Schedule

The Gothsicles roll in from Boston bringing an energetic performance of 20 years’ worth of industrial music and video with a comic flair about everything from the videogame Contra to the world’s most amazing animals. As COMA Music Magazine said, “The Gothsicles are one of the forerunners in industrial music for the nerdy masses.”

Celebrated steampunk band Victor Sierra will be regaling us from Paris, France, with songs of the airship Hydrogen Queen and the adventures of its crew. The band invites you to go beyond the horizon line, to go for the strange, to be stirred in unison, and to live unpredictable experiences!

Welcome to Camp DisCon! Let’s gather ’round the “campfire” and sing! You know the tunes; we supply the music (your Head Counselor Filthy Pierre at the keyboard), and the words (on the big screen). We’ll sing the glories of the Outer Space Marines and Frodo Baggins; the miseries of slow elevators and bad hotel food; and of Star Trek doings we’ll never see in prime time. “S’mores,” anyone?

Sassafrass is a singing group led by science fiction author and Pegasus-nominated composer Ada Palmer. They perform original a cappella music with fantasy, mythology and science fiction themes. Noted for their close harmonies and their intricate narrative lyrics, Sassafrass unveiled their Norse song cycle Sundown: Whispers of Ragnarok at Balticon in 2013.

Amy McNally is that chick in a skirt and no shoes who sits on the floor with a violin and a stash of Pixy Stix. Yeah, that one, with the hair. She’s been hanging around jam circles like that for 20 years and playing fiddle for over 30 years now. Playing with multiple bands, singing with Lady Mondegreen, performing guerrilla accompaniment, and on recordings with assorted musicians and rogues, she does folk, Celtic, and historical music too, but considers herself a filker first.

Ben Newman is a singer-songwriter and filker who writes songs on a wide variety of topics: science fiction and fantasy, religion (several), science and computers, and many more. He writes original melodies and borrows tunes from other songwriters, soundtracks, and media such as movies and video games.

Calling all ukulele players! It’s time for a jam session. Come make music with other uke enthusiasts.

Making music all night long. Unicorns, space flight, cons, cats—the topic could be anything and could change at any time. All styles of music welcome. Singers, instrumentalists, and listeners all welcome.

What is a pick-pass-perform song circle? Everyone in the room gets the chance to perform a number, pick a song by asking for a specific song, asking a specific person to perform, or picking a song topic, or pass their turn. All forms of music welcome.

Making music all night long. Unicorns, space flight, cons, cats the topic could be anything and could change at any time. All styles of music welcome. Singers, instrumentalists, and listeners all welcome.

Gary Ehrlich is a singer songwriter from the DC area. A structural engineer by profession, he often works architectural themes into his songs, be it designing whimsical hotels or dreaming of future cities.

Lawrence Dean first encountered filk at the Brighton Worldcon in 1979. He wrote his first sci-fi song, “The Ballad of Arthur Dent,” in 1980 and is active in UK filk. Lawrence has written over 135 songs, nearly half of which are filk or filk-related. The rest are a mix of folk, country, and contemporary. His music has been performed and recorded by professional folksingers and fellow filkers across America, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Lawrence is the winner of the 2021 Pegasus Awards for Best Filk Song and Best Writer/Composer.

This is a pair of 30-minute concerts by Lynn Gold and Roberta Rogow. Roberta is from North Jersey. Lynn is a “naturalized” Californian. This will be a battle of the North vs. the South—of New Jersey! Watch two women correct each others’ pronunciations while making you laugh and think.

Time for some nerdcore rap! Ardamus is a DC local who summarizes the scope of his work as “music.money.sex.drugs.politics.spirits.comedy” but who can get real with deeply personal topics as well.

Have you ever wanted to hear a Disney princess singing about the things you love–board games, ninjas, and krakens? Rhiannon’s Lark is happy to make your wish come true. This geek-goddess-girl tackles everything from T. Rex to moral dilemmas with insightful lyrics, gorgeous vocals, and gentle humor.

