Spring is in the air, which means it’s time to start venturing outdoors for the freshest music, whether you’d prefer Idina Menzel at Jiffy Lube Live, Brandi Carlile returning to Wolf Trap or Common and Esperanza Spalding performing in Yards Park as part of the DC Jazz Festival. Meanwhile, tribute bands are sprouting like weeds, fueled by baby boomer nostalgia — for Motown sounds and for the Beatles. Meanwhile, the region’s newest venue, Strathmore’s AMP, has recruited an impressive lineup of local talent to pay tribute to Billie Holiday, who was born in Baltimore a century ago next month. God bless the child.
The Ting Tings w/Kaneholler — Quirky British synth-pop band (4/11)
Dan Deacon w/Prince Rama, Ben O’Brien (4/11)
Walk The Moon w/The Griswolds (4/16-17)
Martin Sexton w/Brothers McCann (4/18)
Randy Rogers Band (4/18)
Manic Street Preachers (4/20)
Hurray for the Riff Raff w/Son Little (4/21)
Trampled by Turtles w/Web of Sunsets (4/22)
Kodaline w/Gavin James (4/23)
They Might Be Giants — The playful folk/rock band return (4/24)
Iration w/Stick Figure, Hours Easily (4/25)
Duke Dumont w/Will Eastman — U Street Music Hall presents a DJ set by this up-and-coming dance producer (4/25)
Houndmouth (4/26)
Spandau Ballet (4/28)
Toro y Moi w/Vinyl Williams (4/29)
The Wombats w/Life in Film, Cheerleader (4/30)
James Bay w/Marc Scibilia (5/1)
Joe Pug w/Filed Report (5/2)
Lord Huron w/Hamilton Leithauser (5/3-4)
Passion Pit — Noisy synth-pop act (5/5-6)
Butch Walker w/Jonathan Tyler (5/7)
Ben Folds with yMusic (5/8)
The Maine w/Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, The Technicolors (5/10)
Matt & Kim w/Waters (5/11-12)
Aaron Watson (5/14)
Papadosio (5/15)
Preakness InfieldFest: Armin van Buuren, Childish Gambino — IMP Productions, owners of the 9:30 Club, has reeled in the Dutch trance/EDM DJ pioneer and actor Donald Glover’s alt-hip-hop act Childish Gambino for this year’s concert during the Preakness (5/16, Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore)
The Story So Far w/Four Year Strong, Terror, Souvenirs (5/24)
Steven Wilson (5/26)
Patrick Watson — Superb progressive folk band from Montreal (5/27)
Fidlar and Metz (5/28)
Purity Ring (5/29)
Calexico (6/5)
Chris Hardwick — AEG Live presents The Funcomfortable Tour (6/6)
Paul Weller (6/9)
Royal Blood w/Mini Mansions (6/10)
Who’s Bad: The World’s #1 Michael Jackson Tribute Band (6/12)
Courtney Barnett w/Chastity Belt, Darren Hanlon (6/13)
Josh Rouse (6/15)
Best Coast (6/16)
Jungle (6/17)
Foo Fighters 20th Anniversary Blowout! — An all-day 4th of July concert headed by popular hard-rockers, including Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, LL Cool J feat. DJ Z-Trip, Trouble Funk, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. All that and a real fireworks display, a motorcycle rally, BBQ and more (7/4, RFK Stadium)
THE ALDEN
McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. Mclean, Va. 703-790-0123 aldentheatre.org
Yellow Dubmarine — An American Reggae Beatles tribute band, courtesy of Washington, D.C. (3/28)
Black Masala — Eclectic, funky world music from award-winning local act (4/2)
Bob McDonald — Cabaret from the local musical theater veteran (4/4)
A Tribute to Billie Holiday — Rochelle Rice, Christie Dashiell and Integriti Reeves offer this tribute, with accompaniment, 100 years after the jazz legend’s birth in Baltimore (4/9)
Donal Fox — Jazz, classical fusion (4/10)
The Crawdaddies (4/11)
Lera Lynn (4/16)
Gabriel Alegria — Jazz with Afro-Peruvian rhythms (4/18)
Claire Lynch Band (4/23)
Michael Mwenso & The Shakes — Jazz vocalist and his big band recreate the vibe of a roaring ’20s Speakeasy (4/24)
The Barefoot Movement (4/30)
Jayme Stone — Tribute to iconic folklorist (5/1)
Psycho Killers (5/2)
Omer Avital QUintet (5/7)
Sunliner (5/9)
The Duhks (5/14)
Alice Gerrard — This local “mountain music mama” gets her due in a concert saluting her work in Hazel & Alice and featuring local married couple Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer among others (5/20-21)
