The Joy Formidable is coming to the 9:30 Club on Sunday, 21 April, and ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of tickets! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me why you want to go to this concert, and I’ll pick the winners at random (using random.org) on Tuesday, 12 February at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry and won’t be added to any sort of mailing list). If you’re a hotmail user, please add showlistdc@gmail.com to your address book or no-spam list, as other hotmail users have had problems with emails from us not getting through. Also note that we ask winners to respond within 24 hours, or else we have to pick another winner, so make sure to check your email regularly!
There’s a lot to like about The Joy Formidable: big hooks, catchy songs, a charismatic frontwoman, and a fun live show; the Welsh band formed in 2007 and just released its second album Wolf’s Law. The album’s been getting some great reviews– an A- from the AV club, a 7.2 from Pitchfork, and 3.5 stars from Rolling Stone. It’s full of hooky guitar anthems that could fill booming spaces (it’s probably not that surprising that they opened for the Foo Fighters at the Verizon Center in 2011), so the 9:30 Club should be a great venue to see them at! They most recently played locally at St. Stephen’s Church last November, and you can see a review of that show and some photos of the band here.
If all the press buzz isn’t enough to convince you, then have a listen for yourself: they’ve got a video out for their new song “This Ladder is Ours” which we’ve linked below, and they’ve also got the audio for all of Wolf’s Law streaming on their youtube page. And if that’s not reason enough to go to the show, then check out the two opening bands, Brighton alt-rock duo Blood Red Shoes and Massachusetts band You Won’t, and tell us why you’re most excited for this show: is it the new songs? an old favorite from TJF’s first album The Big Roar? Did you miss out on tickets to their last show before it sold out? Tell us why you want to go see the band on 4/21 at the 9:30 Club!
Hey, if you’re new to ShowlistDC and wondering what this site is all about, check out our extensive calendar of upcoming events in the greater DC area (including Northern VA and Baltimore) and our concert recommendations. You can also follow us on twitter @showlistdc or like us on Facebook!
If you come across this post after the contest has closed, or if you’re not the lucky winner, then you can pick up tickets for $25, plus service fees, via ticketfly.com.
The contest hsa closed and the winner has been notified!
Lyle Lovett is coming to Wolf Trap on Tuesday, 14 August, and ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of orchestra tickets! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me which song you’d most like to hear Lovett play live, and I’ll pick the winners at random (using random.org) on Thursday, 9 August at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry and won’t be added to any sort of mailing list). If you’re a hotmail user, please add showlistdc@gmail.com to your address book or no-spam list, as other hotmail users have had problems with emails from us not getting through. Also note that we ask winners to respond within 24 hours, or else we have to pick another winner, so make sure to check your email regularly!
Lyle Lovett plays both solo acoustic and “large band” shows, but this one is somewhat in between; it’s being billed as “Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Group”. It should be a good hybrid for the gorgeous Wolf Trap stage– that space always feels a lot more intimate than its size might suggest, and Lovett’s devastating, laid-back tunes should sound great here! In case you don’t know much about him, here’s a little history: he released his first solo album back in 1986(!) and has won four Grammies throughout his career (Best Country Album in 1996, Best Country Male Vocal in 1989, Best Country Duo/Group with Vocal in 1994 with Asleep at the Wheel, and Best Pop Vocal Collaboration in 1994 with Al Green). He’s also acted in a number of films (and yes, he was briefly married to Julia Roberts, whom he met on the set of The Player). While he’s probably most often labelled as a “country singer/songwriter”, his songs are understated and laid-back, not at all like the sound most people associate with mainstream country these days.
He has released 13 studio albums to date (you can see his discography here); his most recent album is Release Me, which features a few originals and a ton of covers including Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues” and Chuck Berry’s “Brown-Eyed Handsome Man”. He’s sure to play songs from his whole career too, so check out some videos from some of our favorite songs below, and let us know what song you’d like to hear him play! (As an aside: We like to make giveaways on ShowlistDC open to anyone, whether or not you’re already familiar with the band’s music! So sample some of Lovett’s songs, and if you like what you hear, then throw your name in the hat to check out a show by this great songwriter!)