Just a blink ago, Bill and Brenda Sutton were a wild, romantic, crazy, young singing duo. Now they’re a grizzled curmudgeon and a silver-haired granny, still belting out songs. Their sets are always lively and filled with the unexpected.

Dr. Mary Crowell is a chanteuse who teaches piano and composition for a living. She loves RPGs, and sings about gaming, love, lust, and whatever else strikes her. She’s been known to go from sultry to silly in the blink of an eye.

Wreck The System is a DC-area nerdcore hip-hop band who blends other genres—including rock, EDM, dirty pop, dubstep, chiptune, and pretty much anything they want—into their music. Wreck The System is known for their energetic and amazing stage shows. Their fans identify with their overall message, which is “Be who you are without fear!”

The Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra is a nonprofit community orchestra whose mission is to share video game music by putting on affordable, accessible concerts in the D.C. area. Founded in 2012, the ensemble has grown to more than 100 members between the orchestra and choir. Join them for an evening of music from some of your favorite video games.

Heather Margetson (formerly known as Heather Borean) is a singer-songwriter from Canada whose music will tug at your heartstrings.

Bring your instruments! After a 30-minute concert by Maugorn the Stray, he will lead the first portion of this instrumental play-along/jam session. All instruments welcome. As the evening grows late, the session will become self-organizing.

A song circle to honor of those from the fannish community who are no longer with us, followed by a session of making music all night long. Unicorns, space flight, cons, cats—the topic could be anything and could change at any time. All styles of music welcome. Singers, instrumentalists, and listeners all welcome.

What is a pick-pass-perform song circle? Everyone in the room gets the chance to perform a number, pick a song by asking for a specific song, asking a specific person to perform, or picking a song topic, or pass their turn. All forms of music welcome.

Get ready to jingle on the dance floor as Hugo finalist John Scalzi spins all the most danceable tunes from the Bee Gees to The Weeknd and everything in between. It’ll be a very merry workout indeed.

After spending years listening to music and singing the occasional harmony, Kathleen started solo performing after she moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1989. Since then, her clear soprano has braced many filk cons. Her award-winning songs are guaranteed to delight. Merav Hoffman lives in New Jersey and while best known for her harmonies is a marvelous solo performer as well. She is an accomplished songwriter and her concert is guaranteed to delight.

For 25 years, The Chromatics have been a high-energy vocal band on a mission to delight audiences with a full spectrum of songs about science, technology, life, and their intersections. They have taken their astronomically correct a cappella songs (a project called AstroCappella) from coast to coast, and their CD has flown in space (for realz!). Here on earth they’ve captivated young and old alike in many places, including the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage.

You’ve seen filk items on the convention schedule, but aren’t sure what it is. Come find out!

In addition to being a professional author, Seanan McGuire is an award-winning singer/songwriter and an active member of the filk community. She says, “This is both because I love music, and because I have always specialized in acquiring way too many hobbies.” Seanan’s songs range from serious love songs, to sultry ballads about mad scientists, to educational songs about epidemiology. Come to this lively concert to hear Seanan and her backup band, Dead Sexy, perform songs by Seanan and others.

Pegasus-Award-winning wife-and-husband team T.J. and Mitchell Burnside Clapp perform filk. Songs range from funny to heartfelt.

These magical masters of musical hijinks and mayhem will wizard rock the tea towel right off your house elf! Their unique blend of 80s new wave, 50s do-wop, straight up pop rock, and old-timey sing-songy comedy will leave you laughing and crying for more. They draw inspiration from the Harry Potter series, Doctor Who, the SCA, Medieval fantasy, science fiction, and all kinds of delightfully, geeky fandomness.

