June is going to be great! The best! It’s too hot. So hot. It’s June. Come on, weather. Anyway, it’ll be great. As great as any previous month. We live in a world with air conditioning. Museums and movie theaters and some parties and most clubs and restaurants have air conditioning. June!
In Light of the Past: Twenty Five Years of Photography @ National Gallery of Art, now through July 26
Lee Friedlander, American, born 1934, New York City, 1966, gelatin silver print, Trellis Fund, 2001
EYE POP: The Celebrity Gaze @ National Portrait Gallery, now through July 2016
Two shows – one focusing on emerging female artists (Organic Matter) and one focusing on established ones (Sam Taylor Johnson, Rachel Ruysch and the like) sees DC, in springtime, immersed with the natural world as a space for exploration and invention. A true wonderland for fine art fans. -Svetlana Legetic
Polly Morgan, Systemic Inflammation, 2010; Taxidermy and steel; Photography by Tessa Angus
William Christenberry, Church, Sprott, Alabama, 1981, archival pigment print. Image from Hemphill Fine Art
Smallest Penis in Brooklyn Competition @ Kings Country Bar June 13
The human condition.
<3 -Carly Loman
Finders Keepers by Stephen King available June 2
Stephen King has an intense work ethic. He’s published 54 novels and five non-fiction books. The man seems more machine than human, but it doesn’t matter how many how many books he’s come out with (or will come out with), I still get hyped EVERY TIME. I’m just as excited to read Finders Keeper as I was to read Doctor Sleep (actually that’s a lie, I was a little more excited about Doctor Sleep because it was a sequel to The Shining, but whatever). While his endings may sometimes be a little wonky (I say this with love), there are very few authors who are as good at pulling you in (and then keeping you there even though you’re starting to have nightmares) as Stephen King. Not to mention, the man is a master at capturing the strange intricacies of small towns. I’m going to be excited about Stephen King books the rest of my life, and you should be too. Let’s read a book about a crazy man killing one of his favorite authors, together. Bonus points if you are on a beach, because nothing says summer to me like being terrified of topiaries and gutter clowns. -Kaylee Dugan
Judy Blume In the Unlikely Event available June 2nd and in person @ Sixth and I, June 4th
Judy Blume was your ultimate summer book read when you were 12, and there is no reason why she shouldn’t be that now (we won’t judge however old you are now, Judy wouldn’t do that either, after all). The synopsis is what beach bag dreams are made of: 80s, 50s, love, loss, pop culture and everything in between. “In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen, and in love for the first time, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events that Blume experienced in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, she paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and place—Nat King Cole singing “Unforgettable,” Elizabeth Taylor haircuts, young (and not-so-young) love, explosive friendships, A-bomb hysteria, rumors of Communist threat, and a young journalist who makes his name reporting tragedy. Through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on.” Bonus: read about that one time we interviewed Judy Blume (and wrestled John Irving) here. -Svetlana Legetic
Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon available June 2
Maybe you’re already watching the popular television show Outlander on STARZ (I know, STARZ, who has STARZ. The answer of course is my mom). Great! We’re halfway there. The show itself is based on the Outlander series written by Diana Gabaldon. I can sum it up pretty simply: Scotland. Time Travel. Whiskey. Love. Sex. Swords. Kilts. More Time Travel. More sex. The Revolutionary War! Death. I used to be embarrassed about books like this but some wonderful moments in history are hiding between all the damn sex (there is a lot of sex). Read the books. Watch the show. – Jenn Tisdale
Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari available June 16
Aziz Ansari is coming out with a popular science book. It’s co-written with sociologist Eric Klinenberg. It’s about dating. It’s about dating in the modern era. Do you even need to know more? Look. Why don’t you just take a second and pre-order it. It’s comes out June 16th. I bet by June 17th you’ll have a new boyfriend/girlfriend/whateverfriend. Aziz Ansari is going to help you get married. If you want to get married. If you don’t, that’s fine too. Aziz Ansari is going to help you get laid. If you want to get laid. Aziz Ansari has probably written the only dating book I will ever read for the rest of my life. You need this book. I need this book. We probably all need this book. Everything is going to be great. -Kaylee Dugan
Dave Hill Let Me Turn You On available June 9
