On a rainy Tuesday evening, fans of all ages packed the historic, 1,262 seat Strand Theatre in York, PA, for a 20-song set by Santa Barbara, California band Toad The Wet Sprocket. The Strand Theatre is one of two historic theatre’s in York which comprise the Appell Center for the Performing […]
Live Music
Fontaines D.C. Returns to Baltimore in a Big Way
There are times when dwelling on nostalgia can make a person miss what’s in front of them, and there are plenty of on-line squabbles about the death of rock ‘n’ roll, but I’m here to say if you are in that camp you aren’t paying attention to possibly the best […]
HU Presents Riverfront Park Concert Series – Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
The week before The National closed out the concert series at Riverfront Park in Harrisburg, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats treated us to an amazing show! We had an extra special treat because HISS Golden Messenger opening the show. HU Presents has really done an outstanding job of getting […]
The National @ Harrisburg Riverfront Park, 9.24.2022
This show was part of a wonderfully curated series by HU Presents, who continue to bring the best music possible to Harrisburg and Pennsylvania. Life is well-governed by the quietest loves and the loudest loves, with all those in-between half-forgotten. The moments when a snore tumbles onto a shoulder, a […]
Josh Ritter delivers a heartfelt and intimate acoustic performance at The Appell Center
Brandon and I met up for drinks at Gift Horse Brewing Company in downtown York this past Friday evening. He was photographing Josh Ritter, and it was my birthday so we decided to meet for a long overdue happy hour prior to his show. While we sat outside enjoying a […]
IDLES Returns to DC to Bring Back the Love
Back in 2019, when IDLES made their first US stops in Baltimore and DC I came out of the experience saying believe the hype, and after having again witnessed this band take the stage at the 9:30 Club last year for two sold out shows and then again this past […]
Courtney Barnett Returns to Rock Rams Head Live!
Since the release of the fantastic Things Take Time, Take Time the latter part of last year, Courtney Barnett has been busy. Not only touring with her longstanding band of Dave Mudie (drums) and Bones Sloane (bass) but kicking off the touring festival “Here and There” which saw Barnett go […]
Lucy Dacus Brings the Heat to Rams Head Live! 7.25.22
It’s not every day you get to see magic happen, but when you do you know it immediately. At Rams Head Live!, on a sweltering July evening, Richmond native Lucy Dacus brought her Home Video tour to a sold out (twice!) Baltimore stop. Previously scheduled in April, the new date […]
Steep Canyon Rangers at The Appell Center
Earlier this spring Woody Platt had announced that after 23 years he was going cut back on touring and stay closer to home. In planning for Woody’s departure, the Steep Canyon Rangers would have to change things up in order to prepare for the future. Little did they know tonight, […]
Lake Street Dive at the Appell Center, York PA
It’s a Wednesday evening in the city of York, Pa. On the corner of George and Philadelphia Streets there were a couple of tour busses parked on the curb. That could only mean one thing, there’s a band at the Appell Center for the Performing Arts and what a band […]
Flogging Molly Shake and Rattle The Anthem With Help from The Interrupters
There’s something to be said for the knowing surprise. That sense that there’s something that you know is going to happen but you aren’t prepared for how it’s going to go down. Before Wednesday night at The Anthem in DC I knew Flogging Molly and had an appreciation of their […]
Appell Center in York PA Welcomes Lake Street Dive this Wednesday
YORK, PA (May 13, 2022) – Appell Center for the Performing Arts is excited to welcome LakeStreet Dive as they continue their tour across the US, including this stop in the Strand Theatreon Wednesday, June 22. The following is courtesy of the band’s press release: Lake Street Dive has partnered […]
First Thursday, 6.2.2022
WTMD has long championed the causes of up-and-comers in the indie scene and identified the musicians and acts that will capture the nation’s interest. The June 2022 iteration of First Thursday is no different, with the soon-to-be-massive Momma playing a massive set before the ascendant beabadoobee followed. Momma Momma has […]
Long Awaited Return of Delfest!
