Virgil and I sipped adult libations on Leesburg’s town green, serenaded by Caribbean Vibe’s steel drum cover of “Over the Rainbow” as we awaited the doors opening at the adjacent Tally Ho Theater. “Look at that line snaking around the block,” Virgil grimaced, “they should be here on the lawn with us enjoying beverages while we wait for Ballroom.”
Throughout their long careers, Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ have promoted the traditions of the blues while pushing the boundaries of the music, making them among the genre’s most beloved, popular, and acclaimed artists. Earlier this year, they released their second collaboration album, Room on the Porch (they initially teamed up for 2017’s TajMo, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album the following year).
Recently, they brought joy and a beautiful sound to Wolf Trap, warming the audience’s hearts on a cool, rainy night.
In May, multi-platinum superstar Key Glock kicked off his 2025 GLOCKAVELI Tour presented by SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation, and the tour recently landed at Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore.
Chris Castillo was there to photograph Key Glock and openers Karrahboo and Sheck Wes!
The Hamilton Live recently played host to Virginia’s own Carbon Leaf. The band recently released a new album (their 17th), called Time Is The Playground, and they are touring to support it.
“If I Had $1,000,000 and a Good Parking Spot”: Barenaked Ladies Light Up Baltimore’s Pier Six
Words and Photos by Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography
There’s something oddly reassuring about the smell of brackish harbor water and Old Bay and overpriced craft beer. That’s Baltimore for you. And that was the backdrop recently down at Pier Six, where the Barenaked Ladies rolled into town. The night was cool and gray and even a little rainy off and on.
Let’s just start here: Fastball’s recent set at Pier Six Pavilion felt like someone cracked open a dusty jukebox at high tide and let it breathe. It was about halfway through the Barenaked Ladies’ summer tour stop, and the early evening light was still doing that rainy, gray thing it does on the harbor. The boats bobbing beside the pier weren’t even pretending to care, but the people packed into those blue plastic seats? We were locked in.
There’s something beautifully weird about watching Guster as the lights come on around the harbor. Like, it shouldn’t work — this quirky little college rock band from Massachusetts playing songs about elevators and Ramona while sailboats drift by and a crab cake vendor yells over the fence — but it does. It works perfectly. Baltimore’s always had that rough-around-the-edges charm, and Guster’s always leaned into being just left-of-center. Put the two together and you’ve got the makings of something quietly electric (as seen recently at Pier Six Pavilion when the band opened Barenaked Ladies).
Eem Triplin has been hard at work making music since 2018, but he dropped his first full-length studio album in February. He then embarked on the Melody of a Memory Tour for a string of shows to spotlight that album.
The young rapper recently performed at Union Stage in DC, and Chris Castillo was there to photograph the show!
Oh He Dead, on a short (and rare) West Coast run, recently stopped into Bellingham’s Wild Buffalo House of Music to play for an enthusiastic crowd. The second tour stop and first time in Bellingham turned into a raucous dance party as the band put on a stellar performance for the lucky ones there.
Celebrated folk-rock band Dispatch recently released their ninth studio album, Yellow Jacket via Bomber Records/AWAL Recordings. The band have embarked on a USA tour that lands at Wolf Trap on on Saturday, July 5.
