WASHINGTON — The Twins Jazz Club on U Street in Northwest D.C. is closing its doors due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement from the twins, Kelly Tesfaye and Maze Tesfaye.
The Ethiopian restaurant-turned-jazz club, known for its influence in the D.C. jazz community, has been unable to remain open as a brick-and-mortar business, despite the ongoing help and contribution from the community for the past five months, the owners shared in a statement
They said they hope to remain engaged with the local creative music scene in other ways.
"It has been an honor and privilege to serve the Jazz community in Washington, D.C. for 33 years. We came to this country from Ethiopia with a dream of owning our own business and we have done more than we could have ever imagined. The decision to close was very difficult, however, we knew the safety of our patrons, musicians and staff was our top priority and given the uncertainty of when we could safely open our doors, we decided to close our location permanently," the Tesfaye's said in their statement.
Upon the closure of the club, they plan on using their time to revamp their brand and create a new and innovative way to provide musicians with a platform to perform and serve the D.C. jazz community. Their goal is to continue the legacy they built at Twins Jazz.
They are asking members of the community to stay in touch and keep their eyes peeled on social media for upcoming updates.
“The closure of venues like Twins and Marvins and 18th Street Lounge, the list goes on and on and on, is going to have a profound and immediate future very devastating impact on opportunities,” said Giovanni Russoniello.
Russoniello, Luke Stewart, and Jamie Sandel are part of Capitol Bop - an advocacy group of writers and artists.
They launched a campaign to lobby the DC Council to take up a version of the Music Venue Relief Act. Learn how you can support the act here.
The local campaign doubles up on a national effort by We Make Events.
Their #RedAlertRestart initiative is a campaign to lobby Congress to support artists who have been hard hit by the pandemic.
Tuesday night, 7,000 music venues, including 40 in the DMV, will be lit red in support.
Folks will also gather for a social distance demonstration on the Mall Tuesday 6pm- 10pm.
