DC’s top blog for live concert reviews
Arlo Parks (Photo courtesy United Talent Artists)
At the beginning of this year, UK singer-songwriter Arlo Parks released Collapsed in Sunbeams, her debut full-length album, via Beatnik and Transgressive Records. Arlo now brings her Collapsed in Sunbeams Tour to Union Stage on Tuesday, Oct. 26!
John Craigie performs at DC’s Union Stage on Oct. 6, 2021. (Photo by Casey Vock)
Standing on stage as a performing musician is likely daunting enough for anyone who is brave enough to put themselves out there. Imagine also tasking yourself with trying to earnestly engage and entertain an audience in between each and every song?
It’s a lesser-embraced style these days, but there’s one gentleman who has built his reputation and his career on the same kind of performances as those that defined the careers of the most famous proponents of the talking blues, men like Woodie Guthrie decades ago, and maybe someone like a Todd Snyder these days. That man is John Craigie, and he brought that style to Union Stage recently.
Rufus Wainwright is back with new pop-oriented material with Unfollow the Rules and also a new tour, leading him to DC and The Anthem on a recently cooling early Autumn night.
This pop reinvention follows Wainwright’s work on an opera, Prima Donna (his second; the first being Hadrian) and an LP of songs based on the work of William Shakespeare. (Shakespeare and the opera play heavily throughout his body of work as far back as his debut and “Damned Ladies” — one to definitely check out!)
Joe Ciccarello (Photo courtesy Eventbrite)
DC musician Joe Ciccarello writes and performs songs with voice, guitar, bass, drums, violin, mandolin, saxophone, and more! He recently released his debut album, New Life, available on Bandcamp and Spotify.
Songbyrd Presents Joe in a livestream from Songbyrd Music House on Friday, Feb. 19!
Waxahatchee (Photo by Molly Matalon)
Waxahatchee (aka Katie Crutchfield) has had a busy week, not only making her late night debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! but also performing alongside Kevin Morby on CBS This Morning. Performing “Fire” and “Lilacs” from last year’s critically acclaimed Saint Cloud, Waxahatchee again proves why she is one of the most important voices in music right now.
Madi Diaz (Photo by Lily Pepper)
Nashville-based Madi Diaz marks a full restart of her artistic career with “Man in Me,” her poignant debut single/video for ANTI-.
Tex Crick (Photo courtesy the artist)
Australian artist Tex Crick announces his debut album, Live In… New York City. Out March 26, it’s the first album released via Mac’s Record Label besides Mac DeMarco’s own work.
Taking a leaf from piano-driven pop records of a bygone era, the album is an homage to sentimentality, merging classic songcraft with a naturally delicate approach to instrumentation. This is immediate in the lead single/video, “Sometimes I Forget.”
Grace Potter (Photo by Pamela Neal)
Last year, Grace Potter released her latest studio album, Daylight, and she toured the country earlier this year with a stop at The Anthem in DC. Soon after, COVID-19 shut the country down, and live touring stopped.
But Grace is among a number of pioneers bringing live performances back with drive-in shows where audiences experience a big concert from their car. Catch Grace Potter in Showtime at the Drive in locally at the Frederick Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Oct. 21, in a show presented by All Good Presents and Baltimore Soundstage.
Cat Janice (Photo courtesy Jammin’ Java)
DC alt-rocker Cat Janice performs in a free outdoor show at Jammin’ Java on Friday, Sept. 18.
Although the show is free, Cat is appearing as a show in the Jammin’ Java series A Song and A Slice, which benefits charity’s of the artists choice. Jammin’ Java accepts donations for BYP100, chose by Cat, during the show.
Alan Scott (Photo courtesy Sacks & Co.)
In the wake of social unrest and long-overdue increased awareness of institutionalized racism surrounding the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others, DC songwriter and recording artist Alan Scott’s viral 2016 single and video “You Only See Me When I’m Gone” — written originally to address issues of race and police brutality following the tragic death of Eric Garner — was recently re-released.
Angel K
AJ Waugh
ambienteye
Ari Strauss
Andy Jillson
Brenda Reyes
Chester Simpson
chriscastilloweb
Chris R. Smyth
Casey Vock
Daniel Webb
David LaMason
EDMit it
Shantel M Breen
isaiahhattix
Jason Nicholson "Le Mouton Flâneur"
jesternate
julesontheroadphotos
jwillview
kristiechua
marcshea2
Mark Caicedo
Mark Engleson
Mathew Harkins
Corey Paterson
mdxpc
Mickey McCarter
Miyun Park
Neal Keller
Parklifer
Kyle Gustafson
paivi
Rebecca
regardingtess
Robert Smith
shedrickpelt
theeternalname
Matt Ruppert
Will Colbert
Andrew Goodwin
Rick_Taylor1972