Yelawolf takes a swig from a bottle of his Creek Water branded Whiskey at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Nov. 5, 2019. (Photo by Shedrick Pelt)
A substantial part of growth is change, but that change doesn’t necessarily have to come with a consequence of losing yourself. Those more fierce qualities about you, sometimes less than agreeable, don’t have to be muted to move forwarded.
Neon Indian (Photo by Karo Cantú)
Neon Indian (aka Alan Palomo) released the long-awaited follow up to 2011’s Era Extraña and this year’s standalone single “Annie,” producing Vega Intl. Night School via Mom + Pop in October. He visits 9:30 Club for a performance on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Chris Jacobs performs at Levon Helm Studios on Nov. 10, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Gardecki)
Baltimore’s own Cris Jacobs kicked off his set at The Hamilton Live recently with “Rooster Coop,” and there was indeed “something funky in the barnyard.” “Rooster Coop” perfectly captures the Cris Jacobs Band experience: it’s vaguely Americana, but with deep, funky R&B grooves. Cris is not the only artist to delve into “Americana soul,” as he calls it — Chris Stapleton’s style could be similarly characterized — but Cris also brings a jam band sensibility to the affair.
Kishi Bashi captivates a sold out Lincoln Theatre on Nov. 8, 2019 (Photo by David LaMason)
There are performances that are good, some are great, and then there are the transcendent ones that leaves you a little different than when you came in. Kaoru Ishibashi (who performs under the name Kishi Bashi) created an experience that is both musically and visually compelling — moving the audience to feel like a part of what was going on there on the stage — as was the case of Friday night’s performance within the crowded walls of the Lincoln Theatre.
Sonny Landreth (Photo by Robley Dupleix)
Americana is often looked at as a singer-songwriters’ genre, but any number of fantastic instrumentalists have contributed to the field. Two of the best guitarists in Americana, Sonny Landreth and Cyndi Cashdollar, brought the audience at City Winery to a hushed reverie recently with a set of electric/acoustic duets. Sonny paired his electric guitar, as well as his vocals, with Cyndi’s dobro (a form of resonator) and lap steel guitars, for a performance that was, as Cyndi said, “just like in your living room.”
King Princess performs at 9:30 Club on Nov. 7, 2019. (Photo by Katherine Gaines)
King Princess exploded onto the 9:30 club stage for two nights of sold-out shows recently in a blinding haze of strobes. She let us know she has arrived, in more ways than one.
The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio performs at DC’s legendary Blues Alley, Nov. 6, 2019. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
A friend from college told me, “If you get the chance to see Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio play live, do it! You’ll thank me later.”
Angie McMahon (Photo by Paige Clark)
Australian songwriter Angie McMahon released Salt, her riff-heavy and anthemic debut album, over the summer on Dualtone Records. She’s on tour to open for Hozier at The Anthem on Monday, Nov. 18, and we recommend that you show up early to catch her show!
The Wailin’ Jennys (Photo by Morten Fog)
The Wailin’ Jennys opted to start Wednesday’s show — the second of three sold-out performances at The Birchmere — singing the traditional “Long Time Traveller” a capella. Over two sets, the trio, made up of Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta, and Heather Masse, cycled through a number of instruments and styles: folk, gospel, a little country.
The New Pornographers perform at the 9:30 Club on Nov. 5, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
I remember when I first discovered The New Pornographers: My roommate blasted Twin Cinema in the late morning after classes, their adventurous pop songs flirting with the saccharine and well-balanced with touches of bitterness, surreality, and unflinching honesty. The interplay of Neko Case’s, A.C. Newman’s, and Dan Bejar’s voices added textures that allowed the songs to float from gauzy to meaty in three minutes.
