No items found.
The Maka Sticks are a Washington DC ska band punching through the fourth wave with their own unique blend of two-tone ska and third-wave sound. Formed in 2024, the Maka Sticks, united by their passion for Ska, fight to keep DC’s punk scene alive with high-energy live performances, justice-driven lyrics, and songs about sea monsters. With influences ranging from legendary acts like Madness and The Planet Smashers, The Maka Sticks deliver an electrifying live experience that pays homage to the roots of Ska while infusing it with their own powerful sound.
You've been told to stay away from strangers. It's time you ignore that advice and embrace Strangers That Clique, a band that's taking the DC area by storm with its unique fusion of funk, hip hop, and rock. Finalists for Best Funk Band and Best Funk Song in the 2024 Washington Area Music Awards (Wammies), Strangers That Clique shines like a beacon of toe-tapping creativity in today's world of samples, DJs and stale radio rock. Tight beats, pounding bass, roaring guitars, slick rhymes, majestic horns, passionate vocals and memorable, danceable hooks define the band, which calls DC home and crafts original tunes that stand out from region's sea of cover bands. Have a seat and hit play, and you'll discover these Strangers have the grooves you've always wanted but thought you'd never find.
Chicago, 2007. Cold nights, a tube Marshall turned up too loud, and a Fender Telecaster that refused to stay quiet. That’s where Luke Ijams first began turning stories into music. Years of playing with different bands taught Luke the most important rule of all: listen first. Music works best when everyone pulls in the same direction, leaving space, finding the pocket, and lifting each other up. It’s never been about how fancy the playing is; it’s about how it feels when it lands. Luke’s lyrics tell stories you might have lived, almost lived, or maybe wish you hadn’t. And just when the words seem to have said everything they can, the guitar steps in, stretching into long, expressive solos that carry the story where language falls short, adding tension, struggle, and emotion before bringing it home. Blues, funk, roots, with a hint of reggae sway, whatever the song calls for that night, that’s the direction it goes. The road has taken Luke through Texas, Indiana, the mountains of New Hampshire, and now finally to Washington, DC. In 2025, he joined forces with John McGarrity on drums and Roberto Giberti on bass, forming the Luke Ijams Trio and bringing their deeply felt, groove-driven sound to the nation’s capital.