Amigos Band (5/28)
Mark Nadler — Racy 1920s cabaret (5/29)
Cravin’ Dogs (5/31)
Raul Midon (6/5-6)
The Chuck Brown Band — The late godfather of go-go keeps go-go-ing (6/12)
Lena Stern featuring Elhadji Alioune Faye and Mamadou Ba — Jazz vocalist known for an unusual blend of jazz and pop, who has lately turned her attention to the world rhythms of West Africa, and performs with these Senegalese musicians (3/27)
B/C/F – Bishop/Cleaver/Flood — Nearly two-decades old, this uncompromising jazz group draws from a wide variety of composition and improvisational frameworks (4/10)
Brad Linde Ensemble — “A Night at the Bopera” re-imagines the music of the Marx Brothers’ movies in a modern, post-cool/free-bop style from this 10-piece chamber ensemble (4/17)
Brad Linde’s Strange City — In “The Music of Herbie Nichols,” Washington’s be-bopper introduces a new audience to a pianist and composer who wrote many starkly original compositions straddling the jazz/classical divide (4/22)
Sin Frontera — This new Afro-Cuban jazz/folk band was started by singer Ernesto “Gato” Gatell, who recorded and toured with the biggest stars from the island prior to emigrating to the U.S. last year (4/25)
Christylez Bacon: Washington Sound Museum — Acclaimed local progressive hip-hop artist teams up with Brazilian vocalist Cissa Paz to explore the connections of traditional Brazilian music and hip-hop/go-go (4/25-26)
Shadows of the 60’s: A Tribute to the Four Tops (5/9)
King Soul (5/16)
Soulcial Hour Band (5/17)
Michal Urbaniak (5/21)
A Southern Soul Tribute: The Music of Muscle Shoals and Stax/Volt (5/22)
The Hit Men (5/31)
Gregory Porter — Hot new-school jazz man with colorings from R&B and hip-hop (6/17)
The Iguanas (6/19)
Vocal Workshop Showcase (6/30)
Steve Tyrell (6/20-21)
THE BIRCHMERE
3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, Va. 703-549-7500 birchmere.com
Dailey & Vincent — A Grammy-nominated young bluegrass duo (3/27)
Angie Stone — Sold-out soul show (3/29)
Avery Sunshine (4/2)
10,000 Maniacs w/Megan Jean & The KFB — Mary Ramsey’s voice isn’t as distinctive as Natalie Merchant’s, but otherwise this country-rock band sounds nearly the same as those days (4/3)
Cleve Francis (4/4)
Brian Culbertson (4/7-8)
Keiko Matsui (4/10)
Al Stewart w/Amy Speace (4/11)
Shawn Colvin w/Rachael Sage — “Sunny Came Home” singer-songwriter and a bright jazz folk opening act (4/12)
Tower of Power (4/13)
Zappa Plays Zappa — A tribute act to the late Frank led by his eldest son Dweezil (4/14)
Joan Armatrading — A solo evening from this British bluesy-pop singer-songwriter, who featured on Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour years ago (4/15-16)
The Average White Band (4/17-18)
The Waterboys (4/21)
The Marshall Tucker Band (4/23)
Freddie Jackson (4/24)
BoDeans w/Bob Malone (4/25)
Alan Doyle (4/26)
Marc Roberge (4/28)
War (4/29)
Will Downing (5/1)
Dr. Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys (5/2)
Vince Gill (5/7)
Delbert McClinton (5/8)
Gary Taylor (5/9)
Todd Rundgren (5/14)
Iris Dement (5/15)
Ian Tyson (5/16)
Rising Appalachia (5/17)
Bob James — “75th Anniversary Show!” (5/18)
JohnnySwim — The uplifting married folk-rock duo of Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez (5/19)
In Byrdland: A Tribute to Donald Byrd — Alex Bugnon leads this tribute act to the bebop jazz/funk musician who died in 2013, also featuring Tom Browne and Elan Trotman (5/21)
Eric Roberson (5/22-23)
Down to the Bone (5/28)
Jonatha Brooke — A folk-rock female singer-songwriter from Massachusetts (5/29)
Walter Beasley (5/30)
RoamFest 2015 (5/31)
Samantha Fish & Andy Poxon (6/2)
Marc Broussard (6/3)
Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra (6/5)
The Seldom Scene w/Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith — The Bethesda-based bluegrass band celebrates 44 years together as well as last year’s aptly named Smithsonian Folkways release Long Time…Seldom Scene (6/6)
Kevin Fowler (6/7)
Nils Lofgren (6/8-9)
The Manhattan Transfer — “Best Vocal Group” in 2013 Jazz Times Readers’ Poll (6/10)
Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun and the Nighthawks featuring Billy Price (6/12)
Billy Joe Shaver (6/13)
Stephane Wrembel’s Django-A-Go-Go — A New York/France combo ensemble (6/14)
Elizabeth Cook (6/15)
Mark O’Connor (6/18)
Madeleine Peyroux Trio — Celebrating a nearly 20-year career as a jazz singer who sounds like the reincarnation of Billie Holiday (6/21)
David Crosby — Legendary singer-songwriter offers an intimate solo acoustic show performing songs spanning his entire career (6/22)
Trevor Hall (6/24)
Mason Jennings (6/25)
Pieces of a Dream (6/27)
The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman (6/29)
Los Lonely Boys (6/30)
9th Annual Mike Seeger Commemorative Old Time Banjo Festival— Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Jayme Stone, David Reed, Adam Hurt and Greg Adams perform (7/11)
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (7/12)
The Bacon Brothers — Kevin and sibling Michael perform three folk-rock shows (7/16-18)
Kevin Eubanks — The jazz guitarist and former band leader on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno (3/26-29)
Chihiro Yamanaka Trio (3/30)
Roy Hargrove (3/31-4/5)
Afro Blue — Howard University’s acclaimed vocal ensemble (4/6)
Alan Baylock Orchestra (4/7)
Cheri Maree (4/8)
Ramsey Lewis (4/9-12)
Bowie State University Jazz Band (4/13)
Donna & Marshall Wood Quartet (4/14)
Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet (4/15)
Arturo Sandoval (4/16-19)
Thelma Yellin School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble (4/20)
Blues Alley Youth Orchestra (4/20)
Skip Pruitt (4/24)
Algebra Blessett (4/25-26)
Andrew White — “A Love Supreme at 50” (4/28)
Omar Sosa Quarteto Afro-Cubano (4/29)
Kenny Garrett (4/30-5/3)
Anton Schwartz Quintet (5/5)
Tinsley Ellis (5/6)
Melba Moore (5/8-9)
Otis Taylor (5/10)
Joe Lovana-Dave Douglas Quintet (5/12-13)
John Pizzarelli (5/14-17)
Georgetown Day School Jazz Ensemble (5/18)
Edmund Burke School Jazz Ensemble (5/18)
Vocal Workshop Graduation Concert (5/19)
Cesar Orozco & Kamarata Jazz (5/20)
Jimmy Cobb, Mike Stern w/Sonny Fortune and Buster Williams — “4 Generations of Miles” (5/21-24)
Dee Lucas (5/26)
Steve Smith & Vital Information (5/27)
Eldar (5/28)
Art Sherrod Jr. featuring Ann Nesby (5/29-30)
Roberta Gambarini w/the Cyrus Chestnut Trio (6/11-14)
Terence Blanchard (6/16-21)
Erikka J (6/24)
Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra — “The Big Band Sound of WWII” (7/2-3)
Jean Carne — “The 40 Year Tour” (7/9-12)
THE CLARICE
University of Maryland College Park, Md. 301-405-ARTS theclarice.umd.edu
Tia Fuller — Saxophonist selected by Beyoncé to be part of her all-female touring band (4/9)
Taylor Mac — “The 20th Century Concert: Abridged” examines the century’s most popular songs, one from each decade, often with a costume change to match from this New York-based cabaret/drag act (4/11)
Nile Project — Established by an Egyptian music scholar and singer, this project combines musicians from the diverse cultures of the Nile River Basin, who collectively compose new musical works (4/26)
Billed as the fastest-growing jazz festival in the U.S. and the largest and most diverse music festival in D.C., with several major events. Jazz ‘N Families Fun Days, a free two-day program connecting jazz with the visual arts (6/6-7, Phillips Collection)
Jazz In The ‘Hoods, a program featuring more than 80 performances from mostly local musicians in over 40 venues, including Bohemian Caverns, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, the Kennedy Center and THEARC (6/10-16)
Jazz at the Yards, a two-day blowout of events plus performances by Common, Esperanza Spalding, Femi Kuti and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe (6/12-13, Yards Park)
Jazz at the Hamilton Live, a full week of performances including Paquito D’Rivera, Snarky Puppy, Carlie Hunter, Stanton Moore, Edmar Castaneda and Joshua Redman in a unique partnership with the Bad Plus (6/10-16, Hamilton Live)
The Weight — Featuring former members of The Band, Rick Danko and Levon Helm Band (3/27)
