Live Review: Fantastic Negrito w/ Mike Montali @ 9:30 Club — 6/22/22

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Mark Engleson in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, blues, California, Fantastic Negrito, folk, Mike Montali, Oakland, R&B, Rashad Polk.

Fantastic Negrito performs at 9:30 Club on June 22, 2022. (Photos by Rashad Polk; Words by Mark Engleson)

Fantastic Negrito’s latest album, White Jesus, Black Problems, is deeply personal. It delves into family history, into the story of his seventh-generation great-grandparents, an enslaved Black man and indentured Scottish servant woman, who came together in Virginia in 1759. That’s not to say his other albums aren’t personal as well: The Last Days of Oakland is very much about the city where he was raised as one of 14 children. But the focus in his recent performance at the 9:30 Club was on telling the story of that interracial union.

“I wasn’t who I thought I was,” Fantastic Negrito explained. “But I’m exactly who I need to be.”

Live Review: Curtis Harding @ Black Cat — 5/2/22

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Casey Vock in Live Review and tagged Black Cat, Curtis Harding, Michigan, R&B, soul.

Curtis Harding leads his band in a performance at Black Cat on May 2, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)

A unique path with a full spectrum of influences can lead to refreshing, innovative artistic ideas, especially in music.

By the time he released his first album in 2014, Curtis Harding had gained a wide perspective both with his ears and his eyes thanks to an uncommon upbringing and an early run of success as a member of various outfits, including working alongside some of the country’s most noteworthy rap and hip-hop artists.

Ticket Giveaway: Homeshake @ 9:30 Club, 4/22/22

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged 9:30 Club, Canada, free tickets, Homeshake, hypnagogic pop, lo-fi, Montreal, R&B, ticket giveaway.

Homeshake (Photo by Salina Ladha)

Peter Sagar, more popularly known as Homeshake, first made his name as guitarist for Mac DeMarco! The Montreal-based singer-songwriter released Under the Weather, his fifth studio album as Homeshake, last year, and now he’s coming to perform at 9:30 Club on Friday, April 22.

You can win tix to see the show with Parklife DC!

Live Review: Joan Osborne @ The Birchmere — 3/31/22

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Mark Engleson in Live Review and tagged Brooklyn, country rock, folk, Joan Osborne, New York City, R&B, The Birchmere.

Joan Osborne (Photo courtesy the artist)

Joan Osborne achieved breakthrough fame and success in the ’90s with “One Of Us.” It didn’t come overnight, though; she had been playing small clubs for years. And while she still sings that song, her career arc has gone back to mining much of the interpretive work in roots music she came up doing. Along the way, she’s received a Grammy nomination (for Best Blues album for Breakfast in Bed), recorded the songs of Bob Dylan and others, and still found time for her own original songs along the way.

Joan’s influences are eclectic, but she probably draws most heavily from the blues, so it’s fitting that she began her performance at The Birchmere recently with a cover of Muddy Waters’s classic “I Want To Be Love,” which she recorded on Bring It On Home.

Live Review: Jazmine Sullivan @ The Anthem — 3/20/22

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Will Colbert in Live Review and tagged Jazmine Sullivan, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, R&B, soul, The Anthem.

Jazmne Sullivan performs at The Anthem in DC on March 20, 2022. (Photo by Will Colbert)

Jazmine Sullivan has never been one to mince words. In 2008, the multi-Grammy nominated R&B singer-songwriter voiced the fury of jilted lovers — and possibly inspired a few felonies — on the revenge anthem “Bust Your Windows.” Sullivan’s latest release is titled “Heaux Tales.” The conceptual project is a collection of perspectives on sex, insecurity, loss, and the power of the P — which doesn’t stand for prude. The Philadelphia soul singer shared these provocative stories during a recent sold-out show at The Anthem in DC.

Preview: Joan Osborne @ The Birchmere, 3/31/22

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged Brooklyn, country rock, folk, Joan Osborne, New York City, R&B, The Birchmere.

Joan Osborne (Photo by Jeff Fasano)

In support of her acclaimed new album Radio Waves, singer/songwriter Joan Osborne performs at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, March 31!

Snapshots: Rickie Lee Jones @ Rams Head on Stage — 3/1/22

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Jason Nicholson "Le Mouton Flâneur" in Live Review and tagged folk, R&B, Rams Head On Stage, Rickie Lee Jones, soft rock.

Rickie Lee Jones performs at Rams Head on Stage on March 1, 2022. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)

Rickie Lee Jones flew into Maryland a few days prior to her gig at Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis, and she first made an apparent stop in Bethesda.

A dance instructor here reported Rickie Lee dropped by the city’s famed Hank Dietle’s Tavern and lent a hand to teaching a two-step dance lesson. Could you imagine turning up at Hank Dietle’s one random night and taking a dance lesson with none other than the Duchess of Coolsville?

Preview: Rickie Lee Jones @ Rams Head on Stage, 3/1/22

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged folk, R&B, Rams Head On Stage, Rickie Lee Jones, soft rock.

Rickie Lee Jones (Photo by Astor Morgan)

American icon Rickie Lee Jones released a memoir last year, and now she’s on the road performing the songs that made her a part of American rock history. Catch Rickie at Rams Head on Stage on Tuesday, March 1.

Preview: Washed Out @ 9:30 Club, 2/9/22

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged 9:30 Club, Atlanta, bedroom pop, dreampop, Georgia, R&B, Washed Out.

Washed Out (Photo by Blair Greene)

Washed Out is Atlanta-based producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ernest Greene. Over the course of three uniquely enchanting, critically-lauded albums and an EP, the music he makes has proved both transportive and visual, each new effort inviting listeners into immersive, self-contained universes.

With Purple Noon, his fourth album, and return to Sub Pop, he delivers the most accessible Washed Out creation to date. Travel with Washed Out in his performance at 9:30 Club on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

Live Review: Griff @ Songbyrd Music House — 1/25/22

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Parklifer in Live Review and tagged Amy Allen, Ben Eisendrath, England, Griff, R&B, Songbyrd Music House.

Griff performs at Songbyrd Music House on Jan. 25, 2022. (Photo by Ben Eisendrath)

I took my cameras to Songbyrd Music House a couple nights ago to shoot Amy Allen and Griff for Parklife, and I have to relay that both acts are definitely worth checking out.