Washington — Arne Duncan has made the rounds on Capitol Hill, at public schools, at higher-education conferences, and now at the 9:30 Club. The U.S. secretary of education was invited onstage last night at the crowded music club here, which apparently is popular with hipsters and wonks alike.

At first the crowd was perplexed when the headliner, Neko Case, appeared onstage with a tall man, looking D.C.-chic in a button-down and jeans. When the singer-songwriter finally made the introduction, flashes went off, people cheered, and the political junkies who’d already recognized him were downright giddy.

Mr. Duncan’s message: Think about becoming a teacher. Tutor kids. If you like math or science, we really need you. And, oh yeah, isn’t President Obama great?

He was a real crowd-pleaser. But no word yet from the Education Department on whether Mr. Duncan is simply a Neko fan or last night was the first stop in a new tour. Perhaps they could call it Club Ed. —Elyse Ashburn