10:30 am
Archie's Barbershop Jambassadors
The Jambassadors are acoustic blues artists who are part of the core community at Archie's Barbershop. Located in Northeast DC, Archie's Barbershop functioned as a museum, music hall and educational facility, as well as headquarters for the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to preserving the memory of bluesman Archie Edwards and to carrying on his educational mission of keeping the Piedmont blues alive. For many decades, Archie closed up his barbershop about mid-afternoon on Saturday to preside over a blues jam with his musician friends and visitors. The tradition continues today through the foundation: Archie's Barbershop was home to an informal jam every Saturday afternoon until last winter, when the shop was sold to become a dentist office. But the weekly jams have resumed at their new home in Riverdale, MD. Blues musicians from all over the world have visited Archie's Barbershop, and it has been featured in many local and national news articles and radio and TV stories. In 2005, the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation was honored to receive the Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Education from the Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee. Following is the Blues Foundation's statement announcing the award. "What began in 1959 as a meeting place for local musicians, the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation has, since 1998, been teaching Blues history in schools, hospitals, festivals, and libraries. After the death of Piedmont Blues guitarist Archie Edwards, his barbershop became the center of his wish--to keep the stories and guitar licks alive. A foundation was created; the barbershop was given a facelift; and his longtime friends, Michel Baytop, Richard "Bones" Thomas, Napoleon Brundage, NJ Warner, Eleanor Ellis, and Miles Spicer took up Edwards' mandate." On November 20, 2002 the U.S. Senate passed a resolution recognizing the community services of the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation and the importance of the blues in American culture.
Website: www.acousticblues.com

1:00 pm
The Metronomes
The Metronomes are known for their tight harmonies and infectious energy. Their style and sound has grown out of the group members' backgrounds in jazz, musical theatre, collegiate a cappella, R&B, and from years of singing together in front of large and small audiences. The Metronomes have been performing in the Washington, DC area since 1991. Their engagements regularly include public spaces, clubs, restaurants and private parties. They have also made appearances on live television, at the Kennedy Center, the Supreme Court, and the White House. Love of music keeps the group singing while juggling professional careers and raising families.
Website: www.metronomesdc.com