If you come across this post after the contest has closed, or if you’re not the lucky winner, then you can pick up tickets for $42 (orchestra) or $25 (lawn), plus service fees, via tickets.com. And now on to the videos….
“If You Were To Wake Up” (not an official video, but it’s our favorite of Lovett’s songs)
“In My Own Mind”
“North Dakota”
“She’s Already Made Up Her Mind”
Contest is now closed and the winner has been notified!
Wilco and the Lee Ranaldo Band are coming to Wolf Trap this month, and ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of front orchestra tickets to the show on Tuesday, 17 July! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me which song from either band you’d most like to hear live, and I’ll pick the winners at random (using random.org) on Thursday, 12 July at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry and won’t be added to any sort of mailing list). If you’re a hotmail user, please add showlistdc@gmail.com to your address book or no-spam list, as other hotmail users have had problems with emails from us not getting through.
In case you don’t know anything about these bands, here’s a little history: Wilco is a rock band from Chicago that formed in 1994 when the alt-country band Uncle Tupelo broke up. They’ve released a ton of albums over their career, and each one seems to have its own story: By far, its most famous album is 2002′s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which Wilco streamed for months on its web site before releasing it officially on Nonesuch (the album was rejected by Wilco’s previous label, Reprise Records, who then dropped the band but gave it the rights to the album). Wilco also collaborated with Billy Bragg on two albums of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs, 1998′s Mermaid Avenue and 2000′s Mermaid Avenue II. More recently, Wilco added avant-garde guitarist Nels Cline to its lineup; he’s been with the band since 2007′s Sky Blue Sky and also appears on their most recent album The Whole Love, which came out last year. We’ve got the video for “Born Alone” from The Whole Love below, so check it out if you haven’t heard it yet!
We love it when shows have awesome openers, and this show is a great example: kicking off the show is the Lee Ranaldo Band, which is fronted by Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo. Ranaldo has had a long history of experimental projects away from Sonic Youth, but his latest solo album, Between the Times and the Tides, is a song-based, very straightforward rock album. He’s joined on the album by guitarists Nels Cline and Alan Licht, Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, and keyboardist John Medeski. (Seems fairly perfect that Nels Cline would perform with both bands at this show!)
All in all, this is shaping up to be an awesome show, so check out some videos from the bands below, and let us know what song you’d like to hear either group perform live! And hey, if you’re new to ShowlistDC and wondering what this site is all about, check out our extensive calendar of upcoming events in the greater DC area (including Northern VA and Baltimore). We also make concert recommendations and post a daily round-up of DC-area music news and reviews. You can also follow us on twitter @showlistdc or like us on Facebook!
If you come across this post after the contest has closed, or if you’re not the lucky winner, then you can pick up tickets for $45 (orchestra) or $35 (lawn), plus service fees, via tickets.com. You can also check out a video preview of other July performances at Wolf Trap here (which includes some cool footage of Wilco as well!).
Contest is now closed and the winner has been notified!
St Vincent and David Byrne have collaborated on an album together and are touring to Strathmore in Bethesda, MD, on Sunday 9/30/12, and ShowlistDC is giving away tickets before they go on sale to the general public this Friday morning! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me which song from either of their discographies (or a cover!) you’d like to hear them play together, and I’ll pick the winners at random (using random.org) on Thursday, 28 June at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry and won’t be added to any sort of mailing list). If you’re a hotmail user, please add showlistdc@gmail.com to your address book or no-spam list, as other hotmail users have had problems with emails from us not getting through.
Just in case you don’t know anything about these artists or their collaboration, here’s some more information: St Vincent is the stage name of Annie Clark, who got her start playing with the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens before starting her own solo career with the album Marry Me in 2007. David Byrne definitely doesn’t need an introduction, but here’s a brief summary anyway: he was in the Talking Heads from 1975-1991 and has had an extensive solo career (including several collaborations with Brian Eno) that has included work in theatre and film. (For those interested in Byrne’s writing, he writes lengthy (if infrequent) blog posts on his web site as well.)
