Drab Majesty performs at 9:30 Club on July 21, 2018. (Photo by Paivi)
Los Angeles dark wavers Drab Majesty, consisting of Deb Demure and Mona D, returned to DC on Saturday to open Deafheaven at 9:30 Club. Paivi was there to capture the action!
Ray Wylie Hubbard performs at Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic on July 4, 2017. (Photo by Maggie Boyd)
Outlaw country musician Ray Wylie Hubbard delivered an evening of great music and stories to a full house at DC’s City Winery on Saturday. “I was not expecting this,” the Oklahoma-born, Texas-based singer-songwriter told the crowd, seeming genuinely pleased at the turnout. Playing mostly crowd-pleasing favorites spiced up with delightful stories and anecdotes from a life on the road, Ray had the crowd at rapt attention.
Cloves performs at 9:30 Club on July 20, 2018. (Photo by Chris Smyth)
Opening for Greta Van Fleet, Australian artist Cloves started off the evening at the 9:30 Club, moving around the stage with a fluidity and sultriness that commanded the attention of those in attendance
The Avett Brothers perform at Union Band and Trust Pavilion in Portsmouth, Virginia, on July 20, 2018. (Photo by Nathan Payne)
Recently, The Avett Brothers released “No Hard Feelings,” a single held over from their last studio album, True Sadness, published in 2016 by American Recordings. The band, led by brothers Scott Avett (banjo, lead vocals, guitar, piano, kick-drum) and Seth Avett (guitar, lead vocals, piano, hi-hat), undertook an extensive summer tour that took them to the Union Band and Trust Pavilion in Portsmouth, Virginia, on Friday. Nathan Payne was there to shoot some pictures!
Of course, The Avett Brothers arrive locally to perform at Wolf Trap on Saturday, Aug. 18, in a sold-out show.
Greta Van Fleet performs at 9:30 Club on July 20, 2018. (Photo by Chris Smyth)
The energy was high upon entering the 9:30 Club on Friday night. Fans lined up for hours in advance of the 8pm doors to ensure a spot along the barrier at the front of the general admission crowd for an up-close view of Greta Van Fleet, a band who has not yet released a full-length album.
Nicki Bluhm (left) performs on the Keeping the Blues Alive III Cruise on Feb. 7, 2017. (Photo by Natasha Cornblatt)
Phenomenally talented and equally lovely singer-songwriter Nicki Bluhm (pronounced “bloom”) played to an enthusiastic full house at DC’s The Hamilton Friday evening. Touring behind the May release of her new album — To Rise, You Gotta Fall (Little Knickers/Compass) — Nicki brought a Memphis-flavored soul sound that had the audience dancing, from little kids to senior citizens.
Chuck Prophet (Photo by Andrew Diffee)
Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express played to a crowd of loyal fans on Wednesday night at The Soundry, a relatively new venue in Columbia, Maryland. Chuck, channeling all his of San Francisco weirdness, played his oddball schtick to the hilt. His guitar playing was tight as always, and his band sounded great.
Thomas Dolby (Photo courtesy conqueroo)
On July 27, Thomas Dolby will release a 2-CD greatest hits collection, titled Hyperactive, as part of BMG’s Masters Collection series. Along the way, Thomas will tour — well, it may perhaps be more accurate to say that he will present a series of musical experiences and reflections! In a tour to begin this week, members of the audience will pick songs from Thomas’ 30-year catalog for him to perform, and he also will tell stories behind each song, including anecdotes and musical composition. Each show will be a unique and totally immersive experience.
Locally, Thomas will visit The Birchmere for “An Evening of Music and Storytelling” on Monday, July 30. Parklife DC caught up with Thomas recently to discuss the tour, reflections on roughly 30 years of making music, and his current life in Baltimore as a professor at Johns Hopkins University.
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo (Photo courtesy the artists)
Pat Benatar returned to Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart after an absence of 16 years in November with “Dancing Through the Wreckage,” a strong new song she recorded for Served Like a Girl, a documentary about female veterans returning to the United States after their military service.
It really is a great song, but we fully realize that you wanna hear all of the Benatar classics too — powerful and liberating numbers like “Love Is a Battlefield,” “Invincible,” and “We Belong.” Well, you can if you buy one of the few remaining tickets for a performance by Pat and Neil Giraldo at MGM National Harbor on Tuesday, July 24!
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Photo by Danny Clinch)
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit released The Nashville Sound, their sixth studio album, in 2017 via Southeastern. The band will perform songs old and new at Wolf Trap on Tuesday, July 24.
