Bundling acts together for summer tours doesn’t just provide entertainment value, it also allows fans of one act to be introduced (or reintroduced) to acts they might otherwise not have bought a ticket for — and being pleasantly surprised as a result. At first look, the Americana stardom of critics’ favorite Jason Isbell might not […]
Category Archives: Music
Belle & Sebastian, et al, at Wolf Trap
Two summers of canceled or delayed concert tours due to COVID has not only resulted in a pent-up desire among music fans to get out and enjoy, but caused a big pile-up of top acts sharing bills in order to fit in all the season’s dates. There’d be no reason that, say, Belle & Sebastian […]
Rocker John Doe Reaches Way Back
If you didn’t know he was a central figure of the L.A. punk scene, you’d think John Doe might have leapfrogged straight from the dusty circuit of 1940s country-western. In the inaugural set of the John Doe Trio at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Va., the lanky entertainer sported a classic cowboy shirt, sang behind a […]
Laurie Anderson Flies Lou Reed Drones
More than a half century ago Lou Reed would end the sparsely attended shows by the Velvet Underground by leaning their buzzing guitars against the amps, allowing the pulsing waves of feedback to continue long after the band had left the stage. Nine years after Lou left for this mortal coil for good, he would […]
Santana, Making That Note Sing at 74
There is something about the serenity and tone of Carlos Santana that keeps him soaring, more than a half century after the world ignited from the Latin fire he brought to Woodstock. The magic of that appearance, which essentially made the band’s career, continues to be alive as the band that performs under his name […]
Mike Campbell’s The Dirty Knobs Arrive
With Tom Petty gone since 2017, fans have flocked to the shows of his longtime guitarist, producer, and collaborator Mike Campbell. With the same kind of Florida panhandle twang, rock ’n’ roll pedigree and especially taste in top hats, he’s the closest and most authentic connection to a beloved body of music. But the talented […]
Remembering Taylor Hawkins, 1972-2022
It was shocking to hear about the death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, not just because of his young age, just 50, but because of how much life he brought to his band — in hard-hitting execution, but also sheer enthusiasm. He brought joy to rock ’n’ roll and one of its last remaining […]
Poguetry in Motion Back at the Black Cat
The Pogues and St. Patrick’s Day were always a natural combination to be celebrated by the Irish from any background. Many are the fans who clamored to see the Irish roots punk band on their annual March visits to the East Coast. Nearly as welcome, then, is the tour by Poguetry in Motion, which played […]
St. Paul & The Broken Bones Among Us
“It’s been two and a half years since I’ve been able to be with an audience,” Paul Janeway, the venerable saint of the soul band St. Paul and the Broken Bones, told the crowd at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington Tuesday. He wasn’t talking about performing; the band had played dozens of shows since the […]
Remembering Meat Loaf, 1947-2022
Marvin Lee Aday who made his name as a larger-than-life rock singer named Meat Loaf, died Thursday at 74 in Austin. He had been born in Texas as well, but lived a lot of his life in Connecticut, where he spent a lot of time out of the limelight coaching girls’ softball in Redding. He […]