Sapphic Songwriters Night packs D.C.’s Songbyrd

After a week of Washington being the nation’s spotlight, Kara Levchenko was glad to organize a show glowing with queer joy and artistry.

Hundreds packed into Songbyrd Music House Thursday for Sapphic Songwriters Night to mosh and celebrate live music written and performed by sapphic, LGBTQ+ artists Mar Rose, Lost Pennies, Swataa and Kara Levchenko.

A portion of the night’s proceeds were donated to Whitman-Walker Health, a provider of LGBTQ care and advocacy, including gender-affirming healthcare services in the D.C. area.

The evening was abundant in music debuts. Levchenko performed her latest single, “House of Cards,” with Artist and Co-Collaborator Indyah Larae. Swataa released their EP “Meditations in Motion” at midnight on Friday.

Levchenko decided to throw a show with a solely DMV-based sapphic artist line-up in March at The Pocket, a venue she said playing is a “rite of passage” for DMV musicians.

“We wanted to lift up queer artists in the area,” Levchenko said. “It just feels even more important that we’re putting on this event today.”

Concert Attendee Nik Battaglia said that “sharing joy” is vital right now.

“It’s so important to be supporting artists,” Battaglia said. “It’s important to be gathering together, taking up space.” 

Headliner Levchenko grew up on a steady music diet of theatre, jazz and classical, a mix her parents would put on during long car trips, despite not being musicians. On Sundays, her grandparents often took her to the orchestra.

“From a young age, I was taking musical theater, and I was excited about studying,” Levchenko said.

Alongside her technical foundation, Levchenko’s dreamy sound and pop-punk stage presence are a culmination of her songwriting capabilities and authenticity.

“I think that a song is a snapshot of a feeling,” Levchenko said.  “It’s wild to look back at your song that you’ve written and realize that it has a whole other meaning years later.”

Levchenko honed her creative side through long-standing friendships. She met her best friend and part-time songwriting partner, Larae, in high school choir.

“That element of trust is really important when you write a song with someone, to feel like they know you very well and can be honest with each other,” Levchenko said. 

For the DMV native, her inner critic can sometimes get the best of her – so collaboration and trust can help, most recently, on “House of Cards.” 

“When you have another person to bounce ideas off of, things come together so quickly and in such a special way where your two sounds mesh,” she said. 

The collaborative energy is at the soul of her new single, “Stay in Love,” which drops Sept. 10 with Zubin.

“I wrote it with my friends; we wrote it together at The Vault,” Levchenko said.

Her performance streak continues with a show at Pearl Street Warehouse Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. For ticket information, visit Bandsintown.