James McMurtry performs at The Garage in London on Feb. 8, 2017. (Photo by Goggins World)
When you go to a lot of concerts, you pick up on details. At James McMurtry’s recent concert, one detail I picked up on was the quality of the sound mixing. James’s sound was pristine. I’ve never heard clearer vocals at The Birchmere as I did on Monday. At times, James himself adjusted his amp to get it just right.
Of Montreal performs at 9:30 Club on March 25, 2018. (Photo by Neal Keller)
Witnessing Of Montreal’s live show, both on this current tour and on tour in 2016, has magnified my appreciation for the band immensely. I happened into their music through hearing tracks in the sets of DJs I admire, and I attended my first show as a bit of a lark. Expecting to see an eclectic sounding indie rock band drop some catchy tunes in an unassuming fashion, I was instead treated to a spectacle of theatrics and mania.
Better prepared for their elaborate production this past Sunday at 9:30 Club, I am ready for immersion in the experience.
Glen Hansard listens to the audience at The Anthem on March 24, 2018. (Photo by David LaMason)
Glen Hansard recalled an abandoned car in his neighborhood and how it sat neglected for quite some time. Finally, one day, he peered inside, spotted a cassette deck, and found a cassette in it.
The folk rocker took the cassette and listened to it, delighted to discover it was a mixtape of rocksteady songs from ’60s Jamaica. One song particularly struck him: A number apparently by Ken Boothe that contained the line, “Love is going to find you.”
The legendary Mike Rutherford performs with Mike + The Mechanics at The Birchmere on March 27, 2018. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)
Mike Rutherford, who became one of the most bassists in the world thanks to his long run with progressive rock band Genesis, also performs with a project known as Mike + The Mechanics. Mike visited The Birchmere on Tuesday to play bass with a new iteration of The Mechanics on Tuesday, and Jason captured the action on the stage.
Walk Off the Earth performs at The Fillmore Silver Spring on March 25, 2018. (Photo by Shantel Mitchell Breen)
On the last night of a US tour, Walk Off the Earth delivered a dynamic performance in a sold-out show at The Fillmore Silver Spring! Fans of all ages packed the venue Sunday evening and sang along to every song that the band performed.
Lucius perform at the Lincoln Theatre on March 23, 2018. (Photo by Theresa C. Sanchez)
Music brings people of all walks of life together — even two self-proclaimed “weirdos from different parts of the country” who want to pay it forward.
Fans of the Los Angeles-based fashion savvy quartet Lucius have a whole lot to repay in kind after this last Friday’s sold-out “Nudes Acoustic Tour” at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC. It was the 16th stop on their spring North American tour supporting their third full-length album, Nudes, released on Mom + Pop Music, in collaboration with Electric Lady Studios. While their new project may have only taken a couple days to record, its 10 acoustic tracks (three brand new songs, three covers, and four reworking of previous material) will keep your brain and your boombox occupied much longer.
Kate Nash (Photo by Kate Bell)
British singer-songwriter Kate Nash will release Yesterday Was Forever, her fourth studio album, on March 30. Then a month later, she will perform at 9:30 Club! You can win tickets to see Kate Nash with Parklife DC.
Marlon Williams pours his heart out at the Rock and Roll Hotel on March 23, 2018. (Photo by David LaMason)
There are certain records or certain artists that I frequently come back to again and again — my “go to” records, so to speak — that are so good from start to finish that when the needle swings back after the last note fades it feels only natural to turn the vinyl back over and play it again. Marlon Williams, who hails from New Zealand, makes records likes that. And Marlon’s unmatched songwriting was in full evidence at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Friday.
Cam (Photo courtesy BB Gun PR)
An estimated 800,000 activists marched to call for gun control laws in DC Saturday, and quite a few turned out the previous night to flood The Anthem with a night of music and messages with Stay Amped: A Concert to End Gun Violence, in a concert presented by IMP on Friday. The artists performing at The Anthem proved as diverse as those young activists.
Lee Ann Womack (Photo by Ebru Yildiz)
Lee Ann Womack has two identities as an artist. To casual listeners, Lee Ann is the pop country singer who had a smash mainstream hit with “I Hope You Dance.” More serious fans know Lee Ann for her more traditional country and roots music work — as the face of Spotify’s Americana Icons playlist. Playing to a packed crowd at the Birchmere on Friday, Lee Ann displayed both sides of her identity.