Devo Spice is a nerdy comedy rapper from New Jersey who has been called “the red-headed stepson of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic and Eminem.” Over funky beats with crisp, clear vocals, Devo raps about technology, Doctor Who, life’s daily frustrations, and even ridiculous suggestions sent in by his fans. His synchronized video just adds to the hilarity. He performs regularly across the country at science fiction conventions, music clubs, comedy clubs, and any place that has a sense of humor.

For 30 years the DC-area band KIVA has been entertaining and enthralling audiences with their percussive, acoustic, worldbeat ensemble, celebrating the magic of nature and ancient bardic traditions with music that opens the heart and heals the spirit. The band combines strong vocal harmonies with rich and diverse acoustic and electric instrumentation, performing originals, traditionals, and covers. The musicians are inspired by many cultures, spiritual disciplines, and musical styles.

“Weird Al” with more books, Jonathan Coulton with more jokes, Carlin with more Cthulhu. Since 1985, Tom Smith has been breaking hearts, minds, and laws of propriety and physics with his insane blend of sf/fantasy, life with computers, pop culture, politics, and puns. More than 20 albums later, he maintains the best is yet to come.

DisCon III is pleased to provide the occasion for Chris Weber’s first filk concert for a convention in many years. Long a fixture of the West Coast filk scene, Chris has written and performed songs inspired by the fiction of Gordon R. Dickson, Philip Jose Farmer, Tim Powers, and others.

Making music all night long. Unicorns, space flight, cons, cats the topic could be anything and could change at any time. All styles of music welcome. Singers, instrumentalists, and listeners all welcome. 

What is a pick-pass-perform song circle? Everyone in the room gets the chance to perform a number, pick a song by asking for a specific song, asking a specific person to perform, or picking a song topic, or pass their turn. All forms of music welcome.

Join the Glasgow in 2024 Worldcon Bid for a traditional Gaelic ceilidh dance. Learn the easy steps to this group dance and have some fun!

Carla Ulbrich and Joe Giacoio are married singer songwriters. Carla Ulbrich is a comical singer-songwriter and guitarist whose biggest musical influences were Sesame Street, camp songs, and cat food commercials. She has a love of the absurdities of ordinary life, a somewhat twisted viewpoint, and a way with words. Joe Giacoio has won a number of awards for his unique guitar-playing style and quirky songwriting.

Making music all night long. Unicorns, space flight, cons, cats—the topic could be anything and could change at any time. All styles of music welcome. Singers, instrumentalists, and listeners all welcome.

Industrial, electronic, rock, world music… These days composers work with much more than just a traditional orchestral score for movie and television soundtracks. What composers are producing the most interesting scores right now? What directors tend to favor non-orchestral works? In what directions are speculative media scores heading?

Mary Mulholland and her husband Matt Leger are talented musicians and songwriters hailing from the Atlanta area. Mary is a songbird. Matt copes with the mundanity of existence and his own attention-deficit disorder by writing songs, alternately funny (he hopes) and serious (the sad outcome of early exposure to the oeuvres of Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, and Percy Faith).

A pair of 30-minute concerts by Mark Bernstein and Blind Lemming Chiffon. Mark Bernstein is known for his tongue-twisting tales. Blind Lemming Chiffon is known for his wry sense of humor and his instrumental prowess. Be prepared to be amused and entertained!

Sara Henya is a singer-songwriter and harpist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her music can best be described as fantasy pop, combining the fun of pop music and the ethereal sound of the harp. Sara incorporates imaginative, fairy-like visuals that allow her audience to feel completely immersed in her colorful fantasy world. Though passionate, she never takes herself too seriously, incorporating humor into her music and performances.

Epic fantasy can tread on a razor’s edge of goofiness. A certain suspension of irony is needed to take barbarians, wizards, and silly names seriously. Heavy metal music similarly requires emotional commitment to stylistic bombast. Is earnestness and willingness to commit why we love both genres? From classic warrior metal bands like Manowar to the more modern, poppy sound of Unleash the Archers, let’s talk about what metal and fantasy have in common, and why they go well together.

