Author Archives: Katie Willmott

The Mayans weren’t the only ones who thought the world was going to end in 2012 – it seems 2 Skinnee J’s are feeling uncertain about the future as well. The group will be taking the 9:30 Club stage on as part of their Pre-Apocalypse Now & Forever! Tour. Also performing that night will be Royal Teeth and Sou Orchestra.

The band has gone through an assortment of line-up changes, as well as agents, management, and record labels since originally starting in 1991.

Interestingly, the band’s current manager, A.J. “Stumpy” Johnson, allegedly won the band while playing a game of cards in Las Vegas.

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Another day, another dollar, another month, another assortment of great tickets to give away. You know the deal—we preview the artists coming to the 9:30 Club, you enter to win a pair of tickets to the shows. Check out who’s coming through DC this month.

Spiritualized, Thurs 5/10

Spiritualized is the psychedelic-space rock-dream pop band from Rugby, Warwickshire. While the band has been together since 1997, Jason Pierce (also known by his stage name, J. Spaceman) is the only sole permanent member of the band, composing and singing all of the band’s material.

Spiritualized will be taking the 9:30 Club stage on May 10th as they tour in support of Sweet Heart Sweet Light. Of the band’s seventh album, Rolling Stone says, “The record finds Piece working on the familiar grand scale of past Spiritualized discs while emphasizing simpler, bolder melodies.”

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Merriweather Post Pavilion kicked off a new season of concerts with the Sweetlife Food and Music Festival last Saturday, April 28th. While the weather was less than desirable, the third annual Sweetgreen-sponsored concert brought out a large gathering of food and music lovers alike.

The first band to take to the Main Stage was fun. The group kicked off their eight-song set with “One Foot,” a track off of their sophomore album, Some Nights, released last month. Despite their somewhat early 12:30 set time, fun. drew in a very respectable crowd and helped energize concertgoers. “Are you ready for a long day?” asked lead singer Nate Ruess at one point, to which audience members responded with cheers and applause.

The three-piece group was accompanied on stage by a touring band that included a trumpet player, as well as a saxophonist/keyboardist. While it’s no question that fun. kept fans engaged during their entire performance, it was their last song, the ubiquitous “We Are Young,” that commanded the most attention and led to what I found to be the most epic sing-along of the day. Overall, the band’s set was upbeat, lighthearted, infectious, and, needless to say, all things fun.

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With the impending change of seasons looming in the air, it’s hard not to think about the summer months that will soon be upon us. With summer comes warmer weather, and, of course, an all-new array of artists and bands making their way to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md.

Kicking off the Merriweather summer concert series is the third annual Sweetlife Food and Music Festival, taking place this Saturday, April 28th.

Sweetlife is sponsored by Sweetgreen, a Washington, DC-based restaurant chain that uses healthy, organic foods from local farms in its restaurants. The festival, a celebration of music, food, and eco-consciousness, will feature a wide variety of artists performing on two stages. Among the musicians set to perform are The Shins, fun., Kid Cudi, Avicii, Fitz and the Tanstrums, The Delta Spirit, Explosions in the Sky, and A$AP Rocky.

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DJ/producer/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Cohen, better known as Mayer Hawthorne, and his band, The County, are currently in the midst of their How Do You Do World Tour.

The tour, promoting Hawthorne’s album of the same name, will be stopping at the 9:30 Club on April 17th. Also taking the stage will be Stones Throw Records label mates The Stepkids.

When asked to describe his music, Hawthorne, a self-described vinyl junkie, says, “it’s soul, but new.” Hawthorne’s description of his music is short, sweet, and on-point.

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Sure, April showers bring May flowers, but with the fourth month of the year also comes a slew of great artists coming to the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion. As always, you have the chance to win tickets to each of the shows below…

Mayer Hawthorne and the Country, Tues 4/17

Mayer Hawthorne, the moniker of Andrew Cohen, is a neo soul multi-instrumentalist based out of Los Angeles. Hawthorne has cited R&B heavy hitters like Curtis Hayfield, Barry White, and Smokey Robinson as some of his music inspirations.

There’s no question that Hawthorne’s love of old-school soul influenced him during the writing of his most recent album, 2011’s How Do You Do. Slant Magazine notes that Hawthorne is “simply flawless in creating a ‘70s-era R&B groove,” while the Los Angeles Times praised the production, describing it as “refined and dynamic in a way that’s wholly missing from pop radio.” Hawthorne will be taking the 9:30 Club stage on April 17th, and fans may want to check in with TVD tomorrow… Hint.

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The statement “You had to be there” is definitely fitting when describing an of Montreal concert experience. The band is notorious for their insanely extravagant, ridiculously over-the-top live shows. 

Suffice it to say, their set on Tuesday night at the 9:30 Club lived up to any expectations one would have going into an of Montreal show. The thought of trying to describe what went down earlier this week is a rather daunting task, but I will try my hardest to do the show justice.

The first artist of the night to perform was Kishi Bashi, multi-instrumentalist K Ishibashi, who is perhaps best known for being one of the members of of Montreal. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to catch his solo set, but arrived just in time for Loney Dear to take the stage prior to of Montreal.

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