Free Late Night Music in the Loft Series: Moonshine Society (3/27, 4/4), Shartel & Hume (3/28, 4/17), Brent & Co (4/3), Kiss & Ride (4/10), Justin Trawick and the Common Good (4/18), Lloyd Dobler Effect (4/24), and 19th Street Band (4/25)
Albert Cummings (3/28)
Dumpstaphunk — One of the funkiest bands from New Orleans, born on the Jazz & Heritage Festival stage and descended from the Neville family (4/1)
JBoog — Peppy reggae-soul from California, with shades of Sean Paul, the Black Eyed Peas, even a little No Doubt (4/3)
Muddy Water’s 100th Birthday Celebration — Commander Cody, Bob Margolin and the Nighthawks (4/4)
The Gospel Persuaders: Easter Gospel Brunch (4/5), Mother’s Day Gospel Brunch (5/10)
Spyro Gyra (4/8)
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds (4/9)
Maxi Priest (4/10)
Pimps of Joytime (4/12)
Eliane Elias — Brazilian-born smooth jazz chanteuse (4/14)
Chaise Lounge (4/17)
Heart by Heart (4/19)
James McMurty (4/20)
Martha Davis and the Motels (4/21)
Ryan Montbleau (4/22)
Dopapod (4/23)
Ben Williams w/Akua Allrich — Album Release Show (4/24)
Vienna Teng (4/25)
Tyrone Wells (4/29)
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band (5/2)
Griffin House (5/7)
A Tribute to Carole King: Tapestry and the Best of Goffin-King — Performances by Julia Nixon, Laura Baron, Little Margie Clark, Caz Gardiner, Todd Wright, Eric Scott, Cal Everett, Deeme Katson, Rochelle Rice, Brian Simms and Ashleigh Chevalier (5/8)
Dr. John Cooper Clarke (5/12)
Mandolin Orange (5/15)
Dark Star Orchestra — Special Acoustic Dead Show (5/17)
Buffy Sainte-Marie (5/19)
World Party (5/22)
Kermit Ruffins & The BBQ Swingers — Buoyant New Orleans jazz leader in the manner of Louis Armstrong (5/26)
Rich Robinson — An acoustic evening with this former Black Crowes member (5/27)
Howard Gospel Brunch featuring the Harlem Gospel Choir (3/29, 4/5 for Easter)
Brencore: A Tribute to the Music of Motown — Local 12-piece band and vocalists revive that Motown sound (3/29)
David Choi (4/2)
One More Time: The Tribute to Daft Punk (4/3)
Red Baraat’s Festival of Colors — Festive, multi-cultural Brooklyn-based party band offers its annual touring party celebrating the Hindu holiday of Hofi (4/4)
Northeast Groovers — 30th Anniversary Show (4/4)
Morgan Heritage (4/8)
LyQuin & Awthentik (4/9)
Incognito (4/10)
The Smokers Club feat. Devin the Dude & Backyard Band (4/10)
Dave Barnes & Matt Wertz (4/11)
Faycez U Know — D.C.-based swinging soul and funk band (4/12)
Alice Smith — If this D.C.-born, Brooklyn-based artist isn’t one of your favorite soul singers, she soon will be (4/17)
Michelle Blackwell — 15th Anniversary Show (4/19)
Monophonics (4/20)
Jarabe De Palo (4/24)
Keith Sweat (4/25)
O-Town (4/27)
Sheila E. — The funky “Glamorous Life” drumming diva who puts on one energetic live show (4/30)
ILoveMakonnen (5/1)
Lee Fields & The Expressions, Trouble Funk (5/2)
Erica Campbell of Mary Mary (5/3)
Rata Blanca (5/4)
Teedra Moses (5/8)
Tierra Santa (5/14)
White Ford Bronco (5/15)
Middleway Music Studio Concert X (5/16)
A Tribute to the Music of Phyllis Hyman (5/16)
Lagbaja (5/17)
Tech N9ne (5/19)
Mobb Deep (5/22)
Kinky w/Daniela Spalla (5/23)
Yellowjackets — Jazz at the Howard (5/27)
Louis Weeks w/Fellow Creatures, The El Mansouris (5/28)
Salt-N-Pepa — Shut up, push it, they’re back (7/18)
JIFFY LUBE LIVE
7800 Cellar Door Drive Bristow, Va. 703-754-6400 livenation.com
Dave Matthews Band — The blues rockers help kick off the new season at Jiffy Lube Live in the band’s home state, and this year as last will perform two full sets (5/23)
Rush (5/30)
Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, Sam Hunt (6/6)
Lana Del Rey — Don’t ask what part of her body tastes like Pepsi-Cola (6/11)
Rascal Flatts, Scotty McCreery, Raelynn (6/13)
Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band — Twisting away again in Bristow (6/20)
Luke Bryan, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch (6/26-27)
Train, The Fray, Matt Nathanson (6/28)