Their collaborative album is called Love This Giant and is due to be released on 9/11 via 4AD/Toto Mundo. It includes 10 collaborative tracks and two written by each musician individually, with vocal duties split in half. Antibalas and the Dap-Kings appear on one track as well. Pitchfork recently interviewed Clark about the collaboration, and you can download one of the songs on their web site, LoveThisGiant.com or watch it on the video below. The tour will feature songs from the collaboration as well as songs from their individual discographies, and they’ve lined up a band that includes eight brass players(!), a keyboardist, and a drummer, according to Byrne.
If you come across this post after the contest has closed, or if you’re not the lucky winner, then you can pick up tickets for $55, $75, or $125 (depending on location), plus service fees, via Ticketfly here, starting at 10 AM on Friday, 29 June.
Contest is now closed and the winner has been notified! Thanks for entering!
We’ve got a double “win ‘em before you can buy ‘em” contest this week here on ShowlistDC! Hot Chip and Sleigh Bells are playing at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday, July 22nd, and Metric is playing at Strathmore on Friday, September 21st. Tickets to both shows go on sale this Friday (May 18th) at 10 AM, but we’re giving away a pair of tickets to each show before you can buy them! You can enter to win tickets to either show (or both shows!), but you can only win tickets to one show. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me which show you’d like to enter for (remember that you can enter for both!) and I’ll pick the winners at random (using random.org) on Thursday, 17 May at 7 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry).
The first of the two shows is Hot Chip and Sleigh Bells with a special DJ set by James Murphy (DFA/LCD Soundsystem). Hot Chip is a British electropop group that formed in 2000. The group has released four albums which have all been extremely well-received (the lowest score they got on Pitchfork was a 7.0, with the other three albums receiving an 8.0 or above). They’ve got a new one coming out in June, In Our Heads, so this show is certain to feature a lot of new songs as well. Opening the show is Sleigh Bells, a New York duo of Derek Edward Miller on guitar and Alexis Krauss on vocals. It’s been a busy year for Sleigh Bells: they put out their second album, Reign of Terror, in February, sold out the 9:30 Club in March, and opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Verizon Center last week. Then there’s James Murphy, who co-founded DFA Records and performed in LCD Soundsystem, who’ll be doing a DJ set to open the whole show. Murphy announced that he was retiring LCD Soundsystem last year (the group’s last concert was in New York in April 2011), but he didn’t drop out of music entirely: he released a song with Gorillaz and Andre 2000 earlier this year, and it’s great to see him still out performing, so make sure you get to this show early enough to catch his opening set. When tickets go on sale, they’ll be available via ticketfly.com for $35 (lawn) or $45 (pavilion) plus applicable fees. (Note that we’re giving away lawn tickets.)
In September, Canadian indie-rock group Metric is playing the majestic theatre Strathmore up in Bethesda– this place has fantastic sound, so it’ll be great to hear these guys in such an incredible space. Metric formed back in 1998 and has released four studio albums, with a fifth– Synthetica– coming out in June. Another show that’s sure to feature a bunch of new tunes! Frontwoman Emily Haines posted a note on the group’s official site about the album, writing, “SYNTHETICA is about staying home and wanting to crawl out of your skin from the lack of external stimulation. SYNTHETICA is about forcing yourself to confront what you see in the mirror when you finally stand still long enough to catch a reflection. SYNTHETICA is about being able to identify the original in a long line of reproductions. It’s about what is real vs what is artificial.” We’re not entirely sure what that means, exactly, but it sure sounds intriguing. Tickets for this show will go on sale 5/18 via ticketmaster.com for $47 plus applicable fees.
Check out some music videos of all of these bands, then let me know in the comments which show (or both!) you’d like to attend. And if you come across this post after the contest has closed, you can pick up tickets via Ticketfly for Hot Chip/Sleigh Bells and Ticketmaster for Metric.
Canadian rock trio Rush are performing at Jiffy Lube Live (formerly Nissan Pavilion) on Sunday, September 9th, and ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of tickets before you can buy them! That’s right, tickets go on sale via ticketmaster.com this Friday, May 4th at 10 AM, but we’re giving away a pair of tickets before then! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me what song you’d most want to hear Rush play live, and I’ll pick a winner at random (using random.org) on Thursday, 3 May at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry). Note that the tickets we’re giving away are seats inside the pavilion, not lawn seats– this is an awesome deal for Rush fans to see the band up close!
