There are few artists who can walk onstage without a setlist and inspire confidence rather than concern. On Friday night at The Barns at Wolf Trap, Del McCoury did exactly that — opening a five-night residency not with a scripted roadmap, but with trust: in his band, in his audience, and in a songbook deep enough to accommodate whatever the room might ask of him.
Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble are conducting their Groove in the Face of Adversity Tour around the USA at this time, and they recently played a sold-out concert at The Atlantis to a very festive and receptive audience, who were there to hear some Grateful Dead-style music and great jazz from the new band by Don Was.
Nothing More’s North American leg of the Carnal Nature World Tour opened recently, launching a run featuring Catch Your Breath with special guests Archers and Doobie, at The Fillmore Silver Spring. The venue was packed shoulder to shoulder for the show.
These days, Cate Le Bon’s being asked to produce projects for musicians known world-wide, in recent years lending her vision to the likes of Wilco, Dry Cleaning, and her good friend St. Vincent.
Modern Nature released their new album The Heat Warps last year to widespread acclaim. The new collection is a deceivingly encouraging collection through which Jack Cooper – the band’s main creative force – continues to explore themes of collectivism, our relationship with the natural world, the weight of consciousness with more directness and purpose.
The quartet is on tour, and they perform live in DC at DC9 on Thursday, Jan. 22.
Ana Popovic came to Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis, Maryland, for a matinee show. I had heard good things about her and decided to check out the show. First off, let me acknowledge what an impressive career she’s had. Not to pigeon-hole her as simply a great blues guitarist, but she’s played with the most well-known blues musicians of our time — Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, BB King, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr. She toured as a special guest with maybe the greatest singer of them all: Solomon Burke. And Bruce Springsteen called her, “one helluva guitar-player.” Quite the resume.
A local crowd in an intimate venue on a Saturday night: It’s both comforting AND electric. Age of Ruin took the stage at the Pocket in DC’s Shaw, joined by fellow Virginia bands Skin Testament and Shovelhead A.D. With a 75-person capacity, the space made it easy for the audience to connect not just with each other, but with the bands themselves. It’s as if everyone had a front row seat and a stake in the game. Age of Ruin and friends delivered one of those shows where the bands and the audience were really in sync.
Dressed all in black but sporting a white cowboy hat, Erik Koskinen stepped onto the Lucas Hicks Auditorium stage at Bellingham’s New Prospect Theatre (NPT) last week to a warm, passionate reception from the near capacity crowd. Although Erik had played the room numerous times previously, this was his first headlining gig and judging by the crowd’s enthusiasm won’t be the last.
Danah Denice has a lot going on. When you’re in her presence, she’s very friendly, but it doesn’t take long to realize there is a ferocity inside her.
Walking into The Maryland Theatre on a cool January evening, there was a different kind of energy floating around the lobby. This wasn’t just a night out, it was a night for something. The Ladders To Leaders II benefit concert carried weight from the jump. This wasn’t just a collection of heavy hitters trading riffs for fun. This was a benefit with purpose, aimed straight at the hard, complicated work of addiction recovery.
Singer and bassist Brad Divens acted as both anchor and connective tissue throughout the night on Jan. 10. He’s got that rare ability to make a large room feel like a conversation instead of a presentation. Between songs, he spoke about why everyone was there. Not long speeches, no rehearsed lines, just lived-in reflections about recovery, relapse, and the quiet strength it takes to ask for help. Those moments landed harder than any power chord.
