Belly, the alternative-rock band led by Tanya Donelly, had a short initial run, producing just two albums: 1993’s Star, which went gold, and 1995’s King. (In 2018, they reunited to record a third album, Dove.) Their current tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of the latter album, and they rocked as hard as they ever have when they recently played an early show at the 9:30 Club.
If you’re online, you’ve problem seen several variations on the theme that people used to age a lot harder. Belly are proof that’s true: Donelly may be approaching 60, and bassist Gail Greenwood, who joined the band for their second album, both look great! They also both radiate pure rock ‘n’ roll spirit. They’re as loud and full of energy as they’ve ever been. It’s even more impressive when you consider that Greenwood is a cancer survivor. As I enter middle age (I turned 45 in August), it gives me hope that I have many years of full, vibrant living ahead of me.
When she started Belly in the ’90s, Donelly was already a veteran of the indie rock scene, having played in Throwing Muse and, briefly, in the Breeders. But those weren’t really her projects: Throwing Muses was principally a vehicle for Kristin Hersh (who was also Donelly’s stepsister), and the Breeders for twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal. With Belly, the focus fell on Donelly, and she achieved a new level of success.
At 9:30 Club on Oct. 25, the show was split into two sets. In the first, the band played King in its entirety. More rock-oriented than its predecessor, it moved away from Star’s dream spacey dream pop, it was Belly’s bid for even bigger stardom. The album has since been reevaluated, but, at the time, it fizzled, leading the band to break up.
Stream King by Belly on Spotify:
After a short intermission, they came back for a second set of songs from Star and Dove. “Feed the Tree,” their biggest hit, was a special highlight, and they also did a great cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?” to close out the set. We got a sweet moment when they sang “Happy Birthday” to front-of-house engineer Deanne Franklin. The evening ended with a short encore, “Thief” and “Full Moon, Empty Heart.”
A word of advice: if you find yourself at the 9:30 Club during Howard University’s homecoming, do not try to get to an Uber. Streets are closed off, and the traffic is terrible. Take the metro!
Belly sounded great Saturday; I didn’t see them in the ’90s, but I can’t imagine they’ve lost a step. And I appreciated the early show and being home by 10!
Here are some photos of Belly performing live at 9:30 Club on Oct. 25, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Kyle Gustafson.
I had only see Tanya solo, so it was my first Belly show, too. They sounded really good, but I’ll tell you, I didn’t expect it to be the night of smiles that it was. The band seemed so happy and had so much fun, and it was infectious! I got to talk to Tanya after the show and she was as classy and cordial as ever! I’m SO grateful that these people wanted to stop their lives to come do this show. It was a true treat!