Def Leppard, Styx, Tesla — Live like it’s still the ’80s (7/2)
Kid Rock, Foreigner — Live like it’s still the ’90s (7/8)
Dierks Bentley — Kip Moore, Maddie and Tae & Canaan Smith are also on the bill (7/10)
Idina Menzel — This wickedly good singer invites you to let it go and enjoy her incredible vocals (7/18)
Nicki Minaj — Meek Mill & Rae Sremmurd are also on the bill (7/22)
Toby Keith, Eli Young Band (8/8)
J. Cole, Big Sean, YG & Jeremih — Four of hip-hop’s youngest guns (8/9)
Slipknot — Lamb of God and Bullet for My Valentine (8/11)
Chicago – The Band, Earth, Wind & Fire — Live like it’s still the ’70s (8/14)
Nickelback — Live like you don’t like music (8/25)
Malcolm Gets — The gay theater/TV actor is the latest in Barbara Cook’s Spotlight (3/27, Terrace Theater)
Jason Moran and The Big Bandwagon — A full-length multimedia work based on Thelonious Monk’s landmark 1959 concert at New York’s Town Hall (3/28, Eisenhower Theater)
Samuel Parther and Groove Orchestra — D.C.-based collective of jazz/Latin/R&B/gospel musicians and vocalists, performing as part of Kennedy Center’s free nightly programming series (3/28, Millennium Stage)
Very Be Careful (VBC) — Los Angeles accordion-centered cumbia band (3/30, Millennium)
Senri Oe — Japanese pop star/New York-based jazz pianist performs as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival (3/31, Millennium)
Nate Smith + Kinfolk — Drummer, bandleader, composer and producer makes his KC Jazz Club debut with his own group (4/3, Terrace)
Shuko Tada — “Kokoro: Japanese melodies from the heart” (4/6, Millennium)
Integriti Reeves — Jazz vocalist (4/7, Millennium)
Quilt (4/8, Millennium)
Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock — Legendary jazz pianists in a collaboration presented by Washington Performing Arts (4/10, Concert Hall)
The Blues Alley Youth Orchestra (4/11, Millennium)
Dianne Reeves and Friends — Billy Childs, Raul Midon and Terri Lyne Carrington are the friends this legendary jazz vocalist tapped to accompany her and her four-piece band (4/11, Concert Hall)
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra w/Wynton Marsalis — Washington Performing Arts presents this popular annual concert (4/19, Concert Hall)
American College Theater Festival — Free performances in the Terrace Theater all week as part of this festival featuring students from: Manhattan School of Music (4/18), The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (4/19), New England Conservatory of Music (4/20), Northwestern University Bienen School of Music (4/21), The Juilliard School (4/22), Eastman School of Music (4/23), Berklee College of Music (4/24), and Oberlin Conservatory of Music (4/25)
The Blues Hall of Fame Tour — Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton and John Hammond, all inductees in the blues hall of fame, offer individual and collaborative performances backed by a full band (5/1, Terrace)
Antonio Hart Organ Trio — Baltimore-native alto saxophonist performs a KC Jazz Club concert with his organ trio (5/8, Terrace)
Harlem Nights/U Street Lights — Co-presented with New York’s Apollo Theater, this toast to East Coast jazz is split into two concerts: A free Millennium Stage concert featuring vocalists Queen Esther and Brianna Thomas with Howard University’s jazz ensemble Afro Blue, and Crossroads Club, an all-star jazz-meets-go-go jam and dance party with Jason Moran, Marc Cary, Federico Gonzalez Pena, Bertha Hope, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Cobb and more (5/10, Atrium)
20th Annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival — Today’s top jazz artists perform over two nights and demonstrate the contributions women have made to jazz (5/15-16)
Jazzfest 2015 — Festival includes: Kickoff Jam Session focused on “the Music of Miles Davis” (4/17, DC Campus, Jane Lang Recital Hall), a master class with Levine faculty member Paul Bratcher on the development of swing rhythms in jazz, and another from jazz drummer Ulysses Owens on the art of brush playing (4/18, Lang Hall), and a performance by Vijay Iyer Trio (4/19, Sixth and I)
