The definitive record of live music in Washington, D.C. and beyond for the 2010’s

Raphael Saadiq @ 9:30 Club -  2/9/20 [DC]
LIVE Avery Junius LIVE Avery Junius

Raphael Saadiq @ 9:30 Club - 2/9/20 [DC]

For over 30 years, musical savant and triple threat (singer, songwriter, producer) Raphael Saadiq has run the game. From leading the multi-platinum 1990's group Tony! Toni! Tone!, to having Executive Producer credits on Solange's highly acclaimed A Seat at the Table, plus a Grammy Award with a plethora of nominations, Saadiq's name is forever a part of modern music history.

Read More
Bonny Light Horseman @ Songbyrd Music House [DC] - 2/4/2020
LIVE Michael Zwirn LIVE Michael Zwirn

Bonny Light Horseman @ Songbyrd Music House [DC] - 2/4/2020

Folk "supergroup" Bonny Light Horseman, born out of a chance collaboration at the 2015 Eau Claire festival, is a fascinating standalone project of three musicians — Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown), Eric Johnson (Fruit Bats), and Josh Kaufman (Bob Weir, Hiss Golden Messenger) —  each with a distinguished track record, uniting over a shared love of folk music in the Anglo-American traditions.

Of the three, singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell offers the deepest credentials in folk music, from her 2013 record of the Child Ballads, the anthology of Scots-English traditional folksongs, and her Tony Award-winning adaptation of mythology in Hadestown. Johnson provides his extraordinary facility with banjo and guitar and his effortless tenor. In contrast, Kaufman, the quietest member of the trio, provides much of the texture of Bonny Light Horseman's refracted folk songs, on steel guitar and other instrumentation…

Read More
Illiterate Light @ DC9 [DC] - 1/25/2019
LIVE Carolina Correa Caro LIVE Carolina Correa Caro

Illiterate Light @ DC9 [DC] - 1/25/2019

Hailing from the quiet college town of Harrisonburg, Virginia, Illiterate Light’s Jeff Gorman and Jake Cochran have gone from playing in bands during their time at James Madison University to releasing their self-titled debut album through Atlantic Records.

Read More
Garcia Peoples @ Colectivo Backroom [MKE] - 1/17/20
LIVE Kevin Hill LIVE Kevin Hill

Garcia Peoples @ Colectivo Backroom [MKE] - 1/17/20

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow – a LOT of snow – could keep the Garcia Peoples faithful from receiving their latest sermon Friday night in Milwaukee. Fresh of a residency at Nublu in New York City and a WILD triple bill to close out the decade, the sextet from New Jersey (along with a little help from opener/Milwaukee resident Kendra Amalie) braved the storm to deliver a tight and ferocious 90-minute set that highlighted their songwriting chops as much as it made room for the jams that their fans crave. 

Read More
Yola  @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 1/10/2020
LIVE Mauricio Castro LIVE Mauricio Castro

Yola @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 1/10/2020

The four-time Grammy nominee graced DC’s 9:30 Club with a performance full of favorites from her 2019 debut Walk Through Fire and brought some Elton John, Joni Mitchell, and Aretha Franklin covers too.

Read More
Tyler Childers  @ The Anthem [DC] - 12/13/19
LIVE Joel Richard LIVE Joel Richard

Tyler Childers @ The Anthem [DC] - 12/13/19

Tyler Childers didn't talk much through a 23-song set that spanned the best of his early acoustic work and his two recent full-length studio albums, 2017's breakout Purgatory and 2019's Country Squire. Toward the end, he admitted he was feeling a bit under the weather, but it never showed through his two-hour performance.

Read More
Miami Horror @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 11/29/19
LIVE Mauricio Castro LIVE Mauricio Castro

Miami Horror @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 11/29/19

The Australian-based Miami Horror is in the midst of a musical transformation. Since the last time they passed through 9:30 Club in support of 2015’s All Possible Futures, guitarist Joshua Moriarty took a break to focus on a solo album (and entertaining podcast), and guitarist/keyboardist Aaron Shanahan left after seven years to pursue a new musical project. Founding member Benjamin Plant (who initially used the name for his solo project) and keyboardist Daniel Whitechurch have remade the live band in a new image, bringing in Australian drummer Kosta Theodosis and American vocalists TC Milan and Reva DeVito. 

Read More
Kim Petras @ Fillmore Silver Spring [DC] - 11/20/2019
LIVE Hailey Collins LIVE Hailey Collins

Kim Petras @ Fillmore Silver Spring [DC] - 11/20/2019

Just before Thanksgiving, German pop star Kim Petras returned to the Fillmore Silver Spring on her second US tour of the year. Joined onstage by her DJ and songwriting partner, Aaron Joseph, Kim opened the night with “Clarity,” the title track of her most recent album and proceeded to deliver a massive twenty-three song set that featured material from her entire discography, and no less than FOUR outfit/hair changes. 

