Jess Williamson performs at DC9 on May 2, 2018. (Photo by David LaMason)
Austin folk artist Jess Williamson releases Cosmic Wink, her latest full-length album on Friday, May 11. On the road to its release, Jess performed at DC9 to open Loma on Wednesday. David LaMason captured the show on film!
Loma captivates at DC9 on May 2, 2018. (Photo by David LaMason)
Back in December 2016, I went to see one of Shearwater’s last shows of the Jet Plane and Oxbow tour at the Ottobar in Baltimore. It was a cold night, and the stage was festooned with large lights as part of Shearwater’s stage set up. The opener that night was a duo called Cross Record. Primarily using keyboards and guitars, the band — made up of Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski — created beautiful landscapes of sound.
So it was a joy to hear that over the past year Emily and Dan had started making a record with Jonathan Meiberg of Shearwater in a band that eventually became Loma. Loma performed at DC9 on Wednesday.
Quiet Slang (Photo by Charlie Lowe)
Editors Note: This show was originally scheduled for May 19.
James Alex of Beach Slang releases an album under the banner of Quiet Slang on May 18. Quiet Slang then launches a tour in June, presenting some of the new songs from Everything Matters But No One Is Listening, to be published by Polyvinyl Record Co., with a stop at Rock and Roll Hotel on Thursday, July 12.
Michael Blume (Photo by Cha’ves Williams)
New York City soul artist Michael Blume is planning to release a new EP, Cynicism & Sincerity, on June 8, following on the heels of two previous EP releases in 2016 and 2017. He’s performing at Union Stage on Thursday, May 17, to open Lawrence, the duo of fellow New Yorkers Clyde and Gracie Lawrence.
Luis Vasquez aka The Soft Moon performs at DC9 on April 29, 2018. (Photo by Paivi)
In his recordings, Oakland, California’s The Soft Moon, aka Luis Vasquez, sounds distant and submerged, stitching together a mosaic of murky shapes on frameless canvasses. Amidst a backdrop of ominous tones and layered guitars, the heavily treated vocal parts often seem to emerge from the vortex of sound like leaves in an updraft. It’s the kind of technique that works well in the studio, but can be difficult to present live. So as I awaited their set Sunday night at DC9, I was curious to see how it translated to the stage.
Suzanne Vega performs at City Winery in DC on April 29, 2018. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
City Winery DC’s first concert on Sunday featured folk artist Suzanne Vega, performing her albums Solitude Standing (1987) and 99.9°F (1992).
Brian Fallon performs at 9:30 Club on April 28, 2018. (Photo by Daniel Webb)
Brian Fallon and the Howling Weather took the stage for a self-described, but also very true, masterly designed set in a sold-out show at 9:30 Club on Saturday.
Scandal (Photo courtesy the band)
Forever shooting down the walls of heartache in “The Warrior,” Patty Smyth famously fronts Scandal at the newly opened City Winery in DC on Saturday, May 5.
Skyzoo (Photo courtesy the artist)
Gregory Skyler Taylor, better known as Skyzoo, released In Celebration of Us, his fourth solo album, in February via First Generation Rich. Skyzoo is on tour with a show at Songbyrd Music House on Friday, May 4.
Ryley Walker performs at the Lincoln Theater on April 27, 2018. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)
Accompanied by second guitarist Bill Mackay, Ryley Walker’s music is an expert amalgamation reminiscent of the Grateful Dead’s live “space” passages, Pat Metheny’s delicately picked jazz guitar, and today’s proliferation of post-rock bands. Although the songs largely “felt” like instrumentals due to the extended improvisational sections, Ryley’s occasional vocals owed much to the influence of Nick Drake and John Martyn during his performance opening for Calexico at the Lincoln Theatre on Friday.