Conflux: Indian, Jazz and Classical Improvisation — Levine faculty artists Noah Getz (saxophone) and Pepe Gonzalez (bass) are joined by guest artist Deepak Ram (Indian flute) to explore the common language of improvisation across genres (5/9, Strathmore)
Loeffler Family Alumni Series: Blues Reunion Concert — Levine alums singer-songwriter/pianist Travers Geoffray and drummer Sam Shaheen perform with their band Mississippi Rail Company (5/11)
The Music of Jimi Hendrix — A showcase of Levine’s rock faculty artists, all playing through the repertoire of the revolutionary electric guitarist (5/29)
Jazz Jam — An opportunity for musicians of any age and proficiency to experience an improvised jazz jam facilitated by Levine jazz faculty members (5/30, 6/10, Strathmore)
Damien Rice — The impossibly forlorn crooner, even by Irish standards (4/3)
Amanda “Fucking” Palmer — Bisexual cabaret-punker, who got her start in the Dresden Dolls, returns for a solo show in D.C. (4/4)
Citizen Cope — A solo acoustic show from this clever, underground rapper (4/9)
Rhiannon Giddens — Former lead singer of the Carolina Chocolate Drops expands on the black bluegrass band’s invigorating sound (4/12)
Rick Springfield w/Tad Kubler of the Hold Steady — He’s still wishing he had Jessie’s Girl (4/19)
The Idan Raichel Project (4/22)
Ben Folds with yMusic (5/7)
Kiesza w/Betty Who — A singer/dancer in the mold of Madonna returns after last year’s U Street Music Hall debut to stir up another crowd (5/11)
Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington — “Born This Way” (5/16)
The Blind Boys of Alabama & Ani DiFranco — A JusticeAid benefit for the Innocence Project, working to exonerate wrongly convicted people (5/17)
The Tallest Man on Earth — A Bob Dylan-styled rocker Matsson (5/31-6/1)
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds — Erstwhile Britpopper has definitely flown the Oasis coop with his new rock flock (6/4)
LISNER AUDITORIUM
George Washington University 730 21st St. NW 202-994-6800 lisner.org
Gilberto Gil — Legendary pioneer in the modernization of Brazilian popular music and culture throughout the world both as a seminal musician and as a former Minister of Culture (4/24)
Lila Downs — A smoky voiced folk-rock singer-songwriter and magnetic performer, one of Mexico’s greatest (5/1)
MC Rock Festival – Dokken, Dio Disciples, Quiet Riot, Trixter (5/1) Europe, Queensryche, Tom Keifer, Warrent, Y&T, Krokus, Winery Dogs, L.A. Guns, Bang Tango, Vixen, Black N Blue, Rhino Bucket, Tyketto, Killer Dwarfs, Bad Seed Rising (5/2)
DC101 Kerfuffle — Incubus, The Offspring, Panic! At The Disco, Dirty Heads, Big Data, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Robert DeLong, Coasts (5/3)
Florida Georgia Line w/Thomas Rhett, Frankie Ballard (5/9)
Dear Jerry: Celebrating the Music of Jerry Garcia — An impressive lineup of Grateful Dead-influenced acts, including Bruce Horsnby, Buddy Miller, Eric Church, Greensky Bluegrass, Jimmy Cliff, Jorma Kaukonen, Los Lobos, O.A.R., The Disco Biscuits, Trampled by Turtles, Widespread Panic, Yonder Mountain String Band (5/14)
Kenny Chesney (5/27)
Sweetlife Festival – Presented by I.M.P. and sweetgreen, this annual festival expands to two days this year, though the artist breakdown per day hasn’t yet been announced. Still, it’s a doozy, headlined by the return of Kendrick Lamar, Calvin Harris, The Weekvnd, Pixies, Charli XCX and Billy Idol. Other acts include: Phantogram, Marina & The Diamonds, Bleachers, Tove Lo, Vance Joy, Lucius, Vic Mensa, Allen Stone, SZA, Raury, MisterWives, St. Paul & The Broken Bones (5/30-31)
The Decemberists w/Father John Misty — The cerebral, Portland-based folk-rock act (6/4)
Hozier w/The Antlers (6/20)
Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa — Boys of Zummer Tour also featuring Hoodie Allen and DJ Drama (6/27)
Vans Warped Tour (7/18)
Sam Smith — The multi-Grammy winner and today’s biggest chart-topping, out pop star (7/24)
My Morning Jacket (7/26)