Rush formed in Toronto in 1968, and over the decades since then, the influential prog-rock trio has become known for the stratospheric vocals of bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee, the powerhouse drumming of lyricist Neil Peart, and the guitar riffs of Alex Lifeson. Their last show in the area was in September of 2010, where they played their classic 1981 album Moving Pictures (the one with hits like “Tom Sawyer”, “YYZ”, and “Limelight”) in its entirety, as well as a bunch of other songs spanning their career (I was lucky enough to get to review the concert for the Washington Post’s Express; you can read my review– which includes the show’s set list– here). This time around, though, they’ll be touring in support of their new album, Clockwork Angels, which is due to come out on June 12th, so they’re almost certain to play a lot of new songs in addition to their old hits. You can listen to their latest single from the album, “Headlong Flight”, in the youtube video below, to get a flavor of what their new material will sound like. Rush is touring without an opener (that seems to be standard for them of late), so we’re expecting that they’ll play two long sets of music.
Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds are performing at the new Penn Quarter venue The Hamilton on Thursday, April 19th, and ShowlistDC is giving away not one but TWO pairs of tickets! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite kind of bird, and I’ll pick two winners at random (using random.org) on Friday, 13 April at midnight Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry). If you just can’t wait until then (or if this contest is closed by the time you read this), tickets are available via eventfarm.com for $17.50 (with, apparently, no service fees!!!).
Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds is a nine-piece soul collective from Brooklyn that’s fronted by powerhouse singer Arleigh Kincheloe and her brother, harmonica-player Jackson Kincheloe. The band also features drummer Bram Kincheloe (Arleigh and Jackson’s cousin), guitarist Sasha Brown, bassist Aidan Carroll, baritone saxophonist Johnny Butler (who’s also recorded with Fugazi’s Joe Lally and with Beyonce), trombonist Ryan Snow (of the experimental band Pull), alto saxophonist JJ Byars, and trumpeter Phil Rodriguez (who has recorded with Hercules and Love Affair and Eleanor Friedberger).
If you couldn’t tell from that list of instruments, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds is heavy on the horns– which gives their music a lot of energy. They just released their second album at the end of February, entitled Pound of Dirt, so we’re guessing the show will be heavy on their new material. You can check out the video for their song “Make It Rain” or a live performance of the album’s title song “Dirt“. It should be a great show, so bring your dancing shoes!
The contest has closed and the winners have been notified. Thanks to all who entered! If you still want to go to the show, tickets are available via eventfarm.com.
Mos Def (who now goes by the name Yasiin Bey) is headlining the 9:30 Club on Monday, February 20th, and ShowlistDC is giving away a pair of tickets! All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post telling me a song you’d like to hear him perform– either from his solo career or from Black Star– and I’ll pick a winner at random on Friday, 10 February at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry).
The cool thing about this show is that even though it’s on a Monday night, it’s the Monday of President’s Day weekend, so your Monday night is really more like a Sunday night, and you have no real excuse to stay home. Right? Right! If you’d like to check out some of Mos Def’s music, check out some of his videos: “Casa Bay“, “History” (featuring Talib Kweli), and “Sex, Love, & Money“.
Again, all you have to do to win this pair of tickets is tell me the name of the song you’d most like to see him perform– and if you need a song title refresher, check out his discography, and remember that Black Star just released its new single “Fix Up” in anticipation of an as-yet-untitled album rumored to be released later this year. I’ll select a winner from the entries posted at random (via random.org) at 5 PM Eastern on Friday, 10 February for this pair of tickets. I’ll contact you via email if you win, so be sure to use an email address you check regularly! (and again: it won’t be posted publicly when you comment below.)
If you just can’t wait until then, note that tickets are available via ticketfly.com for $35 plus a $6 service fee and a $4 order processing fee, for a total of $45. Tickets can also be purchased at the 9:30 Club box office for a total of $36 (the club charges a $1 fee, even when purchasing with cash at the box office), any time the box office is open (12-7 PM M-F OR on show nights: 12-11 PM M-F, 6-11 PM Sat, and 6-10:30 PM Sunday).