Read More
Oh He Dead @ Pearl Street Warehouse [DC] - 11/22/2019
LIVE Mauricio Castro LIVE Mauricio Castro

Oh He Dead @ Pearl Street Warehouse [DC] - 11/22/2019

Oh He Dead is feeling all the love right now, and it's well-deserved. The DC-based group (and arguably one of the area's best) began as a two-piece acoustic duo and eventually landed on and expanded band and a soul-infused sound that is best exemplified in their NPR Tiny Desk Contest submission, "Lonely Sometimes."

Read More
Neon Indian @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 11/16/2019
LIVE Mauricio Castro LIVE Mauricio Castro

Neon Indian @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 11/16/2019

Alan Palomo is proudly putting his Mexican heritage on display with his first new song in more than four years, the funky-sounding "Toyota Man." It carries the musical DNA of 2015's VEGA INTL. Night School, but this time, Palomo is taking a stand against anti-immigrant sentiments that have come to a head in the United States. The chorus of the song, mostly sung in Spanish, goes: "We came to study / we want to work / and even though they try to deny it / we are all Americans." The song was one of two new tracks Palomo performed at 9:30 Club. 

Read More
Tool @ Capital One Arena [DC] - 11/25/19
LIVE Joel Richard LIVE Joel Richard

Tool @ Capital One Arena [DC] - 11/25/19

In a punishing set at Washington, D.C.'s Capital One Arena, prog/metal gods Tool (singer Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor, and drummer Danny Carey) delivered two-and-a-half hours of churning, polyrhythmic insanity. Touring behind this year's long-awaited Fear Innoculum, the all-inclusive setlist highlighted how complementary the new songs are with the back catalog. "Fear Innoculum" the song was paired with "Aenema" to kick things off, and things just got heavier from there. 

Read More
Mikaela Davis and Southern Star @ Songbyrd [DC] - 11/11/2019
LIVE Mauricio Castro LIVE Mauricio Castro

Mikaela Davis and Southern Star @ Songbyrd [DC] - 11/11/2019

Mikaela Davis may have had to cancel her show the night before in Philly, but she was in high spirits on this night at Songbyrd in DC. The classically-trained harp player has been touring places that her instrument usually doesn't show up, like on the stage of Lock'n Festival performing with Bob Weir. The Grateful Dead admiration goes a long way - in fact, this tour featured a two-set performance from Davis and her band, one of which was dedicated to The Dead. 

Read More
Big Freedia @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 10/29/2019
LIVE Mauricio Castro LIVE Mauricio Castro

Big Freedia @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 10/29/2019

The queen of bounce music had to fly in her personal physician for her recent 9:30 Club show — she tore a tendon from all the dancing delivered on tour — but even a doctor-ordered boot can't stop Big Freedia, Queen Diva. 

Read More
Kindness @ U Street Music Hall [DC] - 11/1/2019
LIVE Mauricio Castro LIVE Mauricio Castro

Kindness @ U Street Music Hall [DC] - 11/1/2019

Adam Bainbridge (who identifies as they/them) has found recent success producing for the likes of Robyn, Blood Orange, and Solange, but it’s their output where they can run free with that sound. Something Like a War is a self-produced, self-released dreamy R&B/soul album from Bainbridge, and their first in five years since the excellent Otherness.

Read More
Charli XCX @ 9:30 Club - 10/18/2019
LIVE Hailey Collins LIVE Hailey Collins

Charli XCX @ 9:30 Club - 10/18/2019

Since the release of her 2016 EP Vroom Vroom, Charli XCX has continued to craft songs that challenge the definition of conventional Pop music. With the release of multiple mixtapes (Number 1 Angel, Pop 2) and her latest full-length Charli, she has built up a large community of collaborators and created a liberating party atmosphere around herself and her music. 

Read More
Clairo @ 9:30 Club [DC] 11/12/19
LIVE Hailey Collins LIVE Hailey Collins

Clairo @ 9:30 Club [DC] 11/12/19

Clairo has come a long way from uploading songs recorded on her Macbook to YouTube. However, her raw and DIY style is still carried throughout all of her music and live performances. Her style clearly resonates with her devoted teenaged audience, as she has very quickly become the face of the Bedroom Pop genre in 2019.

Read More
Matt Maeson @ U Street Music Hall [DC] - 10/30/19
LIVE Joel Richard LIVE Joel Richard

Matt Maeson @ U Street Music Hall [DC] - 10/30/19

Matt Maeson’s show at U Street Music Hall competed with game seven of the World Series in a town that was desperate to end a 95-year championship drought. Regardless of the night’s high stakes, his fans--including a few in Nats gear--filled the sold-out room.

Read More