Remembering Aretha Franklin, 1942-2018
The decline and hospice of Aretha Franklin over the past days still didn’t prepare for the loss of her death Thursday at 76. For decades the undisputed Queen of Soul,…
Taylor Swift’s Big, Big Stadium Show
Despite the dizzying confluence of torches, fireworks, lights, immense video screens, dancing squads, light-up fan wristbands and three-story snakes — so many snakes — in Taylor Swift’s big Reputation stadium…
The Feelies at the 930 Club
The fast jangle and hypnotic rhythms of The Feelies is not just a warm throwback to 1980s when their first album ushered in a precise kind of frantic nerd rock,…
At the ‘Luke Cage’ Premiere Party
The second season of “Luke Cage” (Netflix, streaming) begins tonight on the service, but there was a premiere party the other night at the Kennedy Center celebrating Marvel’s bulletproof brother…
U2 Tells Its Story at CapitolOne Arena
It was only last year when U2 hit the stadium circuit for a kind of nostalgia immersion with the 30th anniversary of "The Joshua Tree." The give and take for…
Jimmie Dale Gilmore Joins Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore had known each other for years on the Americana circuit, but it wasn’t until they joined forces for a brief acoustic tour last year…
The Jayhawks Get Twangy
Talk about rainy day music. The last licks of Hurricane Michael were blowing rain into Virginia the soaking night of the Jayhawks’ return to The Birchmere. And it was the…
Belle and Sebastian at The Anthem
Belle and Sebastian’s current tour is a movable feast, where substantially different set lists are conjured each night, whole sections of musicians are added and subtracted, and the fun being…
Amadou & Miriam at the Birchmere
One might think that the whole of the Washington D.C./Maryland/Virginia metro area were clad in red and glued to what would be the winning game in the Stanley Cup Finals…
Ry Cooder at The Birchmere
The venerable guitarist Ry Cooder took a seat to kick off his "Prodigal Son" tour Monday not because he was weary at 71. No, he said. Sitting in the direct line of…