Béla Fleck and The Flecktones (Photo courtesy the artist)
In 1988, groundbreaking banjoist Béla Fleck was asked to put together his “dream band” for the Lonesome Pine Specials television series. The resulting band was The Flecktones, and they launched their first official tour a year later. Now, Bela Fleck and The Flecktones mark their 30th anniversary at the Strathmore Music Center on Monday, Dec. 2.
Killing Joke performs at Capital One Arena on Nov. 25, 2019. (Photo by Chris Smyth)
Tool burned through DC recently to close the band’s Fear Inoculum Tour in spectacular fashion, and to our surprise the prog rockers brought along perhaps the best possible opening act — English post-punks Killing Joke.
The gothic quartet even shared a bow with Tool at the end of the stage. Given that this was quite a combination, Chris Smyth took some photos of Killing Joke performing at Capital One Arena to open Tool recently.
Tool performs at Capital One Arena on Nov. 25, 2019. (Photo by Chris Smyth)
For the band’s final performance of 2019, prog-metal icons Tool brought the Fear Inoculum Tour to Capitol One Arena recently. Known for putting on one of the best concert performances across all genres of music, Maynard James Keenan and company did not disappoint. A light- and laser-filled spectacle, a Tool show is a two-hour long sensory overload.
The Joy Formidable (Photo by Steve Reynolds)
The Joy Formidable celebrates the 10th anniversary of the band’s debut EP, A Balloon Called Moaning, at Rock and Roll Hotel on Friday, Nov. 29, with The Ten Years Floating Tour.
Fruit Bats rock Union Craft Brewing on Nov. 23, 2019. (Photo by David LaMason)
There’s a comfort to the Fruit Bats’ music. Eric D. Johnson writes songs that seem to glide from over the hills from the West Coast to this year’s fantastic Gold Past Life on the band’s new label, Merge Records.
Chris Knight (Photo courtesy Thirty Tigers)
Slaughters, Kentucky native Chris Knight makes gritty, powerful country music. Eschewing the country pop of the Nashville machine, he records sparsely produced albums that draw the listener’s attention to his compelling lyrics. Live, he performs solo and acoustic, delivering the lyrics with fittingly gruff vocals, as he did at City Winery DC recently.
Ronny Moorings fronts Clan of Xymox at Union Stage on Nov. 21, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
I’m going to say it right out of the gate — Clan of Xymox deserve to be a much bigger act than they are.
As seen at DC’s Union Stage recently, frontman Ronny Moorings and company walk a straight line through buoyant synthpop — a bit more dark and distracted than their contemporaries in New Order and a bit less complicated than The Cure.
Gaelic Storm on stage at The Birchmere, where they played to a sold-out audience, Nov. 21, 2019. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Gaelic Storm breezed into town recently to perform in front of a sold-out crowd at The Birchmere. It was the band’s 41st appearance at the iconic Northern Virginia music since forming as a Santa Monica, California pub band in the mid-1990s.
The Low Anthem (Photo courtesy Blind Ambition Management)
Haunting. Spectral. These are a few words that describe the folk-Americana of The Low Anthem, who appeared at Jammin’ Java recently. Following a switch to the Joyful Noise label, TLA has released a limited-edition vinyl pressing of their 2008 album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. They played the entire record, described as a “very sciencey gospel” album, along with some newer material.
Kim Petras performs at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Nov. 20, 2019. (Photo by Paivi Salonen)
Kim Petras visited The Fillmore Silver Spring on a second round of North American dates for her Clarity Tour, named for the album she released in June via BunHead. Since then, Kim released Turn Off the Light Vol. 2 in October as a follow-up to her first mixtape.
