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Bryan Ferry performs at The Anthem on Aug. 13, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
In March, Roxy Music was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In a speech formally presenting the honor, Duran Duran’s Simon LeBon recalled how Roxy’s first single “Virginia Plain” was a pop culture bomb to the British public.
Bryan Ferry (Photo by Niel Kirk)
Just days ago, Bryan Ferry launched a North American tour that celebrates Roxy Music’s 1982 album, Avalon. He arrives at The Anthem in DC on Tuesday, Aug. 13, for what could well be the best show of the year!
China Crisis (Photo courtesy the artist)
UK sophistipop duo China Crisis has made fantastic music, much of which I personally relate to the English New Romantics and their passionate style of forward-looking lyrics with rousing synthpop.
While they’ve been consistently active since their days on the charts, the band’s visits to the United States have been rare until recently. And now, China Crisis performs at City Winery on Thursday, Dec. 6.
Thomas Dolby tells a tale at The Birchmere on July 30, 2018. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Thomas Dolby’s uncle, Stephen Spring-Rice, died in World War II as the second in command onboard a British Navy WWII submarine P48. According to family folklore, the submarine ran aground during a training mission, and all hands were lost at sea.
Inspired by the tale, Thomas wrote “One of Our Submarines,” which appeared as the B-side to his famous single “She Blinded Me With Science.” In an evening of storytelling and music at The Birchmere on Monday, however, Thomas revealed the story didn’t quite end there.
Martin Fry fronts ABC during the Retro Futura Tour at the Bergen Performing Arts Center on July 14, 2018. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Make no mistake — every act on the mini-music festival known as the Retro Futura Tour is well worth your time and money. Limahl, Tony Lewis, and Modern English are top-notch acts! But you certainly get everything you could want and more during Retro Futura with headliners Belinda Carlisle and ABC starring Martin Fry, and both absolutely stunned in their turns on the tour at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in New Jersey on Saturday.
Belinda Carlisle (Photo courtesy Paradise Artists)
If like me, you miss the days of sitting in front of MTV and soaking up all of the good music that came your way, then Retro Futura has a deal for you.
Retro Futura, the long-running traveling ‘80s music festival, comes around for another summer with the beautiful Belinda Carlisle, ABC (featuring the ever-dashing Martin Fry), post-punk masters Modern English, Tony Lewis of The Outfield, Limahl (of chart-toppers Kajagoogoo), and Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow. Check out tickets for their performance at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Bergen, New Jersey, on July 14!
Vérité performs at 9:30 Club on April 7, 2018. (Photo by Paivi)
Sophistipop chanteuse Vérité visited 9:30 Club to open Eden on Saturday, and Paivi took some pictures of the Brooklyn singer, born Kelsey Byrne.
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Mike Garson (Photo by Jiro Schneider)
To tell the story of David Bowie is to tell the story of the musicians he chose to play with him over his career spanning roughly 50 years. For at least 30 of those years, pianist Mike Garson sat next to Bowie in the studio and on the stage. Listeners perhaps first heard Mike in the fantastic piano on “Aladdin Sane” in 1973. Now, Mike is leading a team of musicians who performed shows with Bowie in a tribute concert called Celebrating David Bowie, and locally the show launches a North American tour at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Mike played piano on at least 16 Bowie albums, beginning with Aladdin Sane and ending with A Reality Tour (live album). The Celebrating David Bowie show presents his vision of a concert by David today, including songs like “Ashes to Ashes, “Let’s Dance,” “Life on Mars,” “Fame,” “The Man Who Sold the World,” and more. Parklife DC caught up with Mike Garson to chat about the tour, the last time he saw David Bowie, and his plans for keeping David’s music alive.
Mike Garson, known as David Bowie’s “piano man,” assembled a wildly successful tribute to his former colleague with a tour called Celebrating David Bowie, which swept Europe in recent months. The show opens in the United States at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Saturday, Feb. 10!
Martin Gore performs with Depeche Mode at Capital One Arena on Sept. 7, 2017. (Photo by Ben Eisendrath /Instagram+Twitter: ConspiracyCaptures/GrillworksBen)
The year 2017 was a good year for revisiting old friends as they returned to remind us that they truly still “got it.” In the past year, Parklife DC reviewed a great deal of musicians and bands, and the performances that really distinguished themselves often came as something of a pleasant surprise.
