🗳️ Ranked choice voting gets on ballot

What's CITY Talking About?

Get Ready To Vote On Ranked Choice Voting

Ranked choice voting – Initiative 83 – will officially be on the ballot this November. D.C. Board of Elections confirmed that the Yes on 83 campaign, which collected over 40,000 signatures, met the requirements to get it on the ballot. If passed, the initiative would also allow registered independents to vote in primaries. [Make All Votes Count]

Dogs Found Dead at Training Facility

Five dogs were found dead at a Loudoun County training and boarding facility, along with 19 others in “unsafe” and “tragic” conditions. The animals are being held by Loudoun County Animal Services until the investigation is complete, then will be reunited with their owners. [WTOP]

Stumpy Lives On

Stumpy, the iconic Tidal Basin cherry tree that was removed this spring to make way for a sea wall construction project, has been reborn. Cuttings from the Yoshino cherry tree have been successfully propagated and are successfully growing at a greenhouse at the National Arboretum. [Washington Post 🔒, WTOP]

Your August Local Music Guide

Welcome to another edition of our monthly music newsletter feature, where we highlight a local artist and upcoming shows from DMV acts. To truly embody brat summer, you have to get off TikTok and get out and dance. Lucky for you, this guide will give you the best local concerts in August to start your 3-6-5 party. Your brat summer is about to get a lot more local.

🎙️ Spotlight: Whiteboy of Rare Essence

Self-Described Sound:

Go-go

Background:

Andre “Whiteboy” Johnson is D.C. royalty. As an original member of the legendary go-go band Rare Essence, the singer and guitarist has been creating and performing music in the DMV for close to five decades. What started as hanging out and playing with friends from elementary school became a lifelong career that shaped the D.C. music scene we have today.

At the center of Rare Essence’s success is their multi-generational audience. In the early days, the band was part of Marion Berry’s summer youth jobs program, where they were assigned to different parks around the city to perform. Through hyper-local touring, Rare Essence gained a loyal fan base. Johnson credits their longevity to listening to their audience.

“When creating new music, we start a groove right there, live on stage,” Johnson says. “As we're playing it, we’re creating it, and if the audience is vibing to it, then we keep going. If they're not liking it, we switch it up. Our creativity in part comes from the audience.”

Next Local Show:

August 11 | 6 p.m. | $45+ | Ivy City Smokehouse

Be on the lookout for Rare Essence’s ongoing monthly concerts at Ivy City Smokehouse and upcoming dates at Howard Theatre.

Follow:

@rewickedestband

Song to Check Out:

“Overnight Scenario”

🎟️ Other Upcoming Local Shows To See

1. Bacchae (Punk) | August 9 | 7 p.m. | $15+ | Songbyrd
2. Cinema Hearts (opening for The Courettes) (Indie Rock) | August 14 | 8 p.m. | $12+ | Pie Shop
3. Sensor Ghost (Art-Punk) | August 17 | 7 p.m. | $10+ | Rhizome
4. Oh He Dead, ViRG (Funk, Soul, Indie Pop) | August 23 | 7:30 p.m. | $25 | The Atlantis
5. Daphne Eckman, Taisha Estrada, Fetcher (opening for Stephen Babcock) (Folk, Latin Jazz, Indie Rock) | August 23 | 8 p.m. | $17+ | The Pocket

🎵 New Local Music Mentions

Shelby Morgan: “Sex, Secrets, Promises”

From Chappell to Sabrina to Charli, this summer is all about the femme pop star resurgence, and you can add Shelby Morgan to your list. The local pop singer’s deep vocals are reminiscent of Dua Lipa, but her lyrics carry more edge.

🎧 Your Monthly Local Music Playlist

Check out this Spotify playlist we made, featuring Rare Essence’s songs and inspirations, plus music by the other local bands above.

Where Is It?

First, Where Was Last Week’s Photo?

Nice! This statue of Albert Einstein is located across from the National Mall on the corner of National Science Academy grounds.

The statue is full of hidden secrets. In his left hand, he holds a paper with the equations summarizing Einstein's most important discoveries: the photoelectric effect, the theory of general relativity, and the equivalence of energy and matter.

On the ground is a star map with more than 2,700 metal studs representing the stars accurately positioned as they were on the dedication date.

And finally, if you stand in the center of the memorial facing Einstein and speak, you will hear your voice echo, but nobody else can!

🏆 Congratulations to Debbie T., Melanie VR., and Brad P. for getting it right first!

Now, Onto This Week’s Challenge:

Can you tell me where this oddly life-like police statue is located?

What To Do

Today on City Cast

Why Crime Is Down In DC

After a couple of years of alarm, crime in D.C. is down. But we don’t really know why! We’re talking to D.C.’s deputy mayor for public safety about her theory of the case — and what she thinks we need to do now.