While the crowds at live music shows in Go-Go continue to be strong, there has always been a lack of consistent studio recordings of original music in the genre outside of Chuck Brown. With the 4th anniversary of Chuck’s loss approaching, what better way to honor the Godfather of Go-Go than have a day dedicated to the release of new recordings in the genre he created. The Chuck Brown Band has always held a special show at the Howard Theatre to mark the anniversary of his loss, this year’s show (May 14 at the Howard), called 4Ever Chuck, features Junk Yard Band, Sugar Bear & EU and the Chuck Brown Band. But a show alone did not seem enough to honor the contributions of DC’s most beloved music master. After the idea was circulated, with a sincere desire to keep the genre an integral part of DC culture and inspire more new music, initial studio recordings were quickly in the works by the Chuck Brown Band, Back Yard Band, Team Familiar, Junk Yard Band, Bela Dona, Michelle Blackwell, DJ Flexx, and others. And with a full album by Rare Essence dropping around the same time, DC will find itself with more new Go-Go at one time by multiple bands than any time in the genre’s history. We celebrate Chuck Brown on Friday May 13 and DC’s original form of music with the 1st Annual DC Go-Go Music Day, and on Saturday May 14 at the Howard Theatre with 4Ever Chuck.
Additional information: Chuck Brown’s Bustin’ Loose has been used in TV commercials recently by the Washington Nationals. Chuck Brown will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 20th (www.NorthCarolinaMusicHallofFame.org ) , the soon to open National Museum of African American History will include Chuck Brown’s contributions, the DC Lottery is launching a Chuck Brown Scratcher $5 lottery ticket in May.