Live Music is Back Crossword Answer Key

Go-go became the District’s official music as of 2020, but it’s been the funktastic heartbeat of the capital city since it came on the scene in the ‘70s. This crossword traces the origins and history of go-go’s iconic sound. And as D.C. has evolved, so too has its eclectic music scene. Down and across this grid are the people, places, instruments and more which create the District’s living musical anthology.

ACROSS

6. A national park — for the performing arts (2 words) Wolf Trap

8. Popular punk venue whose beloved Red Room closed in 2018 (2 words) Black Cat

9. A free music streaming platform where a sizeable chunk of DMV rappers have gotten their start SoundCloud

10. Music venue at 7DrumCity (2 words) The Pocket

13. A rapper who once told National Music Express she resonates with being a pop-punk princess; she has collaborated with the likes of Doja Cat, Aminé and more (2 words) Rico Nasty

14. One of the first music venues in the U.S. specifically catered to Black artists (2 words) Howard Theatre

17. The name of Chuck Brown’s famous band (2 words) Soul Searchers

19. American trumpet player in the D.C. go-go scene as part of Rare Essence, notably buried in a light blue casket (2 words) Anthony Harley

20. One of Chuck Brown’s most popular tracks, including his own name (2 words) Chuck Baby

22. A basement bar near Farragut Square where Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliot played (3 words) The Meeting Place

24. A famous Arlington recording studio, which closed in October and played an important role in D.C.’s harcore scene (3 words) Inner Ear Studios 

25. R&B superstar, who collaborated with Drake and Tyler, the Creator in 2021 (2 words) Brent Faiyaz

26. Famous go-go band with known hits like “Pump Me Up” and “Let’s Get Small” (2 words) Trouble Funk

28. DMV rapper behind the anthemic song “Crew,” featuring Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy GoldLink

29. Handheld brass instrument with three or four valves/buttons Trumpet

32. Live music venue located at The Wharf (3 words) Pearl Street Warehouse

33. Go-go band who got their start as children, using objects they could find around their neighborhood — pots, bottles, hubcaps, etc. Junkyard

36. Part of a drum set that can open and close Hi-Hat

37. A self-proclaimed blues bar and soul food restaurant named after a single-letter rearrangement of a D.C. neighborhood (2 words) Madams Organ

41. The famous punk record label, housing bands such as State of Alert and Minor Threat (2 words) Dischord Records 

42. One of the District’s most famous natives, lovingly known as the “Prince of Motown” and creator of one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time: “What’s Going On” (2 words) Marvin Gaye

45. Renowned locally-based R&B singer who played a Marvin Gaye tribute concert at Wolf Trap in August 2021 (2 words) Raheem DeVaughn

46. Trailblazing Black punk band with a beer styled after them, produced by Key Brewing Co., called Positive Mental Attitude (2 words) Bad Brains

47. D.C. native and late ‘90s/early 2000s R&B star behind the smash-hit “Pony,” who worked extensively with artists like Timbaland, Aaliyah and Missy Elliott

48. The first D.C. go-go band to be signed to a major record label (2 words) Black Heat

49. D.C.’s most prominent performing arts center (2 words) 

52. White House-adjacent live music hall which shares a name with a certain popular musical (2 words) Hamilton Live

53. R&B singer originally from D.C. whose 2019 album “Shea Butter Baby” was her first for Dreamville Records (2 words) Ari Lenox

54. Music venue at the Wharf which opened in 2017 with a show featuring The Foo Fighters and The Struts Anthem

55. The official music of the District as of 2020, and rightfully so Go-go

56. One of the few local music venues which includes a number in its name DC9

57. Revolutionizers of go-go, most well known for their hit “Jungle” (2 words) Young Senators

58. Simply, the godfather of go-go (2 words) Chuck Brown

DOWN

1. Activist group working to protect go-go’s legacy in the District (3 words) Don’t Mute DC

2. A beloved venue which recently relocated to  Union Market — think a singing avian creature, just spelled differently Songbyrd

3. A global superstar featured on the Ben’s Chili Bowl mural (next to the Obamas), whose work and influence expands far beyond just Paisley Park Prince

4. D.C. hybrid nightclub and concert venue, also ranked as the world’s best nightclub in 2021 by DJ Mag Echostage

5. One of D.C’s most famous rappers, who rose to prominence with the release of  “Dig Dug (Shake It)” Wale

7. Their song “(Doin’) Da Butt” was in “School Daze,” Spike Lee’s 1988 film (2 words) Experience Unlimited

11. Grungy go-to H street venue which closed spring 2021 (4 words) Rock and Roll Hotel

12. Annual outdoor music festival launched in 2014 at the back lots of Union Market (3 words) All Things Go 

13. Song by The Blackbyrds named after one of D.C.’s most beloved (and largest) public parks
(3 words) Rock Creek Park

15. Artist and producer behind 2020’s “Live Forever” album (2 words) Bartees Strange

16. Singer behind the classic “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” which hit no. 1 on the charts in 1973
(2 words) Roberta Flack

18. A new venue in Navy Yard with a partially-seated set-up, making for a relaxed musical experience – unless you want to rush the stage (2 words) Capital Turnaround

21. One of the most famous venues in D.C. whose name includes a time (2 words) 9:30 Club

23. A leading figure in the American modern dance movement, she founded a dance company in 1926 in her name and earned Kennedy Center Honors and  the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2 words) Martha Graham

27. Drummer for Nirvana and founder +  iconic frontman of the Foo Fighters who attended high school in Arlington and Alexandria (2 words) Dave Grohl

30. A jazz and supper club located in Georgetown which hosted Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie
(2 words) Blues Alley

31. Trailblazing post-hardcore band, whose name also means fake, artificial Fugazi

34. The 1975 album from funk legends Parliament, titled after one of the District’s most beloved nicknames, honoring its history as the first majority Black major city in the U.S. (2 words) Chocolate City

35. Music venue on U Street with a bust of a certain U.S. president in the window (2 words) Lincoln Theatre

38. Famous venue in Columbia, Maryland, which has an Animal Collective album name after it Merriweather

39. The band behind the D.C. classic “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” (2 words) Postal Service

40. A new Water Street venue on the waterfront (2 words) Union Stage

41. One of the world’s most famous pianists, composers and jazz artists originally from the District, who has a local arts school named after him (attended by Dave Chappelle) (2 words) Duke Ellington

43. Rapper formerly known as Jay IDK IDK

44. Theater that annually hosts the Washington Ballet’s “Nutcracker,” named after a co-founder of Warner Bros. Studios (2 words) Warner Theatre

50. One of the District’s high schools which Marvin Gaye attended, located in Columbia Heights Cardozo

51. In a classic SNL skit, Will Ferrell played this instrument Cowbell

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