Kacy Hill (Photo Credit: Chuck Grant) Kacy Hill started her headlining tour the correct way, by having the first show in DC. She performed at Songbyrd Music House on May 29th, to what, by all appearances on the inside, looked like a sell out. Kacy is touring for her fourth album, BUG (via Nettwerk), released this past May. She’s an indie pop artist, zooming around the edges of dream pop, with elements of R&B and electronica. Kacy described the album in the press release, ‘BUG was made over the course of two years and became an outlet to say what I had been silently feeling in my relationsh ..read more

Ingrid Michaelson (Photo from FB @ingridmichaelson) Joy to the world. Ingrid Michaelson came to town with gifts in the form of three Holiday Pops shows at the Kennedy Center, performing with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), where I was able to witness the second (matinee at 2pm) show on Saturday, December 11th. Holiday and Christmas-themed music seems to exist to give one a general sense of happiness and call up comforting memories of previous holiday seasons with loved ones. Yet I often get to the point where I tune out the music, as it has been ubiquitous for so long during the month o ..read more

MisterWives (Photo Credit: Matty Vogel) “Don’t fight it, feel it! Feel better than when you got here!” – Mandy Lee (pumping up the The Anthem audience) The indie pop band MisterWives was joined by Bishop Briggs and Raffaella at The Anthem on September 12th for a very fine evening of music. MisterWives is touring for their fourth album, Nosebleeds (via Photo Finish / Resilient Little Records), and boy did they want all of us in the burgeoning crowd to feel every beat and nuance of that album. Of the 17 songs they performed in total, 13 (of 14) came from Nosebleeds! I have seen MisterWives twice ..read more

Yumi Zouma (Photo Credit: Jack Sheppard) The mighty electropop band from New Zealand, Yumi Zouma, comes to DC9 on March 12th. Get there! They are touring for their third album Truth or Consequences (via Polyvinyl Record Co.), coming out on March 13th. The day after their show. (Maybe they’ll have advance copies of vinyl or CD.) The lightest, dreamiest pop you can imagine comes in the form of “Cool For a Second”, a song about desperately wanting someone back. Yumi Zouma started in 2014, and is Christie Simpson (vocals, keyboards), Josh Burgess (vocals, guitar, bass, etc.), Charlie Ryder (guitar ..read more

The siblings of Echosmith (Photo courtesy of Press Here Publicity) The word you are looking for is ‘charming’.  When it comes to the three siblings of Echosmith, charming is the best way to describe their high energy demeanor during their performance at the 9:30 Club on October 16th.  With sister Sydney Quiseng (lead vocals, guitar), and brothers Noah Sierota (bass, synthesizer), and Graham Sierota (drums), Echosmith led the fired up crowd through 15 songs, along with a rapid medley of five of their older songs. This was the third show on the Hang Around Tour, the first tour the ..read more

Yumi Zouma (Photo Credit: Nick Grennon) Dream pop lives! Yumi Zouma embodies every aspect of dream pop, all in a good way. The New Zealand band came to DC on April 9th to showcase their atmospheric music and upbeat choruses to a nearly full Black Cat. It is always good to be back at the Cat, the first time I had made it since before the pandemic, and it was encouraging to see so many excited fans of the band arriving early to also catch the opener, NoSo. The last time Yumi Zouma performed to a DC crowd was the day before the city shut down for COVID-19 (March 12, 2020 at DC9), to promote their ..read more

Yumi Zouma (Photo Credit: Aaron Lee and Alex Evan) Yumi Zouma, an alternative/dream pop band from New Zealand, graces DC via the Black Cat on Saturday, April 9th.  They are touring for their fourth album, Present Tense (via Polyvinyl), which came out in March. They’ve released three singles from Present Tense, and have developed a thematic series of videos for these three songs. “Astral Projection” (Part III in the trilogy), is about looking to the future after a relationship that didn’t go as planned, and accepting the emotions you feel as that future takes shape. “Agreeing to make ..read more

The Marías (Photo Credit: Ashley Seryn) The Marías gifted DC fans a music love letter at the 9:30 Club on February 14th, and as a bonus they showered the adoring masses with flowers. Their tour is called CINEMA, to honor their first full length album, of which they masterfully performed 8 (of the 13) songs from that album. A disembodied voice introduced the band, and as the first notes of the intro track on CINEMA, “Just a Feeling”, flowed through the sold out 9:30 Club crowd, a palpable joy set in. Although The Marías are a relatively new band (they formed in 2016), it wasn’t only a feel ..read more

The War on Drugs play at The Anthem on Feb. 2nd! (Photo Credit: Shawn Brackbill) Concerts to start 2022. Yes, please. Let’s assume that the world doesn’t go pear-shaped, and we continue to have live concerts in the coming weeks and months. With that needful assurance, how should you spent your time and to which artists and venues should you open your wallet wide for? Here are some shows and scenarios that should get you on the right path! (Editor’s Note: Updated 1/19/22. Changes are afoot.) The Wombats @ 9:30 Club (1/20 & 1/21/22) 1/20 Tickets available! (Pro Tip: I am listening to “Jump ..read more

Yumi Zouma (Photo from: Aaron Lee) ‘This is a very special show! Christie, do you want to tell them why?” – Josh Burgess of Yumi Zouma ‘Because it is probably the first and only show of the tour!’ – Christie Simpson New Zealand’s Yumi Zouma came to DC9 on March 12th to kick off their U.S. tour in support of their third album, Truth or Consequences (via Polyvinyl Record Co.). The good news, they played a great show in DC, the lucky city, with LA’s Magdalena Bay opening. The bad news, now they have to return home and cancel the remaining tour dates due to the coronavirus pandemic. And, this was ..read more