Morning click: Bluebrain recruiting for boombox orchestra; Rappers vie for DMV supremacy

Washington's Bluebrain are throwing a concert on the National Mall. All are welcome, but it's BYO boombox. (Photo courtesy of the artist.)

By Chris Richards

- Some cool local music news today including an event on the National Mall this Saturday, April 3: Local rock duo Bluebrain have recruited members of Animal Collective, Beauty Pill, Outputmessage and others to create new music for a Phil Kline-inspired project dubbed (zing!) the "D.C. Cherry Blossom Boombox Walk." If you'd like to take part, bring a boombox to the carousel near the Hirshhorn museum at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Organizers will give you a cassette containing music composed by the participating artists. You'll pop it in the deck, hit play and march across the Mall in a phalanx of noisemakers, possibly frightening tourists and making what promises to be a righteous racket. Good times.

- And today, Miss DJ Gemz and DJ Tony Drake, two college radio personalities at the University of Maryland's WMUC will host a benefit freestyle battle at the Nyumburu Cultural Center on UMD’s College Park campus at 8 p.m. Participating rappers will include A-Class, Flex Matthews, Franchyze and others. And if you can't attend in the flesh, the event will be broadcast live on wmucradio.com.