Brazilian singer-songwriter Samira Winter leads her band, Winter, in a performance at Comet Ping Pong on Nov. 3, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)

With so many venues in the DMV, the area’s music listeners are to some degree spoiled by a plethora of options on a weekly basis as a stream of established and emerging artists make their way through for important appearances.

And with more and more musicians leveraging their network and traveling together with like-minded friends, it seems as though there’s been an uptick in double bills in or near the nation’s capital — in some cases, an irresistible temptation to be out enjoying live music locally.

This past week, Comet Ping Pong offered one of the more alluring tickets to come through the DC venue in some time as Winter and Peel Dream Magazine treated the small room to back-to-back sets of the uncommon, provocative music that has made both of these must-see, must-listen artists.

For those who stay attuned to the dozens of local schedules, the night of Nov. 3 most certainly stood out as the chance to see two outfits doing things in wholly unique and remarkable ways.

Stream Winter’s forthcoming studio album, What Kind of Blue Are You?, via Spotify:

The Los Angeles-based project of Brazilian singer-songwriter and electric guitarist Samira Winter, Winter is a twinkling, bilingual form of fantasy pop with plunging introspective and endless drift, and with Samira’s breathtaking vocals and heartsore lyrics — English and Portuguese — the music orbits with remarkable and lasting character.

Promoting what will be her second album with Bar/None Records, Samira’s DC full-band set included a number of tracks from the forthcoming What Kind of Blue Are You?, which will hit record shops in late November.

Sharing the gig with an artist she lent her voice to for a recent studio recording, Winter was joined at Comet Ping Pong by Peel Dream Magazine, the cutting-edge songwriting vehicle of Joe Stevens, now also based in LA.

Listen to Pad, the third studio album from Peel Dream Magazine, via Spotify:

Out in support of Pad, the third album — or “edition” — Stevens has released as Peel Dream Magazine, he too is offering listeners something refreshing and fascinating, a departure from the norm with an investigation of abstract sounds, vibrations and sensations. Listeners in Chevy Chase last Thursday night were pleasantly immersed in these captivating and cinematic creations, as Joe too was backed by a full band.

These two familiar groups — both drawing praise from music connoisseurs as they go — provided a fanciful night of illusory compositions in a rewarding opportunity to see two talented visionaries with their bands performing in an intimate setting.

Winter Setlist

Wish I Knew
Atonement
Fool
Sunday
Memoria
Good
Lose You
Violet Blue
Crimson Enclosure
Kind of Blue

Peel Dream Magazine Setlist

Not In
Living
Pictionary
Hiding
(Transition)
Wanting
Hamlet
Jennifer
(Transition)
Up Up
Self Act
Back In
La Sol

Here are images of Winter and Peel Dream Magazine performing at Comet Ping Pong the night of Nov. 3, 2022. All photos copyright and courtesy of Casey Vock.

Peel Dream Magazine