For fans of undescribable, uncontainable rock, funky fusion, and getting really weird.

Anthony Pirog Trio

D.C.-based guitarist ANTHONY PIROG is a musician who knows no stylistic limits. Educated in jazz but enthusiastically embracing diverse forms from indie/punk-informed rock to ambient experimentation and free improvisation Pirog has emerged as one of the most noteworthy artists on the 21st century D.C. area music scene, defying predictability with live appearances in myriad configurations, from solo experimental sets to his genre-defying duo with cellist (and life partner) Janel Leppin in Janel and Anthony, his avant jazz trio with bassist Adam Hopkins (BeepHonk/Ann Webber Rectangles/Signal Problems) and drummer Mike Kuhl (Dave Liebman/Tony Malaby/Michael Formanek) and The Messthetics (Impulse Records/Dischord Records). It’s safe to say that no one knows precisely what to expect from Pirog, and that fact alone might make him noteworthy, but it’s also helpful that he employs technology with uncommon intelligence, is guided by a surefooted artistic conception in each of his projects and happens to possess killer chops.

We Were Here Before

Featuring Mark Cisneros (Des Demonas/Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds) on saxophone and Nik Francis (Cisneros/Francis Duo) on drums, bells and gong, We Were Here Before performances incorporate composition, improvisation, groove, and abstraction. The music draws on memory, ancestry, identity, struggle, and solidarity. They released their debut recording, with bassist Luke Stewart (Irreversible Entanglements/Blacks' Myths/SILT Trio), in 2021 through the Catalytic Sound collective.

Boat Burning

Boat Burning plays guitar/drums-driven maximum minimalism focusing on elemental phrases that create towers of stacked harmonics combining orchestral sweep with the physical thrall of punk. On the DC scene since 2015 and known for its Branca/Chatham-inspired "massed guitars" events, the band released its second EP, S T R O K E in 2025. The core ensemble features Geordie Grindle (The Slinkees/Teen Idles/TONE), Jonathan Matis (Joe Lalley/DC Improvisers Collective) and Robin Diamond on guitars, Norm Veenstra (TONE) on guitar and bass, and Mark Sherman on drums/percussion.