Mar 07, 2008  |  By: ZACK ROSEN  | COMMENTS     

This spring, a number of exciting queer musicians will be performing at Washington-area venues. D.C., known for a dearth of lesbian nightlife options, will be hosting two high-profile queer women on the same night — plus, they’re rumored to be dating.

Australian singer Sia, best known for “Breathe Me,” the song played over “Six Feet Under’s” series finale closing montage, will be appearing at the 9:30 Club on Friday, March 7. Mere blocks away, at the Black Cat, Sia’s supposed girlfriend J.D. Samson will be spinning a DJ set as one half of MEN, a side project for herself and one other member of the indefinitely-on-hiatus band Le Tigre.

The union that some local bloggers are calling “JDia” was first reported by Perez Hilton after Sia gave an interview to AfterEllen.com. Sia confirms with the Blade that she has a special woman in her life, but cannot speak publicly about who it is. 

“I’m into the person and I’m into being in love, but now I have to contend with the fact that I have to respect my love interest’s privacy,” Sia says. “I have no ability to self-censor, so that’s really difficult to me … I’m learning that not everyone is as open as me, and so I have to learn how to be respectful and sensible.”

Samson’s only comment to the Blade on Sia was “I have nothing to do with that tour,” but she was forthcoming about her music. This tour is MEN’s first and will be comprised completely of DJ sets, which Samson says are more challenging than a performance-based show.

“You have to be constantly psychologically involved with what the audience wants to hear and be feeling the groove of what they like,” Samson says. “When you play a live set, they take it for what it is, but when you DJ you get criticized more.”

ROUNDING OUT THE smorgasbord of gay music are the two women’s opening acts. Sia will be joined by high energy rocker Har Mar Superstar, whom Sia says “bats for both teams.” MEN’s audience will be warmed up by Hey Willpower, a duo led by Imperial Teen’s gay bassist Will Schwartz, who’s interested in bridging the worlds of hip-hop and indie rock.

“I’m influenced by all good pop songs, whether it’s R&B, rock, indie rock, all kinds of music,” Schwartz says. “I’m really into producers like the Neptunes or Timbaland — that’s the tip I’m working from.”

Local legend Bob Mould, the voice behind Sugar and Husker Du and DJ of monthly bear night Blowoff, will bring his solo band to the 9:30 Club on March 15 to promote his new album, “The District Line.” Though the appearance will be Mould’s 10th show in 11 days, he says he’s excited to play somewhere familiar. 

“I can walk home after sound check and I know the crew will take care of us very well,” Mould says. “It’s nice to be surrounded by day-to-day friends as well. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Appearing at the Black Cat on March 27 is experimental rock band Xiu Xiu, who are based in San Francisco and led by the openly bisexual Jamie Stewart. Their music is unapologetically political, a fact that Stewart doesn’t believe has cost him an audience.

“I don’t think the indie rock community is politically active, but it tends to be, in an armchair way, relatively liberal,” he says. “There may be things we brought up that people may not have read about, but in a large part anyone who has heard of our band would have. And if it does lose us any fans, I don’t give a fuck.”

On April 29, veteran rock band American Music Club, who recently released “The Golden Age,” will appear at the Iota Club & Café in Arlington. The band’s frontman, Mark Eitzel, is gay. For those into a softer sound, check out gay platinum-selling saxophonist Dave Koz in his show “A Date With Dave Koz,” playing at the Kennedy Center May 16 and 17.