Preview: Adia Victoria @ DC9, 2/19/19
Adia Victoria (Photo courtesy Grandstand Media)
On Feb. 22, Adia Victoria will release Silences, her second full-length studio album. But just prior to that, she will visit DC9 for a show on Tuesday, Feb. 19.
Preview: Empress Of @ Rock and Roll Hotel, 2/18/19
Empress Of (Photo by Cara Robbins)
Lorely Rodriguez, known by her stagename Empress Of, released Us, her second studio album, in 2018 via XL Recordings and Terrible Records. She is performing at Rock and Roll Hotel on Monday, Feb. 18.
Live Review: Tremonti @ Rams Head Live — 2/10/19
Mark Tremonti fronts Tremonti at Rams Head Live on Feb. 10, 2019. (Photo by Chris Smyth)
With an opening machine gun of a riff, Tremonti started the night with “Cauterize,” the title track off of their 2015 album. The band, created by and named after lead singer and guitarist, Mark Tremonti, brought their brand of melodic, yet aggressive heavy metal back to Rams Head Live in Baltimore this past Sunday to open Sevendust.
Live Review: Lucinda Williams @ The Anthem — 2/8/19
Lucinda Williams performs at The Anthem on Feb. 8, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
By nearly all accounts, Lucinda Williams is the undisputed queen of Americana. Car Wheels On a Gravel Road, recently passing its 20th anniversary, is a desert island record for nearly anyone who’s had the privilege of settling down with its songs. Full of nearly interminable heartbreak, its characters somehow keep picking up the pieces to start again.
And so, Lucinda rolled into DC with the Drive-By Truckers and Erika Wennerstrom to play The Anthem on an unseasonably warm night recently.
Live Review: Drive-By Truckers @ The Anthem — 2/8/19
Drive-By Truckers perform at The Anthem on Feb. 8, 2019. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
Full disclosure: The songs of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley have guided me through some of the best and hardest years of my adulthood. From the first discovery of Southern Rock Opera during my college years to the most recent American Band, I can write with confidence that their songs hold persistent meaning to me.
So, I will not be objective about the recent performance of Drive-By Truckers at The Anthem. Consider this your warning.
Live Review: Soulfly @ Cafe 611 — 2/7/19
Soulfly performs at Cafe 611 in Frederick, Maryland, on Feb. 7, 2019. (Photo by Andy Jillson)
Veteran heavy metal peddlers Soulfly brutalized the crowd at Cafe 611 in Frederick, Maryland recently. Lead by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, Soulfly delivered the metal goods playing an intense set of classic ’90s and early ’00s Soulfly material, alongside several tracks from their most recent studio release.
Preview: Cherry Glazerr @ U Street Music Hall, 2/13/19
Cherry Glazerr (Photo by Pamela Littky)
Los Angeles noise poppers Cherry Glazerr released Stuffed & Ready, the band’s third studio album, via Secretly Canadian on Feb. 1. The group performs at U Street Music Hall in support of the record on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
Live Review: Valerie June @ Sixth & I — 2/9/19
Valerie June performs at Eco Festival Cabaret Vert in France on Aug. 25, 2013. (Photo by Clement Caron)
On a cold Saturday evening, singer-songwriter Valerie June took the stage with a tiny banjo before a sold-out crowd at the District’s Historic Sixth & I Synagogue. Informing the crowd the that this banjo was “the baby,” Valerie played “Somebody to Love” to kick off an evening of soulful roots.
Live Review: Colin Blunstone @ City Winery — 2/7/19
Colin Blunstone performs at City Winery in DC on Feb. 7, 2019. (Photos by Paivi Salonen; Words by Mickey McCarter)
On the cusp of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Colin Blunstone of The Zombies first turned his dazzling vocal power to City Winery in DC for a perfect evening of song and remembrances recently.
Live Review: Sharon Van Etten @ 9:30 Club — 2/6/19
Sharon van Etten and her band performs at the 9:30 Club. (Photo by Matt Ruppert)
Anticipation hovered in the thick, rain-refracted light over 9:30 Club as the early crowd nestled close to the brick, waiting. Darkness and light bouncing back and forth, the air felt thick with hope, with expectation, as Sharon van Etten would take the stage at the club recently for the first time to play the songs off her new album Remind Me Tomorrow.
