By Eliza Berkon, Winn Duvall, Stefanie Gans and Beth Kellmurray
This week, Northern Virginia Magazine’s editors are looking forward to One Loudoun’s annual carnival and a concert at Rock & Roll Hotel, plus what we’re reading and watching right now.
The start of summer TV
This season is meant for lighthearted fun in all areas, especially when it comes to TV—no period dramas or serious antiheroes for me from June through August, please. Instead, I’ll be tuning in to Fox tonight at 8 p.m. for the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance, which I have loved for years. It’s a reality competition show featuring ridiculously talented dancers across every imaginable style, plus a few over-the-top backstories and crocodile tears to indulge lovers of drama. –WD
Inspiration to dig out my electric guitar
June 17, 8 p.m.
I often turn to Day Wave’s dreamy guitar tracks on long commutes. With his reverb-heavy noodling and gauzy vocals, Jackson Phillips makes music that transforms an otherwise typical afternoon from mundane to mystical. On Saturday night, I’ll finally see him live at D.C.’s Rock & Roll Hotel alongside a good friend of mine. She’s never heard of Day Wave, but I’m pretty sure she’ll soon be a fan. –EB // Rock & Roll Hotel: 1353 H St. NE, Washington, D.C.
Jolly Shows Carnival at One Loudoun
Through June 25
Growing up, we always had to wait until August for funnel cake, the Gravitron and the thrill of sneaking away from parents to meet friends (and crushes!) at the Garden State Fair. One of summer’s greatest rituals starts early at One Loudoun with rides, games and endless soft-serve ice cream. –SG // One Loudoun: 20626 Easthampton Plaza, Ashburn
Posing 300 Arguments
I fell in love with Sarah Manguso’s writing after reading her 2009 memoir, The Two Kinds of Decay, a vivid retelling of her struggle with an extremely rare and harrowing autoimmune disease. Her latest book, 300 Arguments, came out at the beginning of the year, but I just picked up my copy, and though it’s sure to bear Manguso’s signature poetic hand, its form—a collection of short, digestible aphorisms that collectively build something much greater—lends itself to summer. –BK
Find out more of what’s going on in NoVA this week at our events calendar.
