Revolution Summer refers to the metamorphasis of the punk rock community of Washington, DC in the summer of 1985. The DC punk rock and hardcore scene of the late 1970's/early 1980's spawned dozens of fast and aggressive bands such as Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, and Faith. These bands and their numerous counterparts, many of whose recordings were documented on Dischord Records, helped to shape the very definition of punk rock and hardcore, and lend influence and inspiration to this day. However, the fast and aggressive music they produced at the time was attracting an element of violence and intolerance to the venues these bands would play. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... Hardcore is a generic term, used to describe something more extreme than mainstream versions. ... The Bad Brains are an American all-black hardcore punk and reggae band, originally formed in Washington, DC in 1977. ... Minor Threat was a short-lived hardcore punk band from Washington DC. They have been hugely influential: Critics have called them and their work iconic, [1] and noted their groundbreaking music has held up better than most of their contemporaries. ... Government Issue (often just GI) were an American hardcore punk band originating from the Washington DC scene, formed in 1980 and signed to Dischord Records. ... Dischord founders Ian Mackaye and Jeff Nelson Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based record label specializing in D.C.-area independent punk, hardcore, and post-hardcore music. ...

In an effort to end the violence and take back the community that they had worked to create, an idea was launched. The idea was to start bands that played a more melodic and mid-tempo type of music, and to focus on more introspective and emotional issues. In theory, this type of music would keep away the violent crowd and allow a more inclusive, artistic, and creative community to flourish. Thus, Revolution Summer was born. The most notable and memorable of the Revolution Summer bands are Rites of Spring and Embrace. Though other bands such as Gray Matter, Lunchmeat, Fire Party, and Beefeater were involved and vital. Rites of Spring was a punk rock band from Washington, D.C., often cited as pioneering the emocore movement. ... Embrace was an emocore band from Washington, D.C. from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986. ... Beefeater were a D.C. punk band (Autumn 1984 - Autumn 1986) Formed by Tomas Squip, Fred Smith, Dug E. Bird, Bruce Taylor and Kenny Craun. ...

Revolution Summer, though short lived, helped redirect the energy of the DC scene and give it a sound to build on. In the years following, bands such as Fugazi, Soulside, Jawbox, and Shudder to Think would arise from this change of direction, and expand upon it's ideas. Fugazi is an Italian slang term for something that is fake. Fugazi were Japanese deserters during World War II. Fugazi is the name of a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. FUGAZI was an American GI slang during the Vietnam war. ... Soulside (or Soul Side) were a hardcore punk outfit from the greater Washington, D.C. area, formed in spring 1986 and disbanded in summer 1989. ... Jawbox was a punk rock/indie rock/post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C.. Its members were J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Bill Barbot (guitar), Kim Coletta (bass guitar), and Adam Wade & Zach Barocas (drums). ... Shudder to Think are a difficult band to pigeonhole. ...

It bears mentioning that the Revolution Summer bands are widely credited with starting the sub-genre of punk rock known as emo. Certainly, this is a label that has been applied to these bands in retrospect and not something that they called themselves at the time or would likely associate themselves with presently. This article deals with the genre of music. ...