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With Nickel Creek reuniting to release a new “newgrass” album this year and Mumford and Sons still dominating soft-rock radio and teenage Spotify playlists, folk rock’s moment in the musical spotlight is far from over. That’s good news for the Walkaways, the D.C.-based alt-country group that’s been playing venues up and down the East Coast since 2006. Their latest album, Romance and Medicine, features poetic lyrics delivered in frontman Todd Daniel’s warm rasp against a backdrop of toe-tapping guitar rhythms paired with mandolin, piano, accordion, bass, and, yes, washboard. And while it’s easy to compare the Walkaways to alt-country mainstays Old 97’s, another chronicler of the American condition also comes to mind: Bruce Springsteen. Daniel says the band’s 2008 song, “When You’re Gone,” was inspired in part by the Boss’ “Born to Run.” To sample this local taste of Americana, two-step over to Georgetown. The Walkaways perform with Hearts and Spades at 9 p.m. at Gypsy Sally’s, 3401 K St. NW. $10–$15. (202) 333-7700. gypsysallys.com.