Phish — The jam band returns for two nights of blissed-out grooving (8/15-16)
Willie Nelson and Family w/Old Crow Medicine Show (8/19)
Darius Rucker — Hootie! (8/22)
Death Cab for Cutie w/Explosions in the Sky — Mopey Transatlantic alt-rock from Washington state (9/13)
The Hot Sardines — Straight-up, foot-stomping jazz like they created in New Orleans (4/18)
Vijay Iyer Trio — Levine Music Jazzfest 2015 (4/19)
Elvis Perkins (4/21)
Ute Lemper — Acclaimed cabaret/jazz artist offers a new song cycle, “Forever: The Love Poems of Pablo Neruda” (4/25)
Lowland Hum w/Laura Tsaggaris (4/26)
Dustin Kensrue and Andy Hull — Former members of Thrice and Manchester Orchestra, respectively, perform songs from their solo careers (4/29)
The Ballroom Thieves — Boston-based folk outfit (5/2)
Stephin Merritt — The Magnetic Fields’ gay leader presents a set of solo acoustic versions of songs from his catalog accompanied by longtime bandmate, cellist Sam Davol (5/3)
Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge (5/6)
The Brothers Landreth — Canadian roots-rock band (5/9)
Kayhan Kalhor — An original member of the Silk Road Ensemble, this virtuoso of the kamancheh excels in melding traditional and contemporary music (5/16)
The Cookers — All-star septet co-presented with DC Jazz Festival (6/14)
2U — The 2nd Best U2 Show!, plus opening act Almost Journey: The Ultimate Journey Experience (4/17)
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers (4/30)
English Beat (5/3)
Saul Williams (5/6)
Almost Queen: A Tribute to Queen (5/8)
Boris Grebenshikov (5/14)
Marcia Ball (6/13)
The Weepies (6/21)
STRATHMORE
5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda, Md. 301-581-5100 strathmore.org
Marian McLaughlin — Strathmore Artist-in-Residence exploring the boundaries of folk music with expressive guitar and evocative vocals (4/8, Mansion)
Engelbert Humperdinck — British pop legend in the Beatles era who counted the Pretenders and Jimi Hendrix as opening acts on his international tours (4/15, Music Center)
Rosanne Cash — American music royalty, daughter of Johnny and stepdaughter of June, continues to tour in support of her superb set The River & The Thread (4/17, Music Center)
Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles — A theatrical multimedia spectacular recreating the art and artistry of the Fab Four (5/1, Music Center)
Elijah Jamal Balbed — From Washington City Paper‘s 2010 “Best New Jazz Musician” to the honor of Artist-in-Residence at Strathmore last season (5/15, Mansion)
Rochelle Rice — Afro Blue Vocal Band alumna and Washington City Paper‘s 2013 Best Jazz Vocalist performs a concert as a Strathmore Artist in Residence (6/10, 6/17, Mansion)
Blues Alley’s 50th Anniversary — A toast to this landmark venue with a concert featuring Kindred the Family Soul, Angela Winbush and Chelsey Green (7/18, Music Center)
Neil Diamond – One of the world’s most successful pop artists returns in his 74th year for a stadium tour, clearly reasoning that if spring chickens Cher (68) and Bette Midler (69) can hack it… (4/4)
New Kids on the Block w/TLC, Nelly — Wanna see grown-ass women screaming like they’re prepubescent girls again? Right, didn’t think so (6/10)
Bette Midler — Bathhouse Bette has come a long way, but she hasn’t lost her spunk (6/22)
Imagine Dragons — The “Radioactive” Vegas rockers return(7/6)
Shania Twain — Yes, she’s still going strong. Retirement don’t impress her much (7/21)
Madonna — However you may feel about her new music (ultimately it’s more idiotic than iconic), few longtime fans would even think of missing her new tour (9/12)
Americana Festival — Now in its second year, the Weinberg Center presents six bands in two days: Delta Rae, the Steel Wheels, Nora Jane Struthers & the Party Line, Knox Hamilton, the Hello Strangers and Big Hoax. Frederick’s own Bryan Voltaggio and James River Distillery will also offer a tasting of Americana cuisine and American spirits (3/27-28)
2Cellos — “Smooth Criminal” Croatians have stirred up a sensation with classical takes on pop/rock (4/23)
