JULY

• Pink Martini — The popular cocktail lounge act returns to Wolf Trap, again with NPR’s Ari Shapiro as special guest (7/10, Wolf Trap)
• Jason D. Williams and Dale Watson & His Lone Stars (7/10, Birchmere)
• The Heydaze (7/10, DC9)
• The Persuasions (7/10, AMP by Strathmore)
• Dierks Bentley with Kip Moore, Maddie & Tae and Canaan Smith — Part of Jiffy Lube Live’s 2015 Country Megaticket (7/10, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Wolf Trap Opera: The Ghosts of Versailles (7/10, 7/12, 7/15, 7/18, Wolf Trap)
• Mint Condition (7/11, Fillmore Silver Spring)
• Father — 9:30 Club presents this concert (7/11, U Street Music Hall)
• NSO @ Wolf Trap — Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, plus Sarah Chang plays Bruch (7/11, Wolf Trap)
• Old Time Banjo Festival — Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Jayme Stone, David Reed and Adam Hurt perform at this 9th annual event (7/11, Birchmere)
• Mr Twin Sister (7/11, DC9)
• R5, Jacob Whitesides — A party-pop quintet featuring a Disney Channel star and a Dancing With The Stars competitor performs at Wolf Trap with a folky-pop artist known from The X Factor (7/12, Wolf Trap)
• Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (7/12, Birchmere)
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (7/12, 9:30 Club)
• SOAK. (7/12, DC9)
• Mourn (7/13, DC9)
• Kehlani (7/14, U Street Music Hall)
• Toad The Wet Sprocket (7/14-15, Birchmere)
• Elvis Depressedly & Mitski (7/14, DC9)
• Punch Brothers with Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn — Progressive acoustic quintet is joined by 15-time Grammy-winning banjo virtuoso and his singer/banjoist wife (7/15, Wolf Trap)
• Team Familiar — D.C.’s own go-go legend’s new band performs as part of Strathmore’s Free Summer Outdoor Concert series (7/15, Strathmore)
• Night Kitchen (7/15, DC9)
• Maggie Rose — Twenty-something country singer originally from Potomac, Md. (7/16, 9:30 Club)
• Federico Aubele — 9:30 Club presents this concert by this Argentinian chillout artist affiliated with Thievery Corporation (7/16, U Street Music Hall)
• Guster — A low-boil kind of rock band, with pop and country influences (7/16, Wolf Trap)
• Body Thief (7/16, DC9)
• The Bacon Brothers with Cleopatra Degher — Zero degrees from Kevin Bacon (7/16-18, Birchmere)
• Jake Miller (7/17, 9:30 Club)
• The Weather Station (7/17, DC9)
• Idina Menzel — Broadway belter and TV guest star now best known as the voice of an emotionally frozen Disney queen (7/18, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Blues Alley’s 50th Anniversary — Strathmore toasts the legendary Georgetown jazz and blues club with a concert featuring Angela Winbush, Kindred the Family Soul and Chelsey Green (7/18, Strathmore)
• Elle King — 9:30 Club presents this concert by young rocker (7/18, U Street Music Hall)
• NSO @ Wolf Trap — Pokemon: Symphonic Evolutions, a toast to the popular Japanese franchise billed as “the must-see video game concert of the year” (7/18, Wolf Trap)
• Chopteeth — Local Afrobeat collective (7/18, AMP by Strathmore)
• Vans Warped Tour — Some 90 indie-rock acts perform at this all-day festival, many with crazy names such as Black Veil Brides, I Killed the Prom Queen, the Amity Affliction, Hands Like Houses and Koo Koo Kanga Roo (7/18, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Patti LaBelle — Soul diva and Emmy-nominated actress who performs at the Filene Center with the gospel group the Jones Family Singers (7/19, at Wolf Trap)
