A reveler leads a march in the Funk Parade on May 11, 2019. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)
The rain started before it ended — but just barely. The “it” in this case being DC’s annual Funk Parade and Festival, which took place last weekend along the city’s U Street corridor. A celebration of music, art, dance, and community, the Funk Parade, now in its sixth year, adopted #DontMuteDC as its theme for 2019.
Chris Smither (Photo by Jeff Fasano)
Singer-songwriter Chris Smither performs at The Hamilton Live on Friday, May 17. Chris released Call Me Lucky, his latest record, last year via Signature Sounds/Mighty Albert with distribution by Redeye. Recorded at Blue Rock Studio in the Texas foothills and packed with Smither trademark songs that offer commentary on the human condition with a wink of an eye, the album pulls from deep in the soul and a couple of surprise covers that remind us of Chris’ deftness as a song interpreter as he makes the songs his own.
Prior to his DC concert, Chris took a phone call from Parklife DC’s Mark Engleson, who asked him about his relationship with New Orleans and the blues, meeting your heroes, and his advice for the younger generation. [This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]
Jonny Pierce of The Drums (Photo by Nicholas Moore)
Indie crooner Jonny Pierce led The Drums to a performance high with his irresistible new wave hooks at Black Cat recently. The resulting concert was so damn good that the audience was struck giddy to witness it.
The Devil Makes Three performs at 9:30 Club on May 11, 2019. (Photo by Rashad Polk)
The story of the Devil Makes Three’s concert at the 9:30 Club recently is the story of how that band has evolved.
Ibeyi (Photo courtesy Ticketfly)
French twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz are better known as Ibeyi. The downtempo duo bring their catalog to 9:30 Club on Sunday, June 9, and you can win tickets to go with Parklife DC.
Filthy Friends (Photo by John Clark)
Filthy Friends released their second full-length album, Emerald Valley, recently via Kill Rock Stars. The indie rock supergroup consists of Sleater-Kinney co-founder Corin Tucker, REM guitarist Peter Buck and rockers Scott McCaughey and Kurt Bloch. See them at U Street Music Hall on Monday, May 20.
The Twilight Sad performs at U Street Music Hall on May 12, 2019. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)
The Twilight Sad made a brief appearance at U Street Music Hall recently, but the post-punk quintet, fronted by James Graham, stopped the show sort when the vocalist was too ill to continue.
Judas Priest performs at The Anthem on May 12, 2019. (Photo by Chris Smyth)
After not being able to perform the night before due to a storm rolling through North Carolina which forced the Epicenter Festival to cancel their set, Judas Priest hit The Anthem stage ready to rock on Sunday. What was North Carolina’s loss was DC’s gain, as Judas Priest appeared to take all of that pent up energy that could not get released the night before and blasted it into an amazing show for The Anthem crowd.
Fontaines D.C. is a force at the Rock and Roll Hotel on May 11, 2019. (Photo by David LaMason)
Fontaines D.C., the Dublin-based (the D.C. in the name reflects Dublin City) band melds poetry and punk — a sense of immediacy with hooks that are hard to shake. Grian Chatten, frontman of the group, sang/spoke in what can feel like a conversation and a call to arms in the same breath at the Rock and Roll Hotel recently.
Warpaint (Photo courtesy Ticketfly)
Psych quartet Warpaint have embarked on a tour to open for MGMT, and they have picked up some headlining shows along the way. And so, Warpaint performs at the Black Cat on Sunday, May 19.
