Selwyn Birchwood turned The Collective Encore into a roadhouse cathedral on Sept. 21, preaching the blues with a preacher’s conviction and a showman’s grin. From the first surge of guitar, he made it clear this wouldn’t be a polite museum piece — it was a living, breathing thing, sweaty and electric. Birchwood’s tone cut through the room like a welder’s arc, equal parts raw grit and liquid slide, while his warm, husky vocal wrapped the crowd in stories of heartache, hustle, and hard-won joy.
Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the show.
ChatGPT produced this article to accompany original photographs by Steve Satzberg.
Backed by a tight, dynamic band, Birchwood stretched grooves until they snapped back with rubber-band recoil. The rhythm section kept the floorboards bouncing, locking into swampy shuffles and slow-burn vamps that gave Birchwood acres of space to testify. When he switched to lap steel, the songs took on a cinematic shimmer — wide-sky lines that seemed to hang over the heads in the room before diving back into the pocket. Between tunes, he worked the crowd with easy humor and a road-tested charisma, the kind that turns first-timers into instant converts.
Solos weren’t just technical showcases; they told stories. He’d start with a whisper of a phrase, chase it uphill, then kick the door down with a flurry of notes that drew cheers mid-song. The keys and horns (when they jumped in) colored the edges with greasy organ swells and brassy punctuation, adding church to the juke joint and heat to the slow blues. A late-set simmer blossomed into a full-tilt rave-up that had hands in the air and phones pocketed — the kind of moment you go to a club to feel.
Watch the official music video for “Exorcist” by Selwyn Birchwood on YouTube:
Parklife DC was on the scene to photograph the show, and the energy translated beautifully through the lens — sweat-flecked close-ups, steel-string fireworks, and crowd shots that capture the grin-per-square-foot quotient of a Selwyn Birchwood night. If you want to relive the spark (or see what you missed), don’t sleep on our gallery. We were there, stage-front and shutter-ready, to document the lightning as it struck.
Check out our full photo coverage and immerse yourself in the highlights from Selwyn Birchwood at The Collective Encore on Sept. 21. All photos copyright and courtesy of Steve Satzberg.
