Welcome to another edition of our monthly music newsletter feature, where we highlight a local artist and upcoming shows. April marks two prominent D.C. music moments: The local music awards, aka “The Wammies,” and the kick-off to festival season with the annual EDM fest, Project GLOW. We spoke with Baronhawk Poitier, a D.C. house DJ who is performing for the first time at Project GLOW.
🎙️ Spotlight: Baronhawk Poitier
Self-described sound:
House Music
Background:
As a competitive breakdancer in high school during the early ‘00s, Baronhawk Poitier began cutting and editing music for his crew. What started as a side project, became a passion for Poitier who downloaded a DJ program onto his computer. In 2005, he began to take DJing and producing seriously when a dance student gifted him his first turntable which he still uses today.
Poitier mixes pull from jazz, funk, R&B, Latin, and Afrobeat. His style is syncopation and percussion heavy, which he credits to growing up around go-go and Baltimore club music. Always a dancer at heart, he views his sets as ways to make people dance, regardless of skill, by combining different styles of music that coach people to dance a certain way.
Under the mentorship of stalwart local DJ Karizma, the PG County-raised, D.C.-based artist has made a name for himself in the house music and nightlife scene. Along with independent sets, Poitier is one-third of the queer DJ collective, Dance Club, who have monthly pop-up shows at rotating venues.
When were you first introduced to house music?
House music is a Black American cultural music forum that I have heard from birth. I was raised in the nineties, listened to early dance music on the radio, and watched my parents and relatives dance to it. By junior year in high school, I began to do my own research and found the music I loved listening to when growing up was house music. I was like "Oh, Crystal Waters’ 'Gypsy Woman' is a house track and it’s from Baltimore!"
The wild thing about urban dance forms — the breaking, locking, voguing, whacking, and popping — they all follow the history of Black American music. Every couple of years when the music would change a little bit and the music goes from ‘80s R&B to New Jack Swing, suddenly the dance changes as well. They are all related. Studying the dance forms first helped me study the music.
What artists influence you the most?
Kerri Chandler, Derrick Carter, and Crystal Waters.
Local artists shoutout?
Karizma, Joyce Lim, Tommy Cornelius, DJ Spin, Black Techno Matters collective, Black Rave Culture collective, Sam “The Man” Burns
What’s your go-to D.C. restaurant?
Sunrise Caribbean Restaurant, Jerk at Nite, and Panda Gourmet.
Favorite local venue?
The Owl Room (RIP). Our Dance Club is rotating, so DC9 and Hill Prince are great too.
What do you like about living in the District?
D.C. gets a bad rap, but we're actually a poppin’ city. We are very diverse. We have a really good food scene. There are so many different cultural influences that I'm surrounded by. Whenever I walk down the street, I can go to all these different museums. There are so many experiences we get here that I wouldn’t get in another city of a similar size, or honestly, even some of the larger cities. Another bonus is I don’t have to own a car.
Where do you find inspiration in DC?
Sonically, there’s a lot of creativity here. A lot of musicians here. A lot of producers here. We are a music-oriented city. My love for percussion and syncopation comes from growing up in this area. I grew up nestled between go-go music and Baltimore club, and both are syncopated and percussion-heavy genres of music. I gravitate towards those sorts of sounds in my production and mixes.
This will be your first time performing at Project GLOW. What are you excited for?
Getting up on that giant stage [laughs]. I haven’t figured out my look just yet, but I know it’s going to have to be two steps beyond extraordinary. I love playing to D.C. crowds in our club spaces. I am looking forward to playing to a larger crowd at a festival in D.C.
Any pre-show rituals?
Before a set, I like to dance. If there’s a dance circle on the floor, I’ll try to get in there and that’s how I warm up, through movement. It’s how I get activated to put on my show.
Last song you listened to on Spotify or a streaming service?
Karizma, “You Take Me High (Remix).”
Where can people find you and your work?
All the major streaming platforms, my YouTube Channel, and I have a monthly radio show on Oroko Radio.
Next Shows:
April 6 | 10 p.m. | Free | Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club
April 28 | TBD | $133+ | Project GLOW at RFK Grounds
April 19 | 10 p.m. | $10 | DanceClub featuring Midland at Hill Prince
Follow:
Song To Check Out:
GLOW Fest. (Kristina Bakrevski/Insomniac Events)
🎟️ Other Upcoming Local Shows To See
- Prinze George (Indie Pop) | April 7 | 7 p.m. | $21.89 | Songbyrd
- Pinky Lemon (opening for Annita Velveeta) (Shoegaze) | April 12 | 8 p.m. | $15+ | Comet Ping Pong
- The Crystal Casino Band (opening for Quarters of Change) (Alt. Rock) | April 21 +22 | Doors 6:30 p.m. | $22 | The Atlantis
- Joy Viver (opening for daarling) (Indie)| April 27 | 8 p.m. | $15 |Rhizome
- BRNDA (opening for Bodega) (Punk)| April 27 | 10 p.m. | $18.54 | Comet Ping Pong
🎵 New Local Music Mention
Ahead of her self-titled EP which dropped on March 22, Jane O’Neill released this Americana ballad packed with imagery of longing for an ex-girlfriend who drank the titular whiskey. O’Neill pulls at your heartstrings with her sultry tone and sentimental lyrics that drive the song.
🏅 Wammie Nominee Music Mention
As one of the finalists for the Wammies Best Hard Rock/Metal song this year, this track will give major nostalgia. Reminiscent of AC/DC and a touch of Gun N’ Roses, “Too Late” tells the story of a deceased cheating lover through gritty rage-fueled vocals and catchy guitar riffs.
Listen to all these artists and more on our Spotify Playlist!