Dave Hill is a man of many talents: guitarist, broadcaster, storyteller, comedian, the list goes on and on. He’s mostly working these days on a weekly radio show on the mighty WFMU, The Goddamn Dave Hill Show, is a mix of rocking tunes (“rocking tunes,” he says) and interviews with famous actors, musicians, and writers. It’s generally a pretty solid listen. He’s also got a standup comedy album coming out on June 9th through ASpecialThing Records, collecting stories from life as a weirdo comic with a taste for rock and awkward situations. -Matt Byrne
We made this for month’s like this…Use this all the time:
SAVOR Week June 1 to 7
Rejoice, beer nerds, SAVOR is back. Is SAVOR an acronym? NO, EVERYONE IS JUST VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT. CAPS LOCK WEEEE. What’s the hubbub over? The event itself is a two-day food and beer pairing “experience” with a dope menu and 73 (!) craft breweries. It is also sold out like whoa, so if you don’t have tickets, just file this information away until 2016. But, wait, because there’s something for the rest of us! Any time all the breweries come to town, the out-of-towners want to flex with their specialty batches, and the local guys want to show off the beer that’s hard to find outside DC and neighboring states. The result is a week’s worth of parties and tap takeovers and even a brews cruise. The sheer number of events is head spinning. Luckily, DC Beer is on the job with a handy dandy list of everything that’s going down. Go forth and imbibe.- Phil Runco
Summer is here and it means all sorts of things to all sorts of people: some good (vacations, tans, drinks al fresco, biking everywhere…), some bad (frizziness, sweat, heat break-outs) and, no matter what, negronis. Do your homework, get classic and new recipes and more here. -Svetlana Legetic
Flying Dog Brewery & All Good Presents Hurray for the Riff Raff June 20
Each summer Flying Dog brings good bands to their good brewery so you can drink good beer while watching good bands. This year’s series kicks off with Hurray for the Riff Raff. Future shows include Surfer Blood and a Flying Dog Brewery return of Of Montreal. Grab a designated driver and head to Frederick. -Brandon Wetherbee
It is outdoor movie season in DC. FREE OUTDOOR MOVIE SEASON, TO BE EXACT. Use this all the time:
Love and Mercy in theaters June 5
Love & Mercy looks interesting purely on a “lord I hope this is as insane as it looks” level. This biopic casts both Paul Dano and John Cusak as The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson at two different points in his life, pinballing between the 1960s and 1980s, two of the most emotionally fraught times in the troubled genius’ life. It looks flashy and earnest and tonally weird and I hope it leans into those tendencies to the point that it becomes a campy trainwreck, rather than just another Lifetime Original Movie/VH1 Behind The Music mashup these sort of musical biography movies usually are. -Matt Byrne
Jurassic World in theaters June 12
I don’t know about you, but Jurassic Park was a huge part of my childhood. That theme music gave me goosebumps, partially out of excitement and partially out of fear. I wanted so badly for dinosaurs to be real, but only the nice ones (Triceratops, anyone?). So imagine my excitement and hesitancy when they announced Jurassic World, featuring human Golden Retriever, Chris Pratt, as a Raptor trainer. I have a feeling this movie is going to dripping with cheese and make me roll my eyes more than once, but I can’t wait to plop down in that movie theatre seat and squeal in delight like I’m ten years old again. -Mary Beth McAndrews
AFI Docs June 17-21
It is June again, which it is also time for the city’s best film festival. AFI DOCS will include the best, most exciting voices in documentary film-making today. My obvious top film is The Act of Silence, Joshua Oppenheimer’s sequel to the masterpiece The Act of Killing. Aside from that, there will the usual fare of high brow non-fiction, whether it’s biopics, issue-based documentaries, or something in between. -Alan Zilberman
The Overnight in theaters June 19
So I’m not usually one for, like, sex comedies, but The Overnight could be great. Adam Scott is one of the funniest dudes there is, and it’s been getting pretty good reviews! A straightlaced, normal couple spends an evening some new crunchy California friends and maybe then they all have sex? Who can say for sure but that definitely seems like the way things seem to be pointing! -Matt Byrne
What Happened, Miss Simone streams June 26
Netflix is dropping What Happened, Miss Simone, a hotly anticipated doc about the life of Nina Simone, on June 26. It got rave reviews following its premiere at Sundance and has all the makings to become one of the top biographical documentaries of the year. Liz Garbus directs, whose last film, Bobby Fischer Against The World, was similarly critically acclaimed but not widely seen. Here’s hoping the Netflix bump will make it happen this time around. -Matt Byrne
All we can think about here is that, frankly, this is a perfect month to make the most of our Burger Guide.
peruse our DC AREA GUIDE TO FARMERS MARKETS right here.
