Cute quota for the day

Yesterday's Westmoreland Shops open house did bring in a lot of folks to the area who had not been to our new location, so we consider that a success. It did get crazy at times as there were a lot of small children running about, banging on drums, trying out each and every kazoo, and other things that kids do. Some were charming, others...less so.

Sometimes we do get a real charmer though. Our buddy Tim Johnson just came in to pick up his latest acquisition: a left-handed spruce-top Kala tenor ukulele with pickup (yes, he acknowledges he has a problem, but we don't fault him). He brought his son with him, and they came back to serenade me with a duet of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." Man, it was cute. The little guy even got the "dow-wah" pronunciation. Axl Rose, eat your heart out.

Westmoreland Shops open house this Sunday!

Please join us this Sunday, March 15 for a special event hosted by the Westmoreland Ave. Shops. Everyone will be offering special discounts & promotions (10% off Celtic instruments, books & recordings at HMT), there will be live music (new acoustic duo Erik Sharar & Melanie Cobb), Reggae Yoga & dance demonstrations, refreshments and more! Click on the flyer below for full information.

HMT at the Wammies!

House of Musical Traditions was well-represented at the 23rd Annual Washington Area Music Awards ("Wammies"), which were given out February 15. Several of our staff and teachers were winners or nominees:

Christylez Bacon: Winner, Rap/Hip Hop Rapper and Rap/Hip Hop Recording; Nominee, New Artist of the Year and Debut Recording
Ira Gitlin: Winner, Bluegrass Instrumentalist and Country Instrumentalist
Esther Haynes: Winner, Big Band/Swing Vocalist and Jazz Vocalist
Dede Wyland: Winner, Bluegrass Vocalist
Mark Sylvester: Nominee, Folk Contemporary Instrumentalist
Trevor Higgins: Nominee, Live Sound Engineer
Dave Eisner: Nominee, Executive of the Year and Most Supportive of Local Music

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

Chris Bacon at the Kennedy Center

Our own Chris Bacon will be performing at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage...

Monday, February 9, 2009

6:00PM - FREE ADMISSION - All Ages

Kennedy Center (Millennium Stage)

2700 F St NW, Washington, DC

www.christylez.com

Progressive Hip-Hop Artist and native Washingtonian, Christylez Bacon, will lead a hour-long concert at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage on Monday, February 9, 2009. The concert is commissioned by the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History & Culture and the Kennedy Center. The concert features a 12-piece orchestra including String Quartet, Piano, Upright Bass, Tuba, Didgeridoo, Human-Beatbox, and other diverse instrumentation. On top of that, this concert will be Free Admission for the public!

Barack To the Future!

So last week, Dave had one of his signature brainstorms, and started plotting. He enlisted the help of rob's graphic design talents...




And now we have our "Barack To the Future" commemorative Inaugural t-shirts! Get yours at HMT for $12 (girly t's $15). Comes in black and stylish black!




We also have these for sale in our eBay store!

Various Pictures

Just a few fun pictures to share...


Paul the Elder, Amelia and Keith amuse themselves with silly hats.



For our annual HMT holiday party we gathered at Justin Trawick's show as part of IMT's "Next To the House" concerts. Here's Chris, Kristen, Brie, Amelia and Paul the Younger mugging for the camera.



So, if you've been to Old Town Takoma Park in the last few months, you can't help but notice the massive amounts of construction. Sometimes it obstructs our daily lives and we've learned to live with the sounds of bulldozers, jackhammers and other large machines. But sometimes the silhouette of a backhoe against a gorgeous winter sunset is just too cool not to capture.

Holidays at HMT

We're all prettied up for the holidays...






Come in and enjoy a cup of hot cider while you shop! In addition to some great deals on guitars, banjos, mandolins and hand drums, we've got a buy-one-get-one-free sale on general interest music books which are already priced 50-80% off! Lots of great titles about Clapton, U2, Eva Cassidy, history of the blues, and more!

Our holiday hours are:
Dec. 17-20: 11-8
Dec. 21-22: 11-6
Dec. 23: 11-8
Dec. 24: 11-7
Dec. 25: closed
January 1: closed