• Ambrosia (7/19, Birchmere)
• Neon Trees — Another year, another 9:30 Club show by this appealing gay-fronted Mormon synth-pop band (7/20, 9:30 Club)
• Son Lux (7/20, U Street Music Hall)
• Eagles (7/20, Royal Farms Arena)
• Jonny Lang (7/20, Birchmere)
• The Answer (7/21, DC9)
• Brandi Carlile — A lesbian rocker whose sharp, wide-ranging sound blends influences from a wide range of musical styles (7/22, Wolf Trap)
• Nicki Minaj — Madonna’s biggest cheerleader and reigning female rapper (7/22, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Emily King (7/22, U Street Music Hall)
• No BS! Brass Band — One of Strathmore’s Free Summer Outdoor Concert (7/22, Strathmore)
• GoldLink (7/22, 9:30 Club)
• Planes Mistaken for Stars (7/22, DC9)
• Peter White & Richard Elliot (7/23, Birchmere)
• Tanlines (7/23, U Street Music Hall)
• Hackensaw Boys –Rootsy bluegrass (7/23, AMP by Strathmore)
• Syklar Spence (7/23, DC9)
• Sam Smith w/Jazmine Sullivan — The biggest gay pop star offers one of the main concert draws of the summer (7/24, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Wolf Trap Opera: Verdi’s Aida in Concert (7/24, Wolf Trap)
• Ryn Weaver (7/24, U Street Music Hall)
• Cowboy Mouth (7/24, 9:30 Club)
• Ariana Grande with Prince Royce (7/25, Verizon Center)
• Little Boots with Prinze George — 9:30 Club presents this concert by underground British dance-pop artist and up-and-coming local synth-pop band (7/25, U Street Music Hall)
• Billy Joel (7/25, M&T Bank Stadium)
• Diana Krall (7/25, Wolf Trap)
• The Dead Milkmen (7/25, 9:30 Club)
• Rocky Votolato & Dave Hause (7/25, DC9)
• My Morning Jacket (7/26, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Memory Tapes (7/26, DC9)
• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (7/26, Birchmere)
• Marriages (7/27, DC9)
• Indigo Girls — The influential lesbian harmonizing folk duo returns to the Filene Center (7/28, Wolf Trap)
• Interpol (7/28, Echostage)
• Brandon Flowers — The lead singer of The Killers (7/29, Echostage)
• Django Django — Sharp British surf-rockers with synth-pop influence, sort of a modern-day Beach Boys (7/29, 9:30 Club)
• Jill Scott — Few tickets remain for this great neo-soul singer/songwriter and poet making her debut in the Filene Center (7/29, Wolf Trap)
• Creole United — A free Millennium Stage concert at the Kennedy Center from this band highlighting Louisiana’s Creole music tradition (7/29, Kennedy Center)
• Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen — Part of Strathmore’s Free Summer Outdoor Concert series (7/29, Strathmore)
• Dawn of Midi (7/29, DC9)
• Los Amigos Invisibles (7/30, 9:30 Club)
• The El Mansouris – A newly formed collective of D.C.-area folk/rock musicians performs a free Millennium Stage concert (7/30, Kennedy Center)
• Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals (7/30, Wolf Trap)
• School of Rock All Stars (7/30, DC9)
• NSO @ Wolf Trap featuring Rufus Wainwright — The gay singer performs his dramatic tunes with more flourish than usual, given NSO accompaniment, led by Emil de Cou (7/31, Wolf Trap)
• Laura Marling (7/31, 9:30 Club)
• Lazyeyes (7/31, DC9)
• Linda Purl and Lee Lessack — “Too Marvelous for Words: The Songs of Johnny Mercer” (7/31-8/1, AMP by Strathmore)

