Snapshots: Chicago @ Wolf Trap — 7/23/25
Chicago, America’s storied “rock and roll band with horns” delivered a dynamic and polished performance recently at Wolf Trap.
Mark Raker was there to photograph the show.
Preview: Sparks @ Lincoln Theatre, 9/9/25
Sparks, brothers Ron and Russell Mael, recently released a new album, MAD!, via Transgressive Records. The prolific and massively influential musical duo soon embark on an accompany tour, and they perform at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
Preview: The Darkness @ Lincoln Theatre, 9/7/25
In March, British glam imps The Darkness released Dreams on Toast, their eighth studio album via Canary Dwarf and Cooking Vinyl.
The Darkness soon embark on a North American tour in support of the album, and they perform live at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
Snapshots: Mary Chapin Carpenter w/ Brandy Clark @ Wolf Trap — 8/16/25
Wolf Trap’s Filene Center felt like home on the steamy evening of Saturday, August 16, as singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter returned to the beloved venue. It was a perfect setup for a night steeped in nostalgia and fresh musical moments.
Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the evening!
Live Review: Eyes of the Nile, Priest Unleashed, and Animal Magnetism @ Tally Ho Theater — 8/15/25
Virgil insisted we were seeing the real deal.
I tried explaining: tribute bands. Musicians who dress like and play the songs of other musicians. He shook his head. “Nonsense. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Scorpions in Leesburg on a Friday night!” Once Virgil gets fixated on a frame of reality, arguing with him about it is like debating metaphysics. So off we went, through the posh suburban corridors of Loudoun County, into the cauldron of Leesburg’s Tally Ho Theater for what was ostensibly a genuine heavy metal summit.
Preview: The Waterboys w/ Anna Tivel @ 9:30 Club, 9/4/25
In April, The Waterboys released a new album, Life, Death And Dennis Hopper, via Sun Records. Now, Mike Scott and his band embark on a USA tour starting at 9:30 Club on Thursday, Sept. 4!
Live Review: Dirty Honey (Opening The Struts) @ The Anthem — 8/17/25
Dirty Honey: Rock Revival Under the District Lights
Words and photos by Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography
Walking down Wharf Street on a sticky August evening in Washington, DC, you could already tell who was headed to The Anthem. The place attracts a mixed bag, depending on who’s on stage — jam-band kids, indie heads, EDM ravers, you name it — but tonight it was mostly the denim-and-leather crowd, the ones who know their riffs and don’t flinch when the amps hit 11.
And on this recent night at The Anthem, Dirty Honey used every inch of that room to remind the DC crowd that rock and roll doesn’t need a revival tour — it’s alive, sweating, swaggering, and unapologetically loud.
Live Review: The Struts @ The Anthem — 8/17/25
The Struts: Glitter, Sweat, and a Sunday Night Riot on the Wharf
Words and Photos by Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography
The recent performance of The Struts at The Anthem wasn’t just a night out — it was a spectacle, a glitter-soaked sermon of rock and roll excess.
There are concerts that feel like concerts, and then there are concerts that feel like events. The Struts have always been an event band, the kind that struts (their name really is too on-the-nose sometimes) onto a stage and flips a switch you didn’t realize you had inside you. If you’re going to blow the roof off of The Anthem you better come in with teeth bared and sequins gleaming. The Struts knew that, and they came armed accordingly.
Live Review: Ben Rector w/ The National Parks @ The Anthem — 8/16/25
On a weekend where so many weekends leading up to it have been plagued with storms and heat waves, the weather for Ben Rector’s recent sold-out show at The Anthem was mercifully pleasant. Not too wet, not too hot — just the perfect night for dancing up a different kind of storm as Ben Rector and his band took the stage.
Live Review: Katy Perry w/ Rebecca Black @ CFG Bank Arena — 8/15/25
Katy Perry is touring globally and in full force again on a summer world tour and recently played the CFG Arena in Baltimore to a sold-out performance. Her current tour, titled The Lifetimes Tour, is arguably the biggest dance-oriented show of the season.
Perry is a major force in the music world and fully displays why as she sings and dances non-stop during this year’s concert experience.
