Virgil and I arrived at The Anthem in DC in the waning daylight hours of a beautiful spring Friday. After securing our VIP wristbands for this sold-out show — thanks, Dream Theater! — we sashayed our way into the lounge just behind the soundboard and held court at a high-top with a dead-center stage view.
ZZ Ward was in great form recently playing the Maryland Hall in Annapolis while on tour promoting her latest album, Liberation. This album is very personal to Ward and perfectly brings her into the mix of playing blues music and sticking to her musical and familial roots.
Virginia native Tommy Richman released his debut full-length album, Coyote, in 2024, and he blew up fast! Tommy recently took the Coyote Tour to the Howard Theatre for a sold-out show, and Chris Castillo was there to photograph the concert.
Kim Deal is an icon of indie rock. Over a 40-year career, she’s been in some of the biggest alternative bands, including Pixies (as she emphasized, it’s not the Pixies, it’s just Pixies) and The Breeders. Last year, she finally went solo, releasing the acclaimed record Nobody Loves You More. In a recent turn at the Capitol Turnaround, she delivered a performance worthy or her lofty status in the alt-rock pantheon.
In support of his new memoir and its companion CD, Phil Manzanera — Roxy Music guitarist/esteemed record producer/Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer and OBE recipient (Officer Of The Most Excellent Order Of The British Empire) — takes the stage for An Evening Of Words And Music With Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera at the Howard Theatre in DC on Tuesday, March 25.
Guitarist extraordinaire Ana Popovic returned recently to Rams Head on Stage with a stunning performance that proves why she is one of the finest blues guitarists on the planet. Highly versatile in playing different styles of music, Popovic was sensational throughout the evening playing her brand of funk and blues tracks for a packed audience that were in the mood for some blistering work by Popovic and her band.
With 40 years as a world-touring musician, Deanna Bogart stands as a five-time winner of the Blues Music Awards Horn Instrumentalist of the Year, including a 2023 win and a 2024 nomination.
Deanna launched her career in Maryland before traveling the world and landing in California. She’s currently on a run of east coast tour dates that included a recent show at Rams Head on Stage with special guest Kelly Bell.
Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the performance!
Thirteen-time Juno Award recipient and Canadian Music Hall of Fame Inductee Bruce Cockburn recently appeared at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts in a sold-out show that featured selections from across his 50+ year career. As someone who’s followed Cockburn’s work for 45 of those years, this Vancouver concert confirmed everything I love about his music and was a beautiful reaffirmation of how art connects us all through space and time.
Disturbed recently brought absolute mayhem to the Capital One Arena — and man, what a show it was. It wasn’t just another stop on their 25th Anniversary Tour celebrating The Sickness — it felt like a full-circle moment for fans who’ve been riding with them since day one. The energy in the arena was unreal, packed wall-to-wall with people ready to throw down, scream their lungs out, and just feel the music.
Early in their recent set at The Anthem in DC, German electronic quartet Kraftwerk studiously performed a hypnotic rendition of their composition “Spacelab,” which appears on the 1978 album The Man-Machine. The accompanying visual to the instrumental track followed a UFO as it circled the earth and swooped into Washington, DC.
In a thrilling movement of customization, the video spacecraft crossed the National Mall and then landed in front of The Anthem, alighting at the very music venue where Kraftwerk were now appearing, complete with their name on the concert hall’s marquee.
