DC's biggest blog for concert reviews
“Better late than never.” That might have been the thought running through Jack Johnson’s head as he stepped onto the stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 15, 2022, three weeks to the day that the performance had to be postponed because the artist tested positive for COVID hours before showtime.
Fresh off the recent release of Lifted, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Anderson’s second album for Blue Note Records, his traveling mini-festival of funk that is Voodoo Threauxdown made its way to Northern Virginia for a nearly four-hour show at Wolf Trap. The recent performance headlined by Trombone Shorty included four bands whose members span the history and the future of New Orleans music.
Lead singer Anna Kristina (left) and guitarist Gretchen Menn (right) on stage during a Zepparella performance at City Winery DC, May 12, 2022. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Air drums and air guitars were prominent among a crowd of nostalgic Led Zeppelin fans at DC’s City Winery recently as Zepparella, an all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band, played its first show at the Ivy City venue in over three years due a forced break in touring during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DC musician Aaron Shneyer will host an album release event for “Love Rebellion,” at Pearl Street Warehouse, Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Photo courtesy of aaronshneyer.com)
DC-based soul/roots musician Aaron Shneyer recently released his new album Love Rebellion, which culminates a 12-year journey jumping worlds between Israelis and Palestinians, jumping to some other continents, meeting himself, and finding life’s partner.
Aaron will hold his official album release concert at Pearl Street Warehouse in DC’s wharf neighborhood on Sunday, May 15. He will be joined on stage by a powerhouse group of DC’s finest jazz, gospel, funk, world music and reggae musicians.
Marilyn Hucek encourages her fans to sing along during her DC debut at Songbyrd Music House, May 3, 2022. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
As long as she can recall, Marilyn Hucek has had one dream: to be a pop star. The pursuit of that dream advanced to a new chapter on a recent evening when Marilyn made her DC debut as the headliner at Songbyrd Music House in DC’s hip Union Market neighborhood.
DMV native Marilyn Hucek makes her DC debut Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at Songbyrd Music House. (Photo courtesy of Marilyn Hucek)
Rising pop artist Marilyn Hucek makes her hometown DC debut on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at Songbyrd Music House.
Eyelids performs to a standing-room crowd at Comet Ping Pong, March 26, 2022. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Northwest DC’s beloved pizzeria and concert, Comet Ping Pong, recently hosted Eyelids, the beloved Pacific Northwest power-pop group currently on tour to promote The Accidental Falls, the band’s most recent album which released via Jealous Butcher Records in 2020. I was there to photograph the show!
Tedeschi Trucks Band performs the second of six shows in their 2022 residency at the Warner Theatre in DC, Feb. 4, 2022. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Tedeschi Trucks Band, affectionately known to its fans as simply, “TTB,” is back in DC for its annual residency at Warner Theatre, with six concert dates. The 2022 tour dates are the band’s first at the historic DC venue since the days immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This lucky correspondent was able to attend and cover the second of six performances.
Red Wanting Blue frontman, Scott Terry performs at Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, VA, Jan. 28, 2022. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Red Wanting Blue’s “Hey 22!” tour rolled through Leesburg, Virginia, recently for a performance at Tally Ho Theater. Remarkably, for the band who recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and regularly plays over 200 shows a year, it was their first ever visit to Leesburg and the Tally Ho.
KT Tunstall performs at Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, Va., Dec. 18, 2021. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Attending KT Tunstall’s recent performance at Tally Ho Theater in historic Leesburg — a genuine treat, indeed — was the culmination of my three-year quest to photograph the artist in a live performance. The show was magnificent; well worth the three years I waited to see it.