Aerialist at Galaxy Hut, 1998 | Courtesy of Galaxy Hut Regularly open late on the weekends and attracting world class DJs and electronic producers - including legends such as John Digweed, Carl Craig, and Derrick May - for sets starting around 1am, we wouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself dancing at Flash until sunrise. Appealing mainly to dance music purists - your one friend who went to Berlin and couldn’t stop talking about the 12 hours he spent at Berghain - Flash is a multi-level immersive experience where each floor offers a different vibe: a more relaxed lounge when you walk in the incredibly impressive club room on the second floor, with a perfectly equalized set of speakers and judiciously used set of LED lights a rooftop deck evoking the tropics - complete with a retractable roof - up on the third.

Flickr/Metal Chrisįlash has been slowly building up its reputation as one of the premier electronic music venues on the East Coast, adding further legitimacy to the DC Dance scene. The Black Cat continues to book extraordinary talent in a no-frills environment on both their Mainstage as well as the Backstage Concert room - a perfect space to catch some of the smaller, more “out there” acts performing in the District. The Black Cat has seen many incredible acts come through over the years, and they were the site of a couple of “pop-up” shows by the Foo Fighters in the Fall of 2014 - an incredible event that somehow made total sense. Opening in 1993, the club was the biggest of its kind at the time - offering a real stage and platform for indie acts to play to larger audiences right as the genre was gaining traction nationally and internationally. Opening on 14th St when things were very, very different in that part of town, the Black Cat was both a cause and consequence of shifting demographics in the DMV region, and an indicator of changes that are still happening today. Much like their historic rivals at the 9:30 Club, the Black Cat has been the backbone to the live music scene in Northwest Washington DC for a long time.

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