AUGUST

• NSO @ Wolf Trap: Star Trek — Emil de Cou conducts Michael Giacchino’s score to the 2009 film, presented in HD on a huge above the stage (8/1, Wolf Trap)
• Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives (8/1, Birchmere)
• The Rodgers Family: A Century of Musicals — Wolf Trap Opera soloists join Steven Blier of the New York Festival of Song in a recital of songs from Broadway musicals written by Richard Rodgers, his daughter Mary Rodgers and his grandson Adam Guettel (8/1, Wolf Trap)
• Veruca Salt (8/1, 9:30 Club)
• Loud Boyz (8/1, DC9)
• Faith No More (8/2, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Boz Scaggs (8/4, Strathmore)
• Graham Nash (8/5, Birchmere)
• Steely Dan with Elvis Costello (8/5, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Cheick Hamala Diabete — Part of Strathmore’s Free Summer Outdoor Concert series (8/5, Strathmore)
• Kasey Chambers — One of country’s rising starlets (8/6, Birchmere)
• The Piano Guys — This classical crossover quartet has become a YouTube sensation in recent years for its mashups of classical tunes with pop hits (8/6, Wolf Trap)
• The Gibson Brothers (8/6, AMP by Strathmore)
• Emily Skinner — “Broadway Her Way” (8/7, AMP by Strathmore)
• Wolf Trap Opera: Madama Butterfly — The NSO and Choral Arts join for a one-night-only a new staging of Puccini’s heartbreaking love story (8/7, Wolf Trap)
• Kim Waters (8/7, Birchmere)
• One Direction with Icona Pop (8/8, M&T Bank Stadium)
• Toby Keith and Friends — Part of the 2015 Country Megaticket(8/8, Jiffy Lube Live)
• 2015 Summer Spirit Festival— Erykah Badu, Anthony Hamilton, Floetry, Estelle, Junkyard Band, Toni! Toni! Tone!, Avery’Sunshine, Phony PPL and others perform at this annual soul highlight (8/8, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• NSO @ Wolf Trap: The Music of John Williams (8/8, Wolf Trap)
• Desaparecidos — Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes leads this Husker Du-esque pop-punk quintet from Nebraska (8/8, 9:30 Club)
• J. Cole with Big Sean, YG and Jeremih — Several of today’s biggest hip-hop/pop hitmakers (8/9, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Culture Club — Boy George’s hitmaking pop band from the ’80s is back in action, with a new album in the works led by punchy and grandiose single “More Than Silence” (8/10, Wolf Trap)
• Beach Slang (8/10, DC9)
• NeedToBreathe, Switchfoot, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, and Colony House — A “Tour De Compadres” of four catchy alt-rock bands (8/11, Wolf Trap)
• Slipknot — Lamb of God, Bullet for My Valentine and Motionless in White are also on this heavy metal bill (8/11, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Failure & Hum (8/11, 9:30 Club)
• Preservation Hall Jazz Band (8/13, Birchmere)
• Counting Crows (8/13, Wolf Trap)
• Basement (8/13, 9:30 Club)
• Zac Brown Band with the Avett Brothers (8/14, Nationals Park)
• Lyle Lovett & His Large Band — Alt-country (8/14, Wolf Trap)
• Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire (8/14, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Jonny Grave and the Tombstones (8/14, 9:30 Club)
• Little Big Town (8/15, Wolf Trap)
• Tank (8/15, Birchmere)
• Poseurs — 32nd Annual Reunion (8/15, DC9)
• Phish (8/15-16, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Uke & Guitar Summit — Strathmore’s annual Uke Fest put together by Grammy-winning duo Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (8/15-17, Strathmore)
• ABBA — The Concert — A tribute to the influential Swedish pop quartet (8/16, Wolf Trap)
• Edwin McCain Trio (8/16, Birchmere)
• Touchpants (8/16, 9:30 Club)
• ZZ Top (8/18, Wolf Trap)
• Willie Nelson and Family with Old Crow Medicine Show (8/19, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Uke Fest — Part of Strathmore’s Free Summer Outdoor Concert series (8/19)
• Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons — Falsetto-singing pop quartet whose success in the ’60s begat the blockbuster Broadway jukebox musical Jersey Boys (8/19, Wolf Trap)
• Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra, Uncle Kracker and Eve 6 — Another reunion of these ’90s-era alt-rock hitmakers (8/20, Wolf Trap)
• Wolf Trap Orchestra: Disney In Concert — Orchestra accompanies songs sung live along with synchronized video images drawn from The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Frozen (8/21, Wolf Trap)
• O.A.R. (8/21, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Gladys Knight and the O’Jays — “Empress of Soul” shares a bill at Wolf Trap with the ’70s-minted Philadelphia soul group; together, they could hop on the midnight love train to Georgia (8/22, Wolf Trap)
• Chris Brown (8/22, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Darius Rucker — Hootie without the Blowfish (8/22, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Jake Shimabukuro (8/22, Birchmere)
• Babe’s Anniversary — A party celebrating Babe City Records featuring performances by Young Rapids, The Sea Life, The Max Levine Ensemble, Den-Mate and the El Mansouris (8/22, 9:30 Club)
• The Beach Boys — The longest-lasting surf rock band, who started harmonizing a whopping 52 years ago (8/23, Wolf Trap)
• John Nolan of Taking Back Sunday (8/23, DC9)
• Santana (8/25, Wolf Trap)
• Gregg Allman (8/25-26, Birchmere)
• Melissa Etheridge — “This Is M.E. Solo” (8/26, Strathmore)
• Motley Crue with Alice Cooper — “The Final Tour” (8/26, Royal Farms Arena)
• Dean Ween Group (8/27, 9:30 Club)
• The Delta Saints (8/27, DC9)
• Kristin Chenoweth — An evening of show tunes and pop songs from this “Popular” Broadway and television star (8/28, Wolf Trap)
• Tim McGraw — Billy Currington and Chase Bryant are opening acts for this country superstar, part of the 2015 Country Megaticket (8/28, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club — Nearly two decades after helping spark the Latin Jazz revival, this Afro-Cuban dance band offers a final tour to say goodbye (8/29, Wolf Trap)
• Van Halen (8/29, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Larry Graham & Graham Central Station (8/30, Birchmere)

