SONGBYRD MUSIC HOUSE CELEBRATES IT’S 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

SONGBYRD MUSIC HOUSE IS CELEBRATING A DECADE AS WASHINGTON DC’s ‘FINEST MUSIC HOUSE’ WITH A SERIES OF 10 SPECIAL SHOWS & MORE!

Songbyrd Music House first opened its doors in the Adams Morgan neighborhood on a sunny Saturday in April 2015 (April 18th, to be exact) and has been proudly serving unique music experiences to the Washington D.C. community ever since. To commemorate its first decade in business, Songbyrd is announcing a special 10-show series along with the release of an exclusive Songbyrd beer in partnership with Ocelot Brewing Company.

Since opening in 2015, Songbyrd Music House, and its sister vinyl record store Byrdland Records, have brought the freshest music programming, experiences and up and coming artists from Washington D.C. and beyond to forward-thinking DC-area music fans and received numerous accolades in the process, including:

  • Washington D.C.’s Best New Venue in 2016 (Washington City Paper)
  • Best Place for Dinner and Live Music in 2017-2020 (Washington City Paper)
  • Local First “Ripple Effect” Award, 2019 (Think Local First)
  • One of America’s 36 Best Independent Venues, 2021 (Pitchfork Magazine)
  • Washington D.C.’s Best Record Store, 2021-2024 (Washington City Paper)
  • Arts Location of the Month, June 2022 (District of Columbia Office of Television, Film, Music & Entertainment)
  • Best Music Venue 2023-2024 (Washington Area Music Awards aka “The Wammies”)
  • Finalist for Best Music Venue and/or Best Place to Experience Local Music from 2018-2024 (Washington City Paper)

Songbyrd has regularly been a topic of interest in the local, regional and national press, including the Washington Post’s feature on our owners Dream Day, Glide Magazine’s deep dive into our programming and ethos,  District Fray’s lifestyle piece on our relationship to vinyl records, local music & more and the New York Times’ look at a Retouched and Revitalized Washington D.C. Songbyrd Music House and Byrdland Records have been featured by Bring Music Home, Classic Album Sundays “Behind The Counter”, Live Music Society’s “American Road Trip”, just to name a few.

Songbyrd’s decade-long journey has been a joyous and panoramic odyssey through multiple locations and one global pandemic, but always with a singular focus on providing first-class experiences to Washington D.C. music fans and artists with a community-service ethos. It’s a journey that Songbyrd’s owners Alisha Edmonson (also President of the National Independent Venue Association Mid-Atlantic Chapter) and Joe Lapan feel is worth celebrating.

“Songbyrd has been the first place that DC-area fans got to see Khalid, Tyler Childers, Tank and the Bangas, Jessie Reyez, Laufey, Lola Young and so many more. The amazing thing that happens at Songbyrd is that you’re literally inches away from your favorite artist and someone who is going to be that ‘I saw them when’ story”, co-owner Joe Lapan glows.

In addition to amazing live music offerings, Songbyrd Music House and Byrdland Records have become equally known for their community-focused alternative programming as well, with offerings like a local Record Club, a fledgling record label that has released local artists on vinyl, monthly ‘book club’ style event The R&B Club, monthly music trivia nights and much more.

Songbyrd and Byrdland have regularly partnered with organizations such as Washington Performing Arts and Mars Arts DC, NPR Music, National Independent Venue Association, Live Music Society, Taste of Iceland, numerous local Business Improvement Districts, Kennedy Center, The Phillips Collection, Girls Rock DC!, DC Abortion Fund and myriad other public and private organizations and individuals to leverage the power of music for community benefit, engagement and access.

Songbyrd cherished 6+ amazing years in Adams Morgan, bringing great music to one of DC’s most historic cultural neighborhoods, prior to relocating to the Union Market neighborhood in 2021 shortly after opening Byrdland Records in that same area.

At the time of the relocation, co-owner Alisha Edmonson said, “The response to Byrdland Records in the Union Market neighborhood has been fantastic and we are really excited about what this new venue location will offer for Songbyrd fans and show goers. Not only will relocating near Byrdland Records allow us to re-introduce interesting integrations between the record shop and the venue, but the space itself is an amazing live music opportunity with 17+ foot high ceilings, large rollup doors, expanded outdoor space, nearby parking lots and state-of-the-art food & beverage equipment and infrastructure”.

With this decade-long satchel full of experiences and a heart full of gratitude and pride, Songbyrd is announcing a special series of “10 for 10”, or 10 special shows to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Each of these shows has been specially curated based on an important chapter, pillar or relationship connecting to the Songbyrd story. The Songbyrd “10 for 10” will be taking place this Fall, as follows:

