — it doesn’t get much better than this. Advance tickets are available now at the link below for $12 (or $15 at the door). Grab yours now!

STREAM: Sir Sly – “Ghost”

DOWNLOAD: Magic Man – “Texas”

Last April we outdid ourselves and pulled off two New Noises in one month at the always-amazing Gibson Guitars DC Showroom. Our second show featured amazing sets from All Things Gold alums Black Light Dinner Party and DC’s own Honest Haloway. After the jump you’ll find a bunch of amazing photos from the show, courtesy of Alexandra Friendly. Big thanks to Gibson Guitars, ASCAP and Palm Beer for help out with yet another amazing New Noise. Stay tuned for news on our next one.

STREAM: Black Light Dinner Party – “Older Together”

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Beach House returns to the 9:30 Club here in Washington, DC on Thursday, June 6th. We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away. We know you want them. What do you have to do to win?

Beach House is one of Baltimore’s finest exports. Aside from these guys, we want to know what your favorite thing about Charm City is. Please, surprise us (so no, not Joe Flacco). We’ll pick a winner on Friday morning. Have at it!

STREAM: Beach House – “Myth”

DOG BLOOD
Dog Blood is the new collaboration project between Skrillex and Boys Noize, which up until have only released two songs. I’m neither a diehard Skrillex nor Boys Noize fan, but together they balance each other out well. This show was insane, and surprisingly not too crowded; most people haven’t worked out that Skrillex is involved yet. Who knows what most of the songs they played were, but I can tell you they did an epic remix of Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction.”

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YEAH YEAH YEAHS
Unlike Guardian writer Tim Jonze, during the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ set I actually did find myself wondering why I was standing in the middle of the desert watching a woman in an sequined purple Vegas Elvis suit trying to eat a microphone. It could have been a result of being really far back or simply just Karen O’s bewildering demeanor. Either way, I found the show to be more distracting than anything else.

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