Jack Johnson recently came to Merriweather Post Pavilion for date on his Surfilmusic Tour. He brought his friends, Hermanos Gutiérrez, with him to open the show. And he made sure everyone in the crowd felt like a friend by the time the show was over.
“There was only one problem,” Steve Kilbey deadpanned as he prepared to introduce “An Unguarded Moment” during The Church’s recent performance at the 9:30 Club. Before launching into one of the band’s defining songs, the frontman took the audience on a detour back to 1981, when The Church suddenly found themselves unlikely pop stars in Australia after the song became a hit.
Sammy Hagar, the legendary “Red Rocker” and former Van Halen frontman, brought his Best of All Worlds band to MGM National Harbor for two recent sold-out nights. I caught the opening night, and it delivered exactly what fans came to hear: more than two hours of expertly played hard rock celebrating one of the greatest catalogs of the genre.
Stella Cole recently returned to The Birchmere for what she happily told the audience was her fifth appearance at the legendary Alexandria venue. Her love affair with The Birchmere clearly continues, and the feeling seems to be mutual. Cole is currently touring across the United States, with dates scheduled through September, and although she joked that she had recently enjoyed two weeks at home, she admitted she was happy to be back on the road.
There’s something almost unfair about seeing Spoon when they’re between albums. No new record to promote means no obligation to front-load the set with songs you don’t know yet. Instead, you get what happened at Nevermore Hall on June 24: a band reaching across more than two decades of material and pulling out bangers, deep cuts and other crowd faves. The result was one of the best Spoon sets I’ve seen.
The Breeders, one of the defining alternative rock bands of the 1990s, are back on tour and recently stopped at Baltimore’s Nevermore Hall, the venue formerly known as Rams Head Live. Though the building has a new name, it once again proved to be an outstanding place to catch a legendary band in an intimate setting.
The evening offered everything fans could hope for: the classic Breeders sound, an impressive opening performance from Violet Grohl, a sold-out crowd, and a birthday celebration for longtime drummer Jim Macpherson.
The first time I saw Scottish alternative rock legends Del Amitri was on Sept. 26, 1985. They were supporting indie rock pioneers The Smiths at Caird Hall in Dundee, Scotland. They had joined The Smiths for the brief Scottish leg of the Meat Is Murder tour, and although I was there for the headliners, I’m grateful I arrived early. I vividly remember Justin Currie’s urgent, pleading vocals, complemented by Iain Harvie’s melodic yet melancholic guitar work. At times staccato, at others soaring, Harvie’s playing propelled Currie’s songs of relationships, longing, disappointment and, only occasionally, resolution.
Their self-titled debut album stayed with me for months afterward, all the way until the next time I saw them at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., on July 28, 1986. They had been opening for Lloyd Cole and The Commotions on that tour but played a rare headlining show that night. I remember a few friends and I plastering flyers around the neighborhood beforehand — glorious, celebratory times.
VANS Warped Tour 2026: It’s Not Just a Phase
Review by Liz Wyatt
Photos by Steve Satzberg
My first rodeo at Warped Tour began amid a sea of fishnet-clad and checkered, unfazed emos (I guess it’s not a phase). We found Free Throw already throwing down thunderous bass on the Vans Stage. With no time to linger, I had to get to Codefendants on the other end at the Eagle Stage. It was already packed, but I found a sweet spot under a speaker.
Ceschi Ramos and his satin tongue were spewing lyrics faster and more rhythmically than an adult novelty. He caught me in my jiggles, and before I knew it I was in a mosh pit — or so I thought. It was actually a gentle early-day ring-around-the-rosie compared to Day Two. Did I just fall in love? The speakers thundered and thundered, then alas, just like love… it was over. To the left, on the Verizon Stage, The Wrecks were ready to rock. What a fan base. The whole crowd had their arms up, swaying to and fro.
Wednesday evening was mild for late June, with a clear blue sky, perfect for a night of live music at Wolf Trap with three incredible singers: Melissa Etheridge, Wynonna Judd, and area native Maggie Rose. They deliver and evening that was both thrilling, with Etheridge and Judd backed by high-octane bands, and tender, with touching lovely moments where the artists connected with the audience.
It’s always an event when the hometown hero returns to the city, so when Wale and Smino’s Everything is A lot Tour stopped in DC for not 1 but 2 nights, you should already know you’re in for a show. I’ve caught both artist individually in the last 12 months on their own separate tours before teaming up for a 2026 summer run.
Opting for an outdoor venue, the sold-out show was the first concert of the summer at Plaza Stage at Nationals Park. The outdoor scenery, along with the ballpark concessions and homecoming vibes, gave the entire night an indescribable block party energy that you recognize as soon as you step into it. Maryland singer and songwriter Alex Vaughn hit the stage first, accompanied by the DMV’s favorite DJ Little Bacon Bear, to warm people up and start the night off strong. Alex performed several of her original songs, along with a couple of covers, before finishing her set, having all the ladies in the crowd singing “Stop hallucinating over lame ass niggas” the famous line from her 2022 song Mirage.
