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Community Corner

Great Escape: Music Edition

Enjoy local talent in neighborhood venues

Before I had my son, I considered myself a music lover. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly wasn’t a hipster with my finger on the pulse of up-and-coming music. But I enjoyed music, went to a few concerts a year and had a pretty substantial iTunes collection.

Then life changed about two years ago. New priorities and time commitments took the place of my love of music. Well, the love is still there, but it got pushed aside in favor of my new love—my son.

My music was quickly replaced by lullabye versions of rock songs. Then came Radio Disney. Concerts fell by the wayside.

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It occurred to me recently that I felt like something was missing in my life—and that something was music. I immediately updated my iPod with music I’d missed out on for the past couple of years and started searching for upcoming concerts. 

Then it hit me: We have so many local venues for music here in our community that I really should start taking advantage of those.

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A quick search gave me all I was looking for and more.

For professional musicians, has always been one of my favorite venues. It’s a great space, you feel close to the performers and it’s practically around the corner.

But the best part of living in such an artistic area is the local talent playing in nearby coffee shops and restaurants.

Here are some of the musical events I found listed on the Patch calendar:

Don't Panic — Tonight at Vermillion

— Tuesdays, weekly, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at

— Thursdays, weekly, 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at

Del Ray’s own — Thursday at 6 p.m. at Food Matters in Cameron Station

— Thursday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at

— Friday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at

So often hearing live music involves a big, expensive night out—heading downtown, grabbing some dinner, cab rides and the rest. That's not to mention the price of concert tickets and service charges nowadays.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. To get the theme song to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse out of your head, simply grab some coffee or a burger, relax and enjoy some local talent right here in the neighborhood.

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