Thursday morning, with much anticipation, I found myself on a westbound journey to my home that would last for the next couple of days. That’s correct, after a couple of years off due to the Pandemic Delfest was back on my plate! Upon arrival on the grounds, I visited with […]
5.5.2022 – The Triumphant Return of WTMD’s First Thursday
2 years and 8 months. It had been 2 years and 8 months since the last time WTMD hosted a First Thursday concert at the Canton Waterfront Park. They’ve had plenty of time to plan and they delivered, as they always do. They celebrated local music, emerging music in the […]
Charm City Bluegrass, a Baltimore Tradition Returns
With much anticipation the festival season has started with the Charm City Bluegrass Festival. The return to music in these strange times is now upon us as the City of Baltimore serving as its host. In a book penned by Tim Newby entitled Bluegrass in Baltimore, you can see how […]
The Triumphant Return of Charm City Bluegrass Festival
The Charm City Bluegrass Festival is back! After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival which started in 2013 was back at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park and you couldn’t have picked a better weekend. The winter chill was gone (at least for now – I’m lookin’ at […]
Finding Revelation with Big Thief @ The Anthem, 4.21.22
Sometimes, the easy disenchantment of the music business overtakes us, its lab-grown and cut stones a little too much. Have you ever taken a fist-sized rock – maybe in your backyard, maybe somewhere in the woods – and cracked it against the ground, its hidden crystals shining on the pavement, […]
Fireside Live with Tedeschi Trucks Band
On Monday evening I ventured into downtown York, PA to see the Tedeschi Trucks Band. This show was dubbed as Fireside Live, meaning that it was a scaled down version of the usual 12 piece Tedeschi Trucks Band. To start the evening though, Raye Zaragoza opened the show. This […]
Revisiting Hiss Golden Messenger’s Poor Moon
God is good and it’s understoodhe moves in mysterious ways. M.C. Taylor Back in late 2012, as the leaves shed their false selves, I traveled along the dusty and unpoliced blogosphere, finding a song on my feed with an album cover featuring a red handprint, no artist named, and the […]
Snoh Aalegra Delivers Violet Skies and an Exceptional Performance To The Anthem
Snoh Aalegra brought her Ugh, These Temporary Highs tour to DC’s The Anthem on 3.31.2022 and those in attendance were witness to an amazing performance by the Grammy nominated singer/songwriter and her highly skilled band. This was the seventh of 24 shows on the tour, which began a few weeks ago in Detroit and concludes […]
Thao @ 9:30 Club, 3.31.2022
Thao Nguyen came to DC with fire in her lungs, fever in her feet, and a shimmering incandescence that blasted off the stage. Wearing reflective gold for her homecoming crowd (originally from Falls Church, a suburb of DC), she rippled into and through a set that included old and new […]
Kishi Bashi @ 9:30 Club, 3.25.2022
Like a lot of people, I first learned about the music of Kishi Bashi from a recommendation by Bob Boilen (of NPR’s Tiny Desk) way back in 2012ish. I fell hard for 151a (pronounced “ichi-go ichi-e) and have quietly followed every album since, but never been to one of his […]
The Swell Season @ The Anthem, 3.18.22
I first saw The Swell Season at the Lincoln Theater, somewhere around 2006, singing their songs as a duo while Damien Rice (the headliner) swayed on the ground behind them. My roommate, Nick and I, had listened to the album since it’d come out earlier in the year. We knew […]
The Wonder Years Finally Return to Rams Head Live
After the postponement of not just one, but two album anniversary tours, The Wonder Years came out swinging on Sunday night in Baltimore. For the first time in two years, one of the most respected pop punk names in the scene were finally on tour. The Wonder Years released several […]
Low Cut Connie Heats Up The Recher on a Freezing Night
What do you do when the world contracts and you start feeling boxed in? For Low Cut Connie, the creative vehicle for Philadelphia-based soul brawler, Adam Weiner, you find creative ways to push back outward. Shortly after the release of his most recently LP, Private Lives, Adam, frustrated with the […]
Singing Lamentations with American Aquarium – 12.9.21 @ Baltimore Soundstage
BJ Barham writes sad songs. Everybody knows that, and everybody writes about it. I won’t be any different. But before I do, let me remind you of an absolute truth: American Aquarium is one of the best rock bands operating in the world right now. BJ struts, dances, and tears […]
Joe Bonamassa at The Lyric in Baltimore
Joe Bonamassa played The Lyric on December 4th to a crowd full of contemporary blues enthusiasts! His latest album, Time Clocks, is out now! Be sure to check it out along with his new live album Now Serving Royal Tea – Live at the Ryman. Visit his website for more […]
Pink Sweat$ Brought his Pink Moon Tour to DC’s 9:30 Club
On 12.3.2021, rising star Pink Sweat$ brought his Pink Moon Tour to DC’s 9:30 Club. The 25 city North American tour started on November 5th in San Diego and will end on December 16th in Dallas. I think it is safe to say that Washington DC is certainly feeling Pink Sweat$, as DC is the […]
Dead Horse Revival at Wehrly’s Auction House
Last Sunday afternoon, I had pleasure of seeing and listening to Dead Horse Revival at Wehrlys Auction House. Three of the members, Scott Matlock(fiddle), Cory Woodcock(banjo) and Chance Hurley(guitar) left over from The Mountain Ride days, have stayed together playing bluegrass for years now. The welcome addition of standup bass […]
Sultana Downrigger Festival in Chestertown, MD
On the Chester river lies the town of Chestertown, MD. On this weekend the town was filled with folks that enjoy tall ships, music and good food. Demonstrations, book talks, antique boats and motors. Along with lots of maritime lure and watermen related items. Ships on hand we’re the KALMAR […]
Hillbenders Perform a Bluegrass Rendition of The Who
This past Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of going to the Appell Center of Performing Arts in York, PA to see The Hillbenders perform their bluegrass rendition of the music of The Who. The beautiful, Strand-Capital Theater now branded The Appell Center, made a perfect setting to witness this […]
Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2021 — A Success or Not?
So, it’s taken me a bit to digest what happened between September 9-12. If you were anywhere near social media, or even watching national news, you may have caught wind of the debacle that was the Blue Ridge Rock Festival. In addition to there being a lot of production issues, the event […]
We Can’t Help But Focus on H.E.R. at The Anthem
On 10/25/2021, I was fortunate to be in the building as H.E.R’s Back Of My Mind Tour came to Washington DC. Many in the sell out crowd spent several hours outside in the rain (waiting for the doors at The Anthem to open), so they could find a prime spot close to the […]
The Hillbenders will Bring their Bluegrass to Downtown York this Saturday
On Saturday evening The Hillbenders will bring their bluegrass version of The Who to The Appell Center for the Performing Arts in York PA. Starting at 7:00 PM the stage will heat up with the Hillbenders performing some of the iconic songs of The Who. Formed in 2008 in Springfield,Mo […]