For those wondering, yes: That’s eight hours of piano Christmas music in the video above. All right. So, here we go. Behold the final Weekend Playlist of 2014. Who could have ever thunk we would make it this far?! Crazy, isn’t it? We will be off for the next two weeks, only occasionally checking in through various social media platforms (assuming anyone might care, of course, which might be a bit presumptuous in the first place). We will look to see you back here, invigorated, rested, happy, filled with food, cold to the bone, and excited for a brand new year on … Monday, January 5. In the meantime (and in between time), we’ve concocted a list of shows going down between now and Saturday (here’s a hint: There aren’t a lot). Still, Joint Effort will be rappin’ and rollin’ at Cafe 611 tonight (unless if it’s canceled) while Safe Harbor is staying true to school at Ayse. The Lodge is set to get down (good Lord, as Blackstreet would say) on Friday night, so that’s exciting. Especially when you add in kangaroo meat. Saturday night looks to be amazing-wonderful-awesome-neat-cool-fantastic as Basket Ball Beatz plans to melt your face at Cafe Nola with hip covers from the 1980s, 1990s and everything else in between. Then, if you feel like heading out while they are on a break, jet over to the Cellar Door to hear our good friend Phil Kominski play whatever on earth you might want to hear. Also of note: Deanna Bogart will be bringing her greatness to the Weinberg. And if none of that sounds appealing for your middle-of-the-holiday-week plans, there are the Amish Outlaws, who will be at Champion Billiards, and those guys might have told the person writing this once that they loved his shirt, because his shirt had the 10,000 Maniacs on it. So, there’s that. We cannot thank you enough for checking us out (if you happened to check us out this year), so at some point throughout the next two weeks, raise a glass, turn the volume to 15 and let’s all put 2014 to bed with a nice stiff drink. We’ll be back with our year-end list at some point (perhaps within the next two-week break, but that will be a game-time decision). As an appetizer, though, here’s a hint: This was the best year in music some of us have seen in Frederick since moving here. So many incredible things to look back on; so many incredible things to look forward to. A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. And to all, a loud night.
TUESDAY
Who: Joint Effort, J-Berd, Maurice Daniel, DJ Blaze Daily
Where: Cafe 611
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Open Mic
Where: The Cellar Door
When: Sign-ups at 8 p.m.; play begins at 9 p.m.
Who: John Grimes
Where: Brewer’s Alley
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Safe Harbor
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Open Mic with Todd C. Walker
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Who: DJ Two Teks
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 10 p.m.
Who: John Lawton, Matthew Traks
Where: The Lodge
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Gary Brown
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Monocacy Jazz Quartet
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Mateo Monk
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Mike Mallick Band
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Dan McGuire Band
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Shake Shake Shake
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 10 p.m.
SATURDAY
Who: Secondhand Ramblers
Where: JoJo’s Tap House
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Phil Kominski
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Scrub Pines
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Basket Ball Beatz
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Deanna Bogart
Where: The Weinberg Center
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Prophets Of The Abstract Truth
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Peter Roebuck
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Dysfunkshun Band
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Nobody’s Parents
Where: Olde Towne Tavern
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Josh Burgess Band
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Amish Outlaws
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 10 p.m.