Oh He Dead @ Union Stage [DC] - 06/26/2021
Oh He Dead’s CJ Johnson and Andrew Valenti (Photo ©2021 Mauricio Castro)
The live music industry has begun its slow, steady climb out of the shadow of a pandemic that changed everything about our lives. Across the country, the recovery begins with the local scene, and in DC, soul band Oh He Dead is the best sign of the coming resurgence of live music in the nation’s capital.
With how much fun the crowd had on Saturday night, it could be easy to forget that Oh He Dead’s 2020 plans were going to include a tour with The Dip across the country. And it was easy to tell that CJ Johnson and Andrew Valenti were brimming with joy and gratitude. For making it through the pandemic (with a newborn child in tow for CJ, no less) and for the hundreds of fans that showed up for a Saturday night of singing and dancing. They performed fan favorites like “This Time Around” and “Lonely Sometimes,” surprised some with a cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Burning for You,” and roused the room with their powerful 2021 Tiny Desk Contest entry “The Foreigner,” written about CJ’s newborn child. If you want to root for one of DC’s best to blow up beyond the DMV, it should be this one.
Oh He Dead will be opening for The Dip in August in Denver, with hopefully more show announcements to come for the group, as well as an official release of “The Foreigner” on music services.
DMV native Cheakaity opened, whose cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” and captivating falsettos set the bar high for the night. His debut album Grown Man was released in 2020.
Photos by Mauricio Castro