  • Mary Lattimore (9/23): LA-based harpist and composer Mary Lattimore will be making her second appearance at Songbyrd, the first coming back in April 2019 at Songbyrd’s original location. A truly unique live show experience, Lattimore experiments with her Lyon and Healy Concert Grand harp and effects, filling a space with memories, scenes, and split-second impressions. Lattimore has performed and recorded with such great artists as Meg Baird, Thurston Moore, Sharon Van Etten, Jarvis Cocker, Kurt Vile and Steve Gunn.
  • Daisy The Great (10/8): Brooklyn indie-pop duo is heading to Songbyrd for the second time (well, the third if you count their record store celebration of newest album The Rubber Teeth Talk at Byrdland Records). The world might know them best from their 2022 whimsical hit ‘Record Player’ with AJR and honestly what better song and artist to soundtrack the fun we’ve had at Songbyrd and Byrdland.
  • Delicate Steve (10/9): To put it bluntly, we’re Delicate Steve stans and this will be Steve’s fourth time at Songbyrd, the first one being in 2019 at our original location. Delicate Steve is one of those artists that serves as a shorthand: if we’re both Delicate Steve fans, then we’re immediate friends for life.
  • 54 Ultra (10/10): Songbyrd has prided itself on being a place for hosting “if you don’t know now you know” artists. A Songbyrd playlist from the last decade would be a darn good primer on some of the best up and coming artists at the time that now play your favorite clubs, theatres and arenas. Well, it was love at first listen for us with soulful, throwback artist 54 Ultra and we couldn’t help but want to introduce him to you.
  • Shaolin Jazz “Can I Kick It?” Special 10th Anniversary Edition (10/21): Songbyrd has always strived to be more than just a live music venue, hosting and creating unique and engaging “alternative” music-based events that build and expand our ideas of fun with music. There’s no better example of this than local project Shaolin Jazz which fuses golden age hip hop and classic kung-fu/action films for a live score experience that no one forgets and has been a partner with Songbyrd since nearly the beginning in Adams Morgan. For this special 10th anniversary edition, we’re going to up the ante and make it the best one yet!
  • Beau Young Prince (w/ Live Band) (10/25): The Prince of DC, The Groovy God… not only has DC’s Beau Young Prince had songs featured in Spiderman, Coming 2 America and Madden NFL ’21, the man known as BYP has performed numerous times at Songbyrd over the years and has been a partner, friend and voice of wisdom to us throughout the years. Don’t miss this special live band show!
  • Oh He Dead (11/2): Seeing bands grow up and out of the DC music scene is one of our joys, especially when its one as talented and kind as Oh He Dead. At this point we almost forget how many different times Oh He Dead has graced the Songbyrd stage for various special events (like when they headlined the National Independent Venue Association Conference Salute to Small Venues at Songbyrd in 2023) because OHD has sort of become extended family for us. We connect with and support them wherever we can (check out their exclusive merch display at Byrdland Records!) because we love seeing them win.
  • Braxton Cook (11/13): This will be jazz artist Braxton Cook’s third time headlining Songbyrd and another example of a huge local talent who has grown exponentially in this last decade. Cook’s accolades, praises and list of co-signs is too long to list, but we certainly wanted to include an amazing jazz show as part of our celebration, like Charlie Byrd would’ve wanted.
  • All My Friends Indie Dance Party (11/15): Sometimes in the life of a music venue (if you’re lucky) a person and a concept come across your radar and it’s just a perfect fit. Enter Jack Willis aka ‘My Friend Jack’ who threw his first All My Friends party in 2022 at Songbyrd, the party’s tagline being “a series focused on up and coming indie and being a silly goose”. Still a DJ-driven party, Jack brought indie bands Fcukers, Wishy and Nordista Freeze to Songbyrd as part of his series even before we brought them ourselves. So just trust, an All My Friends party will be fun, silly and you’re guaranteed to see a great band on the way up.
  • French Cassettes (11/18): Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, this will be the harmony-driven power pop band’s second time headlining Songbyrd. Beyond just their amazing sound and story, French Cassettes was brought to us by West Coast music management and promotion gurus Duck Club, the group that puts on the United States’ most slept on independent music festival Treefort Music Fest in Boise, ID. It’s all love with this bi-coastal collab!
  • More Shows & Special Events TBA!

Additional Bonus Anniversary Events:

DC Music Trivia Championships (September-December 2025)! You may be aware that Songbyrd Music House has been running regular music trivia nights since 2016! We’ve attracted some of the best and most fun music “nerds” who have a passion for music and music trivia! This Fall we’ll be running an (un)official DC Music Trivia Championship where we’ll be crowning a team of Music Trivia Champions! Mark the following dates for the DC Music Trivia Championship:

  • September 15: Preliminary Round 1 (to be eligible for the Championship you must participate in one of the two Preliminary Rounds)
  • October 20: Preliminary Round 2 (to be eligible for the Championship you must participate in one of the two Preliminary Rounds)
  • November 10: Semifinals
  • December 15: Finals

Songbyrd 10 Year Anniversary Block Party (10/12)! We’ve decided to throw a FREE all day Block Party at Union Market on Sunday October 12th from 12-6 pm! This will be an all day fun fest featuring some of our favorite DC area artists with special connections to Songbyrd including: Freddy Mac, Night Hawk, Batala DC, Mambo Sauce, Footwerk & ViRG!

Stay tuned for further show and event announcements!

Along with this special anniversary show series, Songbyrd is also announcing a special anniversary beer collaboration with Ocelot Brewing Company that will be exclusively available at Songbyrd Music House this Fall. In addition, Songbyrd Music House and Byrdland Records will be celebrating this milestone in numerous other ways, big and small, with our audiences and community this year. As we have always done, we will embrace our biggest fans and supporters in this celebration and once again show them why Songbyrd Music House is D.C.’s Finest.

We look forward to a celebration season with you!

For press, partnership or sponsorship inquires you may contact Joe Lapan at joe@songbyrddc.com