Mary Chapin Carpenter — Local, longtime gay-rights-supporting country star performs with her friends, pianist Jon Carroll and guitarist John Doyle (4/26)
Rob Evan — Broadway veteran and lead singer of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra offers a show dubbed “The Rock Tenor,” featuring rock classics performed by Evan and four singers accompanied by seven musicians (5/8)
Kool & The Gang, Chaka Khan — An earlier generation’s pop funk party-starters team up with what some call the Queen of Funk. (5/30)
The B-52s, Berlin — A return to Wolf Trap for the wacky dance party band, with an opening set from a fellow ’80s hitmaking group (6/5)
Wolf Trap’s 26th Annual Louisiana Swamp Romp — Allen Toussaint headlines this year’s festival (6/7)
The Beatles: Abbey Road — Classic Albums Live presents yet another recreation of the Fab Four, specifically of the greatest album of all time (6/14)
David Gray, Amos Lee (6/16)
Steve Miller Band (6/17)
Lindsey Stirling — Electric violinist/electronica act who got her start on YouTube and America’s Got Talent (6/18)
Celtic Woman — 10th Anniversary World Tour (6/20)
Peter Frampton, Cheap Trick — A night of classic rock (6/25)
John Fogerty — Performing the songs of Creedence Clearwater Revival (6/30)
Frank Sinatra Jr. — “Sinatra Sings Sinatra: The Centennial Celebration” (7/9)
Punch Brothers, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn — A progressive-bluegrass two-fer, for those who might not even know they like rootsy Americana (7/15)
Brandi Carlile, First Aid Kit — A hip pairing, headlined by great lesbian country-rocker making her return to Wolf Trap, and kicked off with great new Swedish folk act (7/22)
Diana Krall — Smooth vocalist performs her jazz songs with the Wolf Trap Orchestra (7/25)
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals — An overdue return by these lively soul-tipped rockers (7/30)
Rufus Wainwright with NSO @ Wolf Trap — Emil de Cou conducts the NSO in a concert led by the gay chamber-pop star (7/31)
NeedtoBreathe (8/11)
Lyle Lovett & His Large Band (8/14)
Little Big Town (8/15)
ABBA – The Concert — Tribute band to a great (to some, the greatest) pop ensemble (8/16)
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (8/19)
The Beach Boys (8/23)
Santana — “Black Magic Woman” and her electric guitar-loving papi (8/25)
Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club — Adios Tour featuring the fabulous Omara Portuondo, Eliades Ochon, Guajiro Mirabal, Barbarito Torres, Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos (8/29)
Jackson Browne (9/11)
Kelly Clarkson w/Pentatonix, Eric Hutchinson — Filene Center’s season draws to a close with a bang, featuring not only the original American Idol and empower-pop star but also a Sing-Off-winning a cappella group and bright pop singer-songwriter originally from D.C. (9/12-13)
Tucked below D.C. in Dupont Underground on a recent October evening, the Washington Ballet soft-launched its 2024-2025 season with an immersive Dance for All program. In addition to a well-timed popup pre-show, TWB's lithe Studio Company performed new choreography by artistic director Edwaard Liang, set to music by composer Blake Neely.
To my surprise, Liang's was practically the first face I saw as I descended into the bustling space for the performance. The former New York City Ballet soloist-turned-choreographer, and now company leader, was greeting patrons at the door, the soul of easygoing ambassadorship.
Halloween isn't until next Thursday, but venues around town are already getting in the spirit of the spookiest season of the year.
Certainly, any spooky savant should be hellbent on making it to the 9:30 Club this Saturday, Oct. 26, for the very last BENT. "See You in HellBENT" will be hosted by Pussy Noir, who will perform along with queens from the haus of bambi and Ana Latour. Music by DJs The Barber Streisand, Samson, and the party's founder Lemz. Doors at 10 p.m. Tickets are $25. Call 202-365-0930 or visit www.930.com.
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