Claiming to be from Brooklyn (but possibly from outer space), Kenny Young and the Eggplants play intergalactic folk-and-roll songs about giant squirrels, scary bits of cheese, super-powered frogs, and Martian garden gnomes. “They mix brainy, funny lyrics with a fine sense of what makes pop music wonderful.” — Dr. Demento. Their tunes can be heard on countless college radio shows and on the BBC; they won a coveted Herald Angel award at Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The musical equivalent of Treasure Island, Baltimore steampunk band Night Watch Paradox brings the audience along on a participatory journey of musical performance and storytelling as they travel in their imaginary steam-powered airship through time and space.

WASD is a DC-area metal project taking inspiration from classic PC-game soundtracks and making rock covers of your favorite computer game tunes. Coming soon to a LAN party near you.

You won’t be able to get hands-on with the device in this streaming workshop, but Marnen Laibow-Koser will do his best to show you how to get great sound out of the world’s first electronic instrument, the weird and wonderful theremin. Afterwards he’ll he performing a concert.

Kim the Comic Book Goddess plays a mean keyboard, is like a cross between Tom Lehrer and Meat Loaf, and sings with a voice like Natalie Merchant about many more topics than just comic books. She’s the surprise around the corner, but not in your cereal box, because she never really liked chickens anyway.

Massachusetts’ Marnen Laibow-Koser is a computer geek who has been studying and playing music since the tender age of three and composing for nearly as long. He’s a multi-instrumentalist performing mostly classical and Anglo-American folk music, and when he’s not streaming a concert to a convention like this, he can be found playing at numerous contra and English country dances.

A song circle with a topic to be determined. Performers and listeners welcome. The day before attendees who have moderated a song circle before can sign up to host a theme filk and to choose its topic on a first-come, first-served basis. Check the daily newsletter for information about signing up to host and what the topic will be.

Batya “The Toon” Wittenberg is a self-described successful transplant to New York City. As a lyricist she has a sharp wit. Batya’s songs can bring you to tears— tears of laughter, tears of joy, tears of beauty. Her songs span a wide range of genres, from folk to rap and beyond.

Making music all night long. Unicorns, space flight, cons, cats—the topic could be anything and could change at any time. All styles of music welcome. Singers, instrumentalists, and listeners all welcome.

Making music all night long. Unicorns, space flight, cons, cats—the topic could be anything and could change at any time. All styles of music welcome. Singers, instrumentalists, and listeners all welcome.

What is a pick-pass-perform song circle? Everyone in the room gets the chance to perform a number, pick a song by asking for a specific song, asking a specific person to perform, or picking a song topic, or pass their turn. All forms of music welcome.

Summer Russell is a lifelong lover of music and poetry, myth and magic, science and nature. . Her voice and instrumentals bring to bring a richness to songs both new and old. Lyrically, her themes range from myth and magic to science, nature, and the wonders of the heart.

Come to Post-Hugo Karaoke at DisCon III and show us how well (or badly) you can sing! Straight renditions and lyrical rewrites both cheerfully accepted. (Just please don’t break our ‘Whammageddon’ streak!)

Horror themes in popular music transcend musical genre. From heavy metal, to horrorcore hip-hop, to ghost cowboys, to the cabaret horror ballads of La Femme Pendu, horror songs cut across all demographics and time periods in a way that fantasy and science fiction songs do not. What is it about horror that lends itself to popular music? What’s the appeal? Who has done it well lately, and why?

A pair of 30-minute concerts by Harold Feld and Marc Grossman. Both of these performers have been active in the Society for Creative Anachronism and will serenade you with everything from ancient song to futuristic filk.

The Pegasus Awards were founded by OVFF (Ohio Valley Filk Fest) to recognize and honor excellence in filking. Our panelists have all been nominated for Pegasus Awards for their songwriting. Come hear what they have to say about the art of crafting the perfect song.