I’ve had separate conversations with two members of Hot Chip – one in an Austin bathroom, the other on a long distance call to England – and in both instances, I had to correct the misconception that Hot Chip was performing at 9:30 Club in June. So, if you are reading this and you are in Hot Chip: Your band is performing at Echostage in a few days – not the 9:30 Club. This is valuable information for the rest of us, too, because Hot Chip is one of the most formidable live acts going. Somewhere along the line, these nerds turned bona fide festival conquers. They’ve got the lights (if their neon pink and purple radiating set-up at SXSW is any indication), they’ve got the music (no “ifs” about it: their catalogue is absurdly deep at this point), they’ve got the awkward dance moves (as do I). And their latest record,Why Makes Sense?, is perhaps the strongest front-to-back Hot Chip record. On opener “Huarache Lights”, Alexis Taylor repeats, “Replace us with the things that do the job better.” That’s not happening any time soon. –Phil Runco
Tame Impala @ Echostage June 6
Don’t get it twisted: Tame Impala is no longer your little secret. Tame Impala is a big fucking deal. Like, the Third Eye Blind singer is abig fan. Like, bros that I went to high school with repost every new video on Facebook. Like, Echostage is probably the smallest place you’ll see them for a few years. Forthcoming LP3, Currents, is fixing to hold down the summer. And, lord, is what we’ve heard so far beautiful: the “Virgin Suicides”-on-steroids space odyssey “Let It Happen”; the finger-snap daydream “Eventually”; the slow drag and extended sigh “’Cause I’m a Man”. Would I rather be taking hallucinogenic drugs (for the first time!) and rolling around a grass field during their set and not in a warehouse? Most def. In the past, has Tame Impala proven capable of translating Kevin Parker’s studio creations to a live setting in a truly compelling way? Real talk: not really. But it’s put-up-or-shut-up time for this group of Aussies, and the good money is on a big leap. Let it happen, please. -Phil Runco
Belle & Sebastian @ Echostage June 11
Belle & Sebastian put out a record in January, I think. Do you remember? It was ten Internet years ago. I seem to recall it being calledGirls In Peacetime Want To Dance, and from what I recollect, it was pretty good. Sure, it lost the plot a little on side B, but side A? Man, that’s a killer six-song Belle & Sebastian EP. Yes, “Nobody’s Empire”, “Allie”, “The Party Line”, “The Power of Three” – it’s all coming back to me. And so is the band. It’s been 460 Internet years since I saw them at Constitution Hall. They were great. They’re always great. Or, Belle and Sebastian 2.0 (2003 – present) is always great. They are a professional unit. This is the type of show where you spend just as much time discussing what they played as you do lamenting what they didn’t. That’s a good problem to have. BYT hearts Belle & Sebastian for a reason. -Phil Runco
Basement Jaxx @ 9:30 Club June 30
Sometimes I think Basement Jaxx should have gone away. Just pull a Daft Punk and retreat into hibernation for a little bit, and let people miss them. Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe never made a Human After All-level dud; instead, it’s been a steady stream of records since 1999’s Remedy, each one attracting a little less attention than the one before it. When I talk to the indie kids of today, they usually don’t even know who Basement Jaxx is. That’s a shame, because no matter what the year, each Basement Jaxx record is good for three to four fucking jams, and in my own little world, they are Song of the Summer contenders. To wit: “What a Difference Your Love Makes”(2013) and “Never Say Never” (2014). Fuuuuucking jaaaaaams. Also very good: the 2013 double shot of “Back 2 the Wild” and“Mermaid of Salinas”. Most days, I’d trade you the entirety of Disclosure’s catalogue for these songs. Of course, when Basement Jaxx visits 9:30 Club at the end of June – ostensibly in support of last year’s Junto – it’ll also have the rest of its dance-pop-house treasure trove: “Romeo”, “Raindrops”, “Rendez-Vu”, and, hell, all of Kish Kash. It would be easy to say something like “18 year-old me can’t wait for this night,” but if I’m being honest, this isn’t about nostalgia: There hasn’t been a year this century where that wouldn’t be the case. – Phil Runco
Even though it came out with RCA’s backing, Miguel’s Kaleidoscope Dream was a little R&B album snowballed into something much bigger. On its face, it was an adventerous but modest record – the product of a savvy studio rat with some endearingly cheeseball tendencies. If label employees’ livelihoods had been hanging in the balance, there is no way that a song like “Pussy is Mine” makes that album. But a lot has changed since 2012. “Adorn” blew up. Miguel became a wildly in-demand feature artist, scoring hits with Mariahand Janelle, and appearing on tracks by everyone from the Chemical Brothers to Jesse Ware to Hudson Mohawke. He also broke the internet with his head-busting acrobatics. So, needless to say, expectations are a little higher for Miguel’s third album, Wildheart, which is probably why it took three years to get here. December’s teaser EP and revamped first single “Coffee (Fucking)” are proof that he just may meet them, despite an awful Wale cameo on the latter. No matter what, our summer is about to get a lot sexier come June 30. – Phil Runco
