As we finish midterms and build anticipation for Thanksgiving break, one of the greatest times of the year approaches: Capitol Boogie.
A collaboration between WVAU and Women in Audio, Capitol Boogie is a semesterly live show that showcases local or smaller artists, open to the entire AU community. This year, WVAU and Women in Audio are proud to present artists Makeup Girl and Ari Voxx & The Sad Lads at Capitol Boogie.
Makeup Girl is a local D.C. band that’s been going strong since they dropped their first and eponymous EP in 2016. Started several years ago by a group of longtime friends, Brody Caleb and Johnny James are the faces of Makeup Girl today.
In August, Makeup Girl dropped their second full-length record, Escalator (2023). “We are all so proud of this album and excited to share it with the world,” Makeup Girl said in an Instagram post announcing the release of the record. Made up of twelve head-boppable tracks, Escalator is inspired by the idea that “Escalators go up and come down. Get high and get low. Never leave but always go.”
Makeup Girl regularly plays shows around D.C. and the DMV. If you can’t get enough of them after Capitol Boogie, you can secure tickets to see them at DC9 on November 19 here.
Just two weeks after Makeup Girl dropped Escalator, Ari Voxx & the Sad Lads released I’m Okay, Please Stop Asking (2023), a poppy, electric full-length album. According to her Spotify bio, Ari Voxx is “D.C.’s Dreamy Pop Princess,” and the record proves just that.
Voxx’s music combines “aspects of all the music she loves into one chill, melancholy, retro, romantic, indie, pop, girl-powered, introspective melting pot,” according to her website. Her first release came in the form of an emotional EP titled Cobalt Cadence (2020) three years ago. Since then, Voxx has dropped an additional EP, seven singles, and the most recent LP.
The Sad Lads, Voxx’s band, is composed of Ryan Boshart, Jegug Ih, and Ben Tufts. Their passion for bass and synth brings shoegaze and synthpop elements to the songs, which reflect Voxx’s own experiences as a Black queer woman and mental health awareness advocate.
Stay tuned into Voxx’s Instagram to find Voxx and the Sad Lads at future live shows in the DMV and beyond.
Capitol Boogie takes place in the Battelle Atrium on Saturday, Nov., and doors open at 7:30 p.m. You must show your AU ID for entry, but no need to reserve tickets. Mark your calendar and bring your friends!
