John Mayer performs at Capital One Arena, July 23, 2019. (Photo by Ari Strauss/ aristrauss.com)
Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mayer brought his much anticipated Summer Tour 2019 to DC recently, playing to a packed crowd in Chinatown’s Capital One Arena.
Lord Huron performs at The Chrysalis at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 23, 2019. (Photo by Jules McNamara)
Indie folk band Lord Huron performed at The Chrysalis at Merriweather Post Pavilion recently, and the band’s music truly complemented the mysticism of the new stage-within-a-pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Jules McNamara took some pix!
Jim Lauderdale performs at MerleFest on April 27, 2019. (Photo by cp_thornton)
The Cosmic Honky Tonk Revue stopped at The Hamilton recently to showcase the talents of three major figures in alternative country and Americana music: Jason Ringenberg (Jason & The Scorchers), Chuck Mead (BR5-49), and Jim Lauderdale. “Cosmic Honky Tonk” was itself a play on legendary — and tragic — country-rocker Gram Parson’s “cosmic American music.”
The Faint (Photo by Bill Sitzmann)
The Faint returned with an 11-track deep-dive into themes on modern society, the internet, and ego — specifically social media and its dark effects, on their latest album Egowerk, released earlier this year via Saddle Creek. Now, The Faint appear at 9:30 Club on Saturday, Aug. 3, in support of the Egowerk 2019 Tour!
Acid Mothers Temple (Photo courtesy Space Agency)
Washington DC and Japan have a long and colorful history of cultural exchange.
In 1912, Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki gifted DC with Japanese cherry trees. Since then, several cultural exchange programs and initiatives have been institutionalized. This solidifying friendship is commemorated yearly via the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Japanese bands have also been performing in the US capital, with some of the country’s best bands performing here. From Japanese rock and heavy metal to the more contemporary Japanese pop or J-pop, Washington DC has bore witness to the changing trends and patterns of Japan’s eclectic music industry. Here are four of the best Japanese bands that already graced the city’s venues.
Kurt Vile and The Violators rock a sold-out Ottobar on July 23, 2019. (Photo by David LaMason)
There’s something about Kurt Vile that’s hard to pin down, but maybe that’s the point. Listen to any of his solo work that’s been released over the past 10 years and you might see what I mean. Although he has put out several albums over the past decade under both his own name and with various other artists, including Courtney Barnett, Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis — and he is a frequent collaborator with the band The War on Drugs — Kurt creates the kind of rambling but layered music that’s hard to pull yourself away from (if you ever wanted to in the first place).
Steve Miller Band (Photo by David Woo)
The Steve Miller Band joins forces with Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives for a show dubbed “An Amazing Evening of Original American Music: Classic Rock Meets Classic Country” at Wolf Trap on Wednesday, July 31!
Neil Young and Crazy Horse perform at the James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida, on Oct. 29, 1986. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)
Editor’s Note: Parklife DC asked its contributors to write essays about their favorite bands. These essays appear in an occasional series, My Favorite Artist, and provide our readers with insights into our bloggers, their motivations, and their approach to covering concerts.
“It sucks! It’s just a fucking racket. I get totally lost when I’m playing guitar. I’ll just play a melody over and over again and change the tone, bend a string, do all that. But I’m totally engrossed in what I’m doing. At one with it. But I suck! I have melodies, and I have a sense of rhythm and drive. But it’s not about me, anyway — it’s about the whole band. It’s about everybody being there at once. When I play I’m listening for everything, trying to drive it all with my guitar. My guitar is the whole fucking band.” — Neil Young, Guitar World, October 2009
Phoebe Ryan performs at The Fillmore Silver Spring on July 21, 2019. (Photo by Katherine Gaines/ AmbientEye.com)
Phoebe Ryan opened Carly Rae Jepsen at The Fillmore Silver Spring recently with a few new well-received singles. Katherine Gaines took some pictures!
Carly Rae Jepsen performs at The Fillmore Silver Spring on July 21, 2019. (Photo by Katherine Gaines/ AmbientEye.com)
Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen graced The Fillmore Silver Spring with her unforgettable smile and her uplifting soprano recently. Carly toured in support of her new album, Dedicated, published in May on School Boy/Interscope Records. Katherine Gaines was there to catch her in action!
