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Hailey Collins 8/5/22 Hailey Collins 8/5/22

Ethel Cain @ Union Stage [DC] - 7/24/2022

Ethel Cain is the character concept and alter-ego of Hayden Anhedönia. Anhedönia’s first full-length project, Preacher’s Daughter, draws on influences from her life growing up in a conservative southern Baptist community. The album tells the story of Ethel Cain and explores themes of love, generational trauma, abuse, religion, and ultimately ends with her getting murdered and cannibalized.

Mauricio Castro 7/28/22 Mauricio Castro 7/28/22

Newport Folk Festival 2022 - 7/22/2022 - 7/24/2022

Newport Folk Festival is always a special place to be every July - not just for the Narragansett Bay views, but also for the top-notch curation and camaraderie between artists and between attendees. After a canceled 2020 iteration and a half-capacity 2021 festival, 2022 brought a larger Harbor stage, two new smaller stages (the Bike and Foundation stage, both serving as counterprogramming to the Quad and Fort stages between their sets, respectively), but the same intimate feel, full of lawn chairs, buskers, frozen lemonade drinks, and musical surprises that fans have come to expect.

Nick Piacente 7/12/22 Nick Piacente 7/12/22

Pretty Bitter @ Comet Ping Pong [DC] - 7/1/2022

It’s been a tough few years for bands navigating the throes of a pandemic, where the ability to play live shows was only secure until the next variant came around. Local DC synth-pop band, Pretty Bitter, used the time to put together their sophomore album ‘Hinges,’ and celebrated the record release at Comet Ping Pong last Friday.

Mauricio Castro 7/7/22 Mauricio Castro 7/7/22

Purity Ring @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 6/29/2022

Having rescheduled not once, not twice, but three times, Edmonton dream-pop duo Purity Ring have been patiently waiting to show off their impressive new stage show, their 2020 album, and their latest 2022 EP to a sold-out 9:30 Club crowd.

Mauricio Castro 6/29/22 Mauricio Castro 6/29/22

Flasher @ Comet Ping Pong [DC] - 6/18/2022

DC had long been home for Domino-signed indie rock trio-turned-duo Flasher before the pandemic, but in an interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist Taylor Mulitz and drummer Emma Baker discussed their split with bassist Daniel Saperstein, Mulitz’s move to Baltimore, then California, and how the band is not interested in recreating the sound that defined their debut LP, Constant Pressure. Instead, the duo regrouped, redefined their sound, and released their sophomore album Love is Yours this month. They kicked off their first tour in years as a four-piece live band at Comet Ping Pong, bringing fellow DC groups Gauche (featuring Daniele Yandel, formerly of Priests, and Mary Jane Regalado of Downtown Boys) and Faunas in tow.
Love is Yours is out now on Domino Records.

Hailey Collins 6/22/22 Hailey Collins 6/22/22

Phoebe Bridgers @ The Anthem [DC] - 6/12/2022

Bridgers brought 2 sold-out nights of her “Reunion Tour” to The Anthem. She was originally supposed to make her stop in D.C. in October of 2021, but rescheduled due to COVID safety protocols, and many of her fans had been eagerly awaiting this moment, some waiting in line for up to fifteen hours wearing Bridger’s iconic “skeleton” outfit.

Mauricio Castro 6/9/22 Mauricio Castro 6/9/22

Turnstile @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 5/29/2022

Hell hath no joyous fury like a hometown, tour-concluding Turnstile show. The DMV hardcore group have toured North America and Europe for most of 2022 up until now, racking up tons of sold-out venues and talk show placements in the process.

Mauricio Castro 6/8/22 Mauricio Castro 6/8/22

Alisa Amador (NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest Tour) @ Songbyrd Music House [DC] - 5/24/2022

For the last few years, NPR has been putting out the call for unsigned bands in the USA to submit videos of their own original music, with the hopes of winning and getting to perform at the now-famous Tiny Desk. Fantastic Negrito and Tank and the Bangas were two standout recipients of the very competitive annual contest who have gone on to sell out large venues and even win Grammy Awards. In DC, home of NPR’s Tiny Desk, this year’s winner and last year’s winner got together at Songbyrd alongside two other groups from the DMV, hand-picked by member station WAMU/DCist.

Hailey Collins 6/8/22 Hailey Collins 6/8/22

Sofi Tukker @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 5/22/2022

Sofi Tukker kicked off the opening night of their Wet Tennis Tour with the first of 2 sold-out nights at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The vibe in the room made it clear that the crowd had been eagerly awaiting the two-time Grammy-nominated dance pop duo’s sophomore album.

