Bright Eyes (Photo by Shawn Brackbill)
Indie rock darlings Bright Eyes returned in 2020 after a nine-year hiatus, and this year the Omaha, Nebraska band is on tour to promote their lastest album, Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was, available now via Dead Oceans! Bright Eyes perform at The Anthem in DC on Saturday, April 9.
Parklife DC is giving away a pair of tickets for you to see the show!
Joan Osborne (Photo by Jeff Fasano)
In support of her acclaimed new album Radio Waves, singer/songwriter Joan Osborne performs at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, March 31!
Conan Gray performs at The Anthem on March 12, 2022. (Photos by Katie Child)
At only 23 years old, superstar Conan Gray has taken the pop industry by storm. Hitting the stage at The Anthem recently, Gray left the crowd more than satisfied.
Shannon McNally performs at Pearl Street Warehouse on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Shannon McNally has been performing for 25 years, during which she’s shared stages with jam band artists like Robert Randolph and Derek Trucks, heartland rockers like John Mellencamp, and Americana troubadours like Steve Earle. She’s won acclaim both for her own writing and for her exceptional ability as an interpreter of song.
Shannon’s latest album, the self-produced The Waylon Sessions, delves into the recordings of outlaw country legend Waylon Jennings, and she appeared at DC’s Pearl Street Warehouse recently to tour it. She said it was easy to choose the songs, as she just “picked her favorites.” The album was cut in four days, and featured guitar work from Kenny Vaughan; after she opened the set with “I’ve Always Been Crazy,” Shannon related a tale from Kenny about seeing Waylon at a club in Arizona in 1973.
Maxim Rainer leads Wilderado in a performance at Union Stage on March 10, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)
Remarkable is the manner in which a particular song or songs can springboard successful endeavors for today’s independent musicians.
Unquestionably, more music is being made than ever before in the history of the world, making it all that much more difficult for bands to draw devout listeners and build a following that offers promise and a good reason to keep writing songs.
Wilderado, a spirited folk rock band originally hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a fascinating outfit that is consistently creating memorable, widely appealing tracks that have essentially exploded on streaming platforms. Industrious and with a moniker inspired by the tiniest of Texas communities, Wilderado has used its popular releases like strategic stepping stones and achieved a great deal for a group that is just now out on tour to promote its first full-length album.
Wet Leg performs at DC9 on March 11, 2022. (Photos by David LaMason; Words by Mickey McCarter)
Cheeky British post-punk duo Wet Leg boomed quickly on the strength of their single “Chaise Longue” and its followups. Mind you, Vocalist Rhian Teasdale and guitarist Hester Chambers drop their debut Wet Leg album on April 8 via Domino. And yet Wet Leg already became the buzziest band to play DC city, much less DC9, in a recent tour performance.
Wet Leg arrived at DC9 fresh from New York City, where they sold out the 1,800-capacity Brooklyn Steel, to perform for a totally enthralled capacity crowd of about 150 people. That’s what happens when you blow up while on your previously scheduled debut US tour!
Eyelids perform at Black Cat on Nov. 19, 2017. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)
The last time Parklife DC talked to Chris Slusarenko of Eyelids was back in February 2019. At the time, Eyelids had started a musical project with Larry Beckett, famed poet and lyricist for singer songwriter Tim Buckley, slated to become “The Accidental Falls” (Jealous Butcher Records). Released at the beginning of 2020, the band was on the verge of mounting an extensive tour in support of the new album when the world shut down. We all know what happened next: tours were canceled, music venues shut down, and audiences went into isolation.
Now as music venues open and audiences return, Eyelids is once again heading out on the road, this time with a new bandmember and a renewed sense of gratitude, awareness, and optimism. After the stress and chaos we’re experienced since March of 2020, most of us have come to appreciate just how precious is the gift of music, and the joy of live performance — a feeling not lost on Eyelids’ members. In addition to Chris, we also had the pleasure of speaking with guitarist John Moen and new bass player Victor Krummenacher (Monks of Doom, Camper Van Beethoven).
Mark Caicedo of Parklife DC caught up with Chris Slusarenko, John Moen, and Victor Krummenacher of Portland-based power pop band Eyelids, prior to the group’s performance at Comet Ping Pong on Saturday, March 26!
girl in red performs at 9:30 Club on March 11, 2022. (Photos by Katie Child)
Bringing a sold-out crowd to the famous 9:30 Club this past Friday evening, was Marie Ulven Ringheim, known on stage as girl in red. Famed for her bedroom pop hits “we fell in love in october,” “bad idea!,” and “girls,” Ringheim seems to touch the most inner sentiments shared amongst her followers. Her songs stem mostly around conflicts regarding romance, as well as tribulations relating to mental illness. Even during first-listens to Marie’s music, her lyricism and alluring melodies are quick to tug on your heartstrings.
Gang of Four perform at Black Cat on March 9, 2022. (Photos by Jason Nicholson; Words by Mickey McCarter)
Before he died in 2020, guitarist Andy Gill undertook several tours of the United States with a Gang of Four lineup that included no other original members. Since 2012, that version of the band appeared several times in DC, performing songs from two newly recorded albums as well as legacy Gang of Four selections.
With Gill’s passing, the other original members have reunited to tour behind a remastered box set, Gang of Four: 77-81, released last year by Matador Records. Original frontman Jon King and company recently burned through the Black Cat in a scorching show that gave powerful new life to the band’s post-punk classics first recorded in that period.
Perfume Genius (Photo courtesy Grandstand Media)
Perfume Genius aka Mike Hadreas has announced a spring tour that will bring him to DC to perform at 9:30 Club on Friday, March 25.
The dates mark some of his first live shows in these cities since the release of his critically acclaimed Set My Heart on Fire Immediately.