BYT & Cap Pride Present: Flashback Opening Party @ Arena Stage June 12
Last year Big Freedia filmed this video:
So that might happen again. Freedia won’t be there but all the reasons our annual Pride party made a good set for a music video about butts will be there. -Brandon Wetherbee
Nat Geo After Hours 2015 @ National Georgraphic Society June 19
Our annual Nat Geo event sells out every year. It’s the staffs favorite event. It’s our readers favorite event. It’s people that have no idea who we are or what we do but like to party favorite event. Part outdoor dance party, party science party (this year the temporary exhibit is about Indiana Jones films), part cool museum visit, part chance to hang out with your friends at a place you never visit. It’s great and you should buy tickets now because once again, this thing sells out every year. -Brandon Wetherbee
Congressional Baseball Game @ Nationals Park June 11
I own a Rand Paul baseball card. I did not make this baseball card at a nearby Staples because my political beliefs tell me to make baseball cards. I own a Rand Paul baseball card because every year members of the House and the Senate take the field at Nationals Park and play each other for charity. It’s absurd. Everyone wins. I own a Rand Paul baseball card and so can you! The perfect event for the person that enjoys old timey uniforms, relatively cold beer and the outdoors. A love of America’s Pastime is not required. Here’s a photo of my Rand Paul baseball card. -Brandon Wetherbee
Everything releasing on Instant Netflix and Amazon Prime this month – In date-by-date order. USE THIS ALL MONTH LONG.
Hannibal returns June 4
Remember when there were rumors that Hannibal wouldn’t be coming back? Well those rumors have proven to be false and everyone’s favorite cannibal is coming back to NBC in just a few days! Thank god, because the end of season 2 basically ripped my heart and fed it to me so I need some answers. I also miss finding gruesome crime scenes strangely beautiful and asking myself questions about how I really am after having those feelings. And we can’t forget Mads Mikkelsen’s cheekbones. -Mary Beth McAndrews
Skin Wars returns June 10
Skin Wars is a reality competition show that features some of the nation’s most talented body painters from around the country compete for a cash prize. It’s like Top Chef but for people who spray paint onto other people. Rebecca Romijn hosts it. RuPaul is a judge. Season Two premieres on GSN on June 10th and you BET I’ll be tuning in. -Matt Byrne
Orange is the New Black returns June 12
I’ve never been more excited to go to jail. Now with more Lori Petty! – Jenn Tisdale
Under The Dome returns June 25
I don’t even know if I feel totally comfortable recommending this, but Under The Dome’s third season premiere is on June 25th. When the show started, I was operating under the assumption that it would be a miniseries, since it was adapted from the Steven King novel of the same name (which, when published in 2009, was publicized as one of King’s longest books ever, as if that’s a mark of quality?). Long story short the show was a hit when it first premiered, and (apparently) started straying from the source material soon after that, with the revelation that it would not be a single-series show coming soon thereafter. Books have a finite endpoint, TV shows don’t, so there’s a huge amount of wheel-spinning and tangents and dumb meaningless mythologizing built around the show and even though I hate it, like a lot, I’ve already watched two seasons of it, so why not watch a third? -Matt Byrne
Zombie: The American @ Woolly Mammoth May 25 through June 21
I recommended this last month and I’m recommending it again here. This time it’s for selfish reasons. After seeing the Woolly 2014-15 season preview 9 months ago I asked if I could do a special edition of my talk show related to this play. That is going to happen Wednesday, June 3. Tickets and a discount code are available here. Zombie politics. It’s 100% D.C. -Brandon Wetherbee
Out/Spoken: Queer, Questioning, Bold and Proud True Stories Through an LGBT Lens @ 9:30 Club
From the Speakeasy DC event page: SpeakeasyDC present’s stories from LGBT perspective that will challenge, provoke, inspire and ignite. From finding love in the time of grindr, to learning the truth about that crazy ‘bachelor’ uncle, or (dis)functional family fun. Out/Spoken is night of stories that celebrate the diverse perspectives of the community and embrace the challenges and triumphs of being queer, questioning, bold and proud.