Mauricio Castro 5/27/22 Mauricio Castro 5/27/22

Shad at Songbyrd Music House [DC] - 5/22/2022

Shad is both a student and a teacher of hip-hop, and on Sunday night, he gave a textbook performance on the mic. As the host of Netflix’s extensive docuseries Hip-Hop Evolution, the Canadian rapper interviewed key figures in the genre, like LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash, and Three 6 Mafia, and his enthusiasm for the craft shows.

Mauricio Castro 5/19/22 Mauricio Castro 5/19/22

No-No Boy @ Songbyrd Music House [DC] - 5/15/2022

The musical definition of folk music is fluid based on what part of the world you’re asking the question in, but one thing that doesn’t change is that it is a storytelling vehicle, one that can be passed down from one generation to the next. And by that definition, No-No Boy is the folk artist that we need right now.

Mauricio Castro 5/10/22 Mauricio Castro 5/10/22

Adia Victoria @ Miracle Theatre [DC] - 4/21/2022

Victoria and her four-piece live band continues the musical lineage of the legendary Ma Rainey and “Empress of the Blues” Bessie Smith in their own loud and raucous way, turning the guitar fuzz up on “Ain’t Killed Me Yet” and “Head Rot.” She performed covers of Bobbie Gentry’s “Parchman Farm” and Blind Willie McTell’s blues classic “You Was Born to Die,” the latter of which she recorded for her latest album.

Mauricio Castro 4/20/22 Mauricio Castro 4/20/22

July Talk @ Union Stage [DC] - 4/12/2022

…Their Union Stage performance was one that gave co-leads Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis much more space to do their thing - dance, jump, and show off some theatrical give and take between the two.

Mauricio Castro 4/15/22 Mauricio Castro 4/15/22

Genesis Owusu @ DC9 [DC] - 4/8/2022

Kofi Owusu-Ansah is in a league all his own. It didn't take his dominant DC9 show for me to make that call, but it helped. His 2021 album Smiling With No Teeth is a blender of musical genres that relentlessly whipsaws through funk, soul, rap, punk, and synth-pop, lyrically exploring racism, depression, and more.

Mauricio Castro 4/13/22 Mauricio Castro 4/13/22

L'Imperatrice @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 4/6/2022

Hearts of all kinds - broken ones, confused ones, and ones overflowing with joy - are the thematic centerpiece of Tako Tsubo. The band made an accompanying visual statement at 9:30 Club by dressing in all red and wearing light-up LED hearts that synced with their stage lights.

Hailey Collins 4/12/22 Hailey Collins 4/12/22

Glass Animals @ The Anthem [DC] - 3/29/2022

The Anthem in the nation’s capital was Glass Animals’ last stop on their U.S. tour behind their acclaimed 2020 album, Dreamland. The quartet from Oxford was nominated for a Grammy this year for “best new artist” which has many fans confused considering “Gooey” and “Black Mambo” have been staples in the indie pop scene since 2014.They treated the crowd at the Anthem to a night of neon 90’s nostalgia.

Mauricio Castro 4/8/22 Mauricio Castro 4/8/22

Lido Pimienta and Combo Chimbita @ Songbyrd Music House [DC] - 4/5/2022

The pairing of Lido Pimienta, and Combo Chimbita in one night is an exceptional poster child for the rich musical culture of Colombia. The two carry on the tradition of Afro-Indigenous storytelling themes - colonialism, inequality, unrest, resistance, and more come together in their own musically diverse ways.

Mauricio Castro 4/5/22 Mauricio Castro 4/5/22

Peach Pit @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 4/2/2022

The last time Vancouver-based Peach Pit came to town was in 2017, when they were opening for Diane Coffee at DC9. They had just released their debut album, Being So Normal, just a month and a half prior. Since then, they’ve gone on to release two more albums and gained a lot of popularity, so much so that five years later, they’ve upgraded venues to a sold-out, 1,200-person one. It’s not hard to see why.

Mauricio Castro 3/28/22 Mauricio Castro 3/28/22

Kishi Bashi @ 9:30 Club [DC] - 3/25/2022

No longer a touring one-man band with a looping machine, Kishi Bashi’s four-piece live band performed the entirety of 151a, and the rest of the set was dedicated to other fan favorites from his more recent output. Not leaving his loop pedal past behind, he provided multiple opportunities during the show for new fans to see just how inventive he can get with one.

Mauricio Castro 3/23/22 Mauricio Castro 3/23/22

SXSW and Luck Reunion 2022 Recap

This year’s return to downtown Austin has been highly-anticipated, even if the number of musical acts shrunk from 2,000 in 2019 to 1,500 this year. Because even so, that’s still a lot of music to take in within the span of a week.