Contest is now closed and the winner has been notified. You can still purchase tickets on ticketfly.com. Thanks so much for entering!
Hey, DC-area Phish fans! We’re giving away a pair of tickets to see Strange Design at the Fillmore Silver Spring this Friday, 20 January 2012. We all know how much Phish fans love listening to live recordings of the band, so all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite Phish live show or song, and I’ll pick a winner at random on Thursday, 19 January at 5 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry).
A little bit about this show: Strange Design is a group that recreates Phish shows in their entirety, and at this show, they’ll be performing the second night of Phish’s legendary two-night stand at Arrowhead Ranch in 1991. The unique thing about that 1991 concert is that Phish performed with special guests the Giant Country Horns– and at the Fillmore show this Friday, Strange Design will have The Big Apple Horns to help them recreate that sound. If you’d like to hear how Strange Design sounds covering Phish, check out this video of the group performing “Reba”.
So again: leave a comment below telling me your favorite Phish live show or song, and I’ll select a winner at random (via random.org) at 5 PM Eastern on Thursday, 19 January for this pair of tickets. I’ll contact you via email if you win, so be sure to use an email address you check regularly! (and again: it won’t be posted publicly when you comment below.)
And if you just can’t wait until then, note that tickets are available via livenation.com for just $5 plus $3 in fees, for a total of $8. That’s a damn bargain since tickets for the original show were $17.50 and that was two decades ago when everything was cheaper! But still, the best bargain of all is to get ‘em for free, so head on over to Phish’s tour archive and let me know what your favorite Phish show or song is!
UPDATE: We were able to give away TWO pairs of tickets to this concert! Thanks to all who entered– contest is now closed and winners have been notified!
To celebrate the first full year of show listings here on ShowlistDC.com, we’re giving away a pair of tickets to see the Drive-By Truckers and Booker T at the 9:30 Club on 31 December. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite album released in 2011, and I’ll pick a winner at random on Thursday, 29 December at 6 PM Eastern. Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter, so I can contact you if you win (and don’t worry: your email address won’t be posted publicly when you comment on this entry).
A little bit about the show: the Drive-By Truckers are a Southern rock band with a 15-year history (and an even longer pedigree: co-founder/songwriter Patterson Hood is the son of Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section bassist David Hood). They’re known for their excellent songwriting and booming three-guitar sound. They released their 9th studio album, Go-Go Boots, earlier this year, and they’re capping off a three-night stand at the 9:30 Club with this special New Years Eve show, where they’ll be performing with Booker T. Booker T is a longtime Memphis soul performer, whose band Booker T & the M.G.’s served as the Stax Records house band as well as scoring its own hits. Also performing will be the Alabama Shakes. This should be an awesome show with both old and new Southern bands– and there’s even a champagne toast at midnight.
If you’re still not convinced, here are some tunes you can listen to: the Drive-By Truckers’ “Working This Job“, the new Booker T song “Representing Memphis” (with Matt Berninger of The National and Sharon Jones), and the classic Booker T & the M.G.’s tune “Green Onions“. And there’s also this great article published last year in the Village Voice about the Truckers. But just trust us, this is going to be a fun night!
So leave a comment below telling me your favorite album released this year, and I’ll select a winner at random (via random.org) at 6 PM Eastern on Thursday, 29 December for this pair of tickets. I’ll contact you via email if you win, so be sure to use an email address you check regularly! (and again: it won’t be posted publicly when you comment below.)
And if you just can’t wait until then, note that tickets are available via ticketfly.com for $55 plus a $8.80 service fee and a $4 order processing fee, for a total of $67.80. Tickets can also be purchased at the 9:30 Club box office for a total of $56 (the club charges a $1 fee, even when purchasing with cash at the box office), any time the box office is open (12-7 PM M-F OR on show nights: 12-11 PM M-F, 6-11 PM Sat, and 6-10:30 PM Sunday).
Contest is now closed! Congratulations to our winner, Debbie!
