Robert Wiedmaier's latest Bethesda venture is destined to become an essential stop for up-and-coming bands, according to an announcement from the restaurant on Wednesday. Wiedmaier is partnering with Steve Markham to open Villain & Saint in the former Markham's space (7141 Wisconsin Avenue). It will open next week, on Thursday April 16 and has shows for its first four days lined up:
- Thursday, April 16 – 9:00PM | Lloyd Dobler Effect [LDE] performs with special guests Elizabeth & Katrina[Opening Night – No Cover Charge]
- Friday, April 17 – 9:00PM | Kelly Bell Band [$5 Cover Charge Starting at 7:30PM]
- Saturday, April 18 – 9:30PM | Paul Pfau Band [$5 Cover Charge Starting at 9PM]
- Sunday, April 19 – 11:00AM-3:00PM | Jazz Trio – Sunday Brunch [No Cover Charge]
The venue will be as much about the music as the food. That's a departure for Wiedmaier, the chef whose restaurant group is known for its fine dining Marcel's in D.C. and more casual Mussel Bar and Grille, which has a location on Bethesda Row. Wiedmaier and booking agent Phil Kominski are searching out well-known D.C. area house bands and touring acts such as Steve Lauri of The Hollies, Lionize, Icewagon Flu and The Crawdaddies. Tickets will be purchased via a cover charge at the door, which will be waived for those in their seats at least 30 minutes before the start of a show. As a "nightly closing ritual," there will be a light show in-sync with "American Pie," the song from folk singer Don McLean. As for the food, expect "an eclectic, veggie-heavy, bohemian menu, with falafel galore," according to the press release, which also said Villain & Saint is "a Haight-Ashbury-inspired rock 'n' roll music hall," that will become "a cultural gathering spot that accommodates rockers of all stripes: young and old, with a taste for the conventional or radical, looking for frivolity or hard-core." Shows will start nightly at 9 p.m. and 9:30 on Saturdays. Via Villain & Saint