SEPTEMBER

• Lenny Kravitz (9/1, Wolf Trap)
• Arum Rae (9/1, DC9)
• Frank Sinatra, Jr. with the Wolf Trap Orchestra — “Sinatra Sings Sinatra: The Centennial Celebration” (9/2, Wolf Trap)
• Euge Groove (9/4, Birchmere)
• The Seldom Scene & Jonathan Edwards (9/5, Birchmere)
• Catch A Fire Tour 2015 — Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Stephen “Ragga” Marley, sons of the late Bob, will perform with Morgan Heritage and Tarrus Riley (9/5, Wolf Trap)
• Rodrigo y Gabriela — Supercharged Mexican guitar duo returns for another year at Wolf Trap (9/6, Wolf Trap)
• 5 Seconds of Summer (9/6, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Say Lou Lou (9/8, U Street Music Hall)
• Watkins Family Hour — Featuring Sean and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek, Fiona Apple, Don Heffington, Sebastian Steinberg and more (9/8-9, Birchmere)
• Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell — The Traveling Kind Tour (9/10-11, Birchmere)
• The Gypsy Kings (9/10, Wolf Trap)
• REO Speedwagon (9/10, Warner Theatre)
• Jackson Browne (9/11, Wolf Trap)
• The Nighthawks (9/11, AMP by Strathmore)
• Langhorne Slim & The Law (9/11, 9:30 Club)
• Madonna — Even if you’d rather forget about her Rebel Heart, at least you can always count on a good show (9/12, Verizon Center)
• Jason Aldean — Cole Swindell and Tyler Farr are also on the bill for this country/pop show, part of the 2015 Country Megaticket (9/12, Jiffy Lube Live)
• A Heartless Bastards (9/12, 9:30 Club)
• Kelly Clarkson — Live Nation and Wolf Trap team up to offer two nights with the original American Idol, plus Pentatonix and Eric Hutchinson, but not surprisingly, tickets are nearly sold out (9/12-13, Wolf Trap)
• Death Cab for Cutie (9/13, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Jess Glynne — 9:30 Club presents this concert by the “Rather Be” Clean Bandit singer (9/14, U Street Music Hall)
• Diana Ross (9/15, Strathmore)
• Eagles of Death Metal (9/15, 9:30 Club)
• Stromae (9/16, Echostage)
• Catfish and the Bottlemen (9/16, 9:30 Club)
• Ride (9/17, 9:30 Club)
• Alabama Shakes w/Drive By Truckers — Great soul rockers led by a modern-day Janis Joplin (9/18, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Years & Years (9/19, 9:30 Club)
• Brigitte (9/19, Birchmere)
• Of Monsters and Men (9/20, Merriweather Post Pavilion)
• Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers (9/20, Birchmere)
• The Fratellis (9/21, 9:30 Club)
• Charli XCX, Bleachers (9/23, Echostage)
• Lianne La Havas — The great, young British soul singer returns (9/23, 9:30 Club)
• Farao (9/23, DC9)
• John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting — Performing with his quartet (9/24, Birchmere)
• Maysa & Her Jazz Funk Soul Orchestra (9/25, Birchmere)
• Yo La Tengo featuring Dave Schramm (9/25, Lincoln Theatre)
• Chaise Lounge (9/26, AMP by Strathmore)
• Brad Paisley — Justin Moore and Mickey Guyton are also on the bill for this final concert in the Jiffy Lube Live series 2015 Country Megaticket (9/26, Jiffy Lube Live)
• Loretta Lynn (9/27, Lincoln)
• The Jesus and Mary Chain (9/27, 9:30 Club)
• Buddy Guy (9/28, Birchmere)
• The Neighbourhood (9/28, 9:30 Club)
• Patty Griffin (9/29, Birchmere)
• Ibeyi (9/30, 9:30 Club)
• Chick Corea & Bela Fleck (9/30, Strathmore)
  

CONCERT VENUES

9:30 CLUB
815 V St. NW
Washington, DC
202-265-0930
930.com

Read Next

Ohio Republicans Pass a Monstrous Trans Bathroom Ban

AMP BY STRATHMORE
11810 Grand Park Ave.
North Bethesda, MD
301-581-5100
ampbystrathmore.com

THE BIRCHMERE
3701 Mount Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, VA
703-549-7500
birchmere.com

DC9
1940 9th St. NW
Washington, DC
202-483-5000
dcnine.com

ECHOSTAGE
2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE.
Washington, DC
202-503-2330
echostage.com

FILLMORE SILVER SPRING
8656 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD
301-960-999
fillmoresilverspring.com

JIFFY LUBE LIVE
7800 Cellar Door Drive
Bristow, VA
703-754-6400
livenation.com

KENNEDY CENTER
Washington, DC
202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org

LINCOLN THEATRE
1215 U St. NW
Washington, DC
202-328-6000
thelincolndc.com

M&T BANK STADIUM
1101 Russell St.
Baltimore, MD
410-261-7283
livenation.com

MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION
10475 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD
800-551-SEAT
merriweathermusic.com

NATIONALS PARK
1500 South Capitol St. NE
Washington, DC
202-675-6287
livenation.com

ROYAL FARMS ARENA
201 West Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD
410-727-7811
royalfarmsarena.com

STRATHMORE
5301 Tuckerman Lane
Bethesda, MD
301-581-5100
strathmore.org

U STREET MUSIC HALL
1115 U ST. NW
Washington, DC
202-588-1880
ustreetmusichall.com

VERIZON CENTER
601 F St. NW
Washington, DC
202-628-3200
verizoncenter.com

WARNER THEATRE
513 13th St. NW
Washington, DC
202-783-4000
warnertheatredc.com

WOLF TRAP
1551 Trap Road
Vienna, VA
877-WOLFTRAP
wolf-trap.org

Read Next

John Leguizamo’s America