Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, also stylized as Act II: Cowboy Carter, marks another successful era for the veteran performer as it earned the top spot in the Billboard Country Albums chart. This made her the first Black woman to achieve the no. 1 spot since the chart’s first issue in 1964. It also continues her streak of hitting the top of the Billboard 200 for every mainstream album release.
Live Review: Echosmith @ Pearl Street Warehouse — 11/11/24
Echosmith Celebrate 10 Years as ‘Cool Kids’ at Pearl Street Warehouse
Words by Matt Bailey
Photos by James Todd Miller
Echosmith — siblings Graham, Noah, and Sydney Sierota — delivered an intimate evening of pop music at DC’s Pearl Street Warehouse.
The group are celebrating 10 years since emerging with their original blend of instrumentation, soft electronic undertones, and powerful vocals. Lead singer Sydney has a voice that can be both lilting (“Tell Her You Love Her”) or forceful (“Sour.”)
Live Review: Stryper @ Rams Head Live — 11/10/24
On a crisp November evening in Baltimore, Stryper, the legendary Christian metal band that rose to prominence in the 1980s with their bold fusion of faith and heavy metal, marked a milestone on their 40th anniversary tour at Baltimore’s Rams Head Live, delivering a show that was both a nostalgic trip down memory lane and an electrifying showcase of their talent.
Snapshots: Orion Sun @ 9:30 Club — 11/9/24
Singer-songwriter Orion Sun released her second studio album, Orion, earlier this year, and she’s embarked on a tour in support of it.
Orion Sun recently performed at 9:30 Club in DC, and Chris Castillo was there to photograph the show.
Live Review: Spafford @ Wild Buffalo House of Music (Bellingham, WA) — 11/09/24
For millions of us, performers and fans alike, the stage is a place of refuge, for celebration, and for building community. A sort of sanctuary one might say. On a recent night, a packed house came together in Bellingham’s Wild Buffalo House of Music to experience the safety and freedom of Spafford music, a potent blend of rock, jazz, funk, and reggae.
On the penultimate show of its Pacific Northwest tour, Spafford (Brian Moss: guitar, vocals; Nick Tkachyk: drums; Cory Schechtman: keys; Shon Gordon: bass, vocals) put on a dazzling display of musicianship. As is the band’s custom, getting lost in the music provided a haven for fans and band alike, with fans swaying, grooving and dancing throughout the three hour show.
Live Review: Leon Bridges @ The Anthem — 11/8/24
Everything Leon Bridges does is deliberate, and it all speaks to you outside of time and place.
The man himself looks timeless, as if he is stepping through eras in a leather jacket and cowboy boots. He sings in a soulful light croon that travels equally well as something contemporary or vintage. And in his recent sold-out show at The Anthem, Leon presented his music on a set that seemed to suggest a desert landscape but also a welcoming place as if it sprang from our collective imaginations or places through which we hazily remember traveling.
Preview: Ruf Records 30th Anniversary Celebration Featuring Samantha Fish @ Warner Theatre, 11/20/24
In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Ruf Records is proud to announce a monumental tour that will showcase the legacy of one of the most influential labels in modern blues history.
The Ruf Records 30th Anniversary Tour, headlined by Samantha Fish and Canned Heat, with special guests Mitch Ryder and Bernard Allison, and a special performance by Ghalia Volt’s One Woman Band, locally comes to Warner Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 20.
Live Review: Blitzen Trapper w/ Molly Parden @ Black Cat — 11/9/24
Led by songwriter Eric Earley, Oregon’s Blitzen Trapper have been making cosmic American music for two decades. Touring in support of their latest album, 100s of 1000s, Millions of Billions, they recently brought their psychedelic brand of country-rock to the Black Cat for an enthusiastic audience.
The show harkened back to earlier days when shows were often later, with doors opening at eight, opening act Molly Parden playing at 8:45pm and Blitzen Trapper taking the stage at 10pm. They started with one of their new tunes, “Cosmic Backseat Education.” They spaced the songs from the new album throughout their set: the spooky “Dead God of the Green Arising” followed a cover of Gillian Welch’s “Miss Ohio,” for which they were joined on vocals by Parden. “Planetarium” and “Hello Hallelujah” came toward the end of the evening.
Live Review: Nikka Costa w/ Strutman Lane @ Union Stage — 11/8/24
Nikka Costa and band are currently on their Dirty Disco Tour and recently stopped at Union Stage in support her current heavily dance influenced album Dirty Disco.
Snapshots: Melt @ 9:30 Club — 11/7/24
NYC indie-soul band Melt released If There’s a Heaven, their debut full-length album, in September, and then they hit the road in support of it!
Melt recently returned to 9:30 Club, and Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the show.