Rustic atmosphere, dim lights and a crowded room is what you picture late on that Saturday night. People of all ages coming from around the DC Area came to support this band which has recently become popular.
The first person on stage was contemporary a blues and jazz artist with an interesting pop twist. Marc Scibilia played songs which had a nice head bobbing, foot tapping beat to them.
His songs were very easy to get stuck in my head as well. It was the feel of a new and upcoming genre, bringing back the blues for the 21st century. At this point the crowd was about 30 people, but as the next band came onto stage people started to file in as the more well known acts were about to preform.
Elenowen, the second on stage, consisted of married couple Josh and Nicole Johnson as well as a third member playing the drums. It was clear that the couple loved to make music together and it was fun to listen to them enjoy themselves on stage.
Their set gave off a relaxing mood to sway to the mellow sounds of the couple’s voices, a guitar and light percussion. As the music was playing there were many couples sharing a warm embrace cherishing these love songs, which was the main theme for most of Elenowen songs.
Finally for the main act Green River Ordinance, a long time band of five (Joshua Wilkerson, Jamey Ice, Denton Hunker, Josh Jenkins and Geoff Ice) came on stage one at a time with almost an alienesque-themed song.
Once they all were ready, the music started and soon everyone was enjoying themselves, allowing the concert to burst with life. The venue filled with thirty people during the first act then became at least sixty people now. Everyone was singing along and getting into the music, with new songs from their new album Chasing Down The Wind.
The rock and country mixed-genre became a new sound with inspiration from the popular Mumford and Sons with some Zac Brown Band as well.
After their set, people in the audience shouted “encore” and they came back on stage to perform one more song.
For their encore they came into the crowd with their instruments unplugged. This gave an up close and personal connection with the audience, a concert that would most certainly be remembered by most who went there.
“I liked how much they interacted with the audience. They seem to make it a big goal to really connect with them in which they do a great job!” senior Lailumah Faisal said. “My favorite song was the one where they sang to us when they went off-stage.”
Out of all the songs played that night the best two were “Bright Day” by Marc Scibilia and “Heart of Me” by Green River Ordinance. “Bright Day” was a more relaxed song, while “Heart of Me” was more upbeat, both of which seemed to have the audience dancing to them.
Overall the concert was one of the best I have been to. The audience was all close to the stage and the members of every band were roaming around waiting to meet people.
Going to Jammin’ Java and getting to hear these underground bands was an amazing experience. Marc Scibilia, Elenowen and Green River Ordinance are definitely three bands to look out for.
to meet people.