The rainy forecast at Merriweather Post Pavilion didn’t stop Mt. Joy from recently putting on an amazing performance to continue their 2025 headlining tour, celebrating their newest album, Hope We Have Fun.
Riley Green, one of the biggest names in country music today, stopped off in Baltimore at Pier Six Pavilion to a sold-out show last week and played one of the finest country shows of the year, supported by Ella Langley, Lauren Watkins, and Preston Cooper. Green is currently touring the USA on his Damn Country Music Tour, and he is selling out those shows in support of his latest album, Don’t Mind If I Do.
As a pre-party for the All Good Now festival, Andy Frasco & The UN recently played a show at 9:30 Club! The show followed the release of Frasco’s new album, Growing Pains, which dropped on May 23.
Steve Satzberg photographed Andy Frasco & The UN and opener Natalie Brooke in action! As you can see in Steve’s photos, Andy Frasco continues to deliver with an exciting and kinetic performance.
Simple Minds closed the main set of their recent show in DC area with a boisterous performance of “Don’t You (Forget Me),” the song that put them on the musical map in the United States in 1985. In the middle of the song, frontman Jim Kerr turned the song over to the enthusiastic audience, which filled Merriweather Post Pavilion with extended refrains of “La, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la” from the song’s closing.
“I should be paying you!” Jim quipped in admiration of the crowd’s full-throated embrace of the song. “But I’m a Scotsman; I can’t see that happening.”
As the blog Travels with a Kilt says: “We’re kind, fair and ethically-led, yet thrifty, dour and bitter.” Jim’s joke cut to the Glaswegian beginnings of Simple Minds guitarist Charles Burchill and himself and the Scots reputation of being salty people.
But honestly while Jim and Charlie are old salts, there is nothing bitter at all about the two terrific musicians. Rather, they are salt of the earth people who make music that is endlessly sophisticated and uplifting.
When Suzanne Vega emerged from New York City’s folk scene in the mid-’80s, the singer-songwriter tradition that bloomed during the ’70s had fizzled out. The major figures had gone into mainstream pop and rock or more experimental directions, and the audience and market had dried up. Vega’s self-titled debut and the follow-up, the platinum-selling Solitude Standing, revived the genre, especially for female singer-songwriters, laying the foundation for the Lilith Fair tours, which she participated in, the following decade.
Following her literary and musical inspirations, she’s continued to write terrific songs and make great albums, displaying excellent taste and sharp wit. Last month, she released her first set of original material in 11 years (2016’s Lover, Beloved consisted of songs for her one-woman show about writer Carson McCullers, and 2020’s An Evening of New York Songs & Stories was a live recording), which she shared in her recent appearance at the Lincoln Theatre.
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.
