The Pietasters (Photo courtesy Ticketfly)
The last album by DC ska legends The Pietasters may be All Day, released 10 years ago, but the rocksteady collective continues to tour regularly. (Parklife DC saw them recently at Snallygaster beer festival!) As part of their annual routine, The Pietasters perform a holiday show at 9:30 Club, and you can win a pair of tickets to see their next one on Friday, Nov. 24.
The Shins (Photo courtesy Columbia Records)
Beloved indie rockers The Shins returned with Heartworms, their fifth studio album, on Columbia Records in March. James Mercer and his bandmates are now touring to commemorate the new album with a stop at The Anthem on Thursday, Nov. 2.
Al Jourgensen fronts Ministry at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by Paivi)
In the run-up to releasing new album AmeriKKKant via Nuclear Blast in March 2018, industrial metal giants Ministry destroyed The Fillmore Silver Spring on Thursday, Oct. 19 while on tour with Death Grips. Paivi was there to shoot the show.
Peter Zaremba sings with The Fleshtones at U Street Music Hall on Oct. 20, 2017. (Photo by Ben Eisendrath /Instagram+Twitter: Insomnigraphic/GrillworksBen)
Lower Manhattan long will be regarded as one of the epicenters of great American rock music, in particular for the bands that came out of New York in the mid-to-late ’70s. The likes of Blondie, the Talking Heads, and the Ramones burst from CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City, putting Manhattan on the musical map.
While many of Blondie’s contemporaries have faded, it came as some small surprise to me that one of the better groups of the era never took a break and still tour strong today. The Fleshtones performed at U Street Music Hall to correct my oversight on Oct. 20, and I was easily won over by their ear for really great tunes and their eye for smart stagecraft.
Boy Harsher (Photo by Adriana Iris Boatwright)
Hailing from Northampton, Massachusetts, dark electronic duo Boy Harsher released Country Girl, a new EP, on Oct. 13. Augustus Miller and Jae Matthews then picked up some tour dates, and they perform at DC9 on Sunday, Oct. 29 with DC’s own dark electronic duo Technophobia.
Chappell Roan performs at the Lincoln Theatre on Oct. 19, 2017 (Photo by David LaMason)
Chappell Roan, the performing name of Kayleigh Rose, has a powerful voice that belies her 19 years.
Hailing from Willard, Missouri, Chappell Roan signed to Atlantic Records a couple of years ago. She released her debut EP, School Nights, on Sept. 22, and then she stopped at the Lincoln Theatre on tour with Vance Joy and Amy Shark on Oct. 19. (Read our Parklife DC review of Vance Joy.)
Shaun Frank (Photo by Joshua Shultz)
Canadian DJ and producer Shaun Frank swings by Echostage in DC on Friday, Oct. 27, to open for Krewella on their New World Tour. Get to the show early to catch Shaun in action!
Lost Frequencies (Photo courtesy Mitch Schneider Organization)
Lost Frequencies released his debut full-length album in 2016 but he returned with a deluxe edition of the record, Less Is More, via Ultra Music in July. The Belgian producer has been on tour, and he visits Flash in DC on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Cloud Nothings (Photo by Jesse Lirola)
Cleveland indie rockers Cloud Nothings are on tour with Japandroids in the wake of releasing Life Without Sound, their fourth studio album, via Carpark Records earlier this year. The tour locally lands at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday, Oct. 30.
Vance Joy sings to a sold-out crowd at the Lincoln Theatre on Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by David LaMason)
Vance Joy, the stage name for Australian James Gabriel Keogh, plays the type of music that feels immediately recognizable, like comfort food for your heart. Acoustic-based, many of the songs on 2015’s Dream Your Life Away have a Dylanesque quality that is matched with a powerful voice.
