We’ve got a double “win ‘em before you can buy ‘em” contest this week here on ShowlistDC! Hot Chip and Sleigh Bells are playing at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday, July 22nd, and Metric is playing at Strathmore on Friday, September 21st. Tickets to both shows go on sale this Friday (May 18th) at 10 AM, but we’re giving away a pair of tickets to each show before you can buy them! You can enter to win tickets to either show (or both shows!), but you can only win tickets to one show. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me which show you’d like to enter for (remember that you can enter for both!) and I’ll pick the winners at random (using random.org) on Thursday, 17 May at 7 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry).

The first of the two shows is Hot Chip and Sleigh Bells with a special DJ set by James Murphy (DFA/LCD Soundsystem). Hot Chip is a British electropop group that formed in 2000. The group has released four albums which have all been extremely well-received (the lowest score they got on Pitchfork was a 7.0, with the other three albums receiving an 8.0 or above). They’ve got a new one coming out in June, In Our Heads, so this show is certain to feature a lot of new songs as well. Opening the show is Sleigh Bells, a New York duo of Derek Edward Miller on guitar and Alexis Krauss on vocals. It’s been a busy year for Sleigh Bells: they put out their second album, Reign of Terror, in February, sold out the 9:30 Club in March, and opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Verizon Center last week. Then there’s James Murphy, who co-founded DFA Records and performed in LCD Soundsystem, who’ll be doing a DJ set to open the whole show. Murphy announced that he was retiring LCD Soundsystem last year (the group’s last concert was in New York in April 2011), but he didn’t drop out of music entirely: he released a song with Gorillaz and Andre 2000 earlier this year, and it’s great to see him still out performing, so make sure you get to this show early enough to catch his opening set. When tickets go on sale, they’ll be available via ticketfly.com for $35 (lawn) or $45 (pavilion) plus applicable fees. (Note that we’re giving away lawn tickets.)

In September, Canadian indie-rock group Metric is playing the majestic theatre Strathmore up in Bethesda– this place has fantastic sound, so it’ll be great to hear these guys in such an incredible space. Metric formed back in 1998 and has released four studio albums, with a fifth– Synthetica– coming out in June. Another show that’s sure to feature a bunch of new tunes! Frontwoman Emily Haines posted a note on the group’s official site about the album, writing, “SYNTHETICA is about staying home and wanting to crawl out of your skin from the lack of external stimulation. SYNTHETICA is about forcing yourself to confront what you see in the mirror when you finally stand still long enough to catch a reflection. SYNTHETICA is about being able to identify the original in a long line of reproductions. It’s about what is real vs what is artificial.” We’re not entirely sure what that means, exactly, but it sure sounds intriguing. Tickets for this show will go on sale 5/18 via ticketmaster.com for $47 plus applicable fees.

Check out some music videos of all of these bands, then let me know in the comments which show (or both!) you’d like to attend. And if you come across this post after the contest has closed, you can pick up tickets via Ticketfly for Hot Chip/Sleigh Bells and Ticketmaster for Metric.

And hey, if you’re new to ShowlistDC and wondering what this site is all about, check out our extensive calendar of upcoming events in the greater DC area (including Northern VA and Baltimore). We also make concert recommendations and post a daily round-up of DC-area music news and reviews. You can also follow us on twitter @showlistdc or like us on Facebook!

The contest is now closed and the winners have been notified!