After days of unrelenting rain, people looking for an excuse to take off their shirts found one in this year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest, a newly minted end-of-summer tradition at Merriweather Post Pavilion. more ›

Return to Forever IV, the latest iteration of Chick Corea's legendary jazz-rock band, performs tonight at Merriweather Post Pavilion. more ›

Presale tickets for this year's Virgin FreeFest disappeared in about ten minutes today. This means that it's time for people to start selling them at exorbitant rates on Craigslist, obviously. Ain't capitalism grand? more ›

Late last night, Sir Richard Branson took a break from his busy schedule of golfing in the dark and trying, unsuccessfully, to sail across the world to tell us all about this year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest, which will take place on September 10 at Merriweather Post Pavilion. more ›

O, Colin Meloy! How your cherubic visage and reedy vox rather astoundingly do not stoke within me a zealous ardor to curl the fingers of mine hand into a mightie ball and hurl it with an urgencie most awesome and terrible straight at the furry vortex from whence issues your sugar-dusted melodies and capricious rhymes! more ›

Persistent rain couldn't dampen the festivities in Columbia on Sunday, as Sweetgreen's Sweetlife Festival -- held last year in a small Dupont Circle parking lot -- graduated to considerably more impressive digs at Merriweather Post Pavilion. In most respects, the event was a definite success, as local music lovers balanced healthy salads with copious amounts of alcohol, cigarettes, and other less salutary indulgences while taking in an eclectic, entertaining string of performances highlighted by The Strokes' long-awaited return to a local stage. more ›

The folks behind Sweetgreen, the D.C.-based purveyors of locally-sourced salads and frozen yogurt treats, are hosting the second annual Sweetlife Festival on Saturday, April 30 -- and this year's festival features some major changes. Last year's event was held in a parking lot in Dupont and featured a headlining DJ set by Hot Chip and performances by D.C.'s very own US Royalty and another band with DC roots, The Love Language. This year's headliner? The Strokes. The venue? Merriweather Post Pavilion. more ›

The organizers of Saturday's Virgin Mobile Free Festival saved the best for last. LCD Soundsystem -- manifested onstage by brains-and-vox-of the outfit James Murphy-plus-six -- closed down the sprawling 11-hour, three-stage, one-ferris wheel, no-T.I. music bazaar with an 85-minute blast of sweaty 21st-century dance-rock that felt taut and commanding after a long, discursive day. All dance tunes necessarily have a pulse, but Murphy's have a heart, and they're also wickedly funny. (Murphy was 22 when he turned down a job writing for Seinfeld. True!) more ›

If Bruce Springsteen ever played the D.C. area on September 11, it's not hard to imagine that the performance would entail a long, workmanlike set of earnestly anthemic music, plenty of emotional catharsis, and at least a handful of politically-engaged soliloquies between songs. For better or worse, local concert-goers were denied that spectacle this year. Instead, they got Vampire Weekend, the much-hyped indie-rock band that, coincidentally, vowed at a 2008 9:30 Club show to return with enough new material to fuel a marathon set worthy of "The Boss." more ›

The Arcade Fire has always embraced grandiose gestures. They have eight people performing during their stage show, at least three of whom are multi-instrumentalists. They have eight different album covers for their most recent album, The Suburbs. They used a huge friggin' organ on their 2007 release Neon Bible. Hell, they had Terry Gilliam direct the video broadcast from their Madison Square Garden show last week. Yet, for all of their intricate string arrangements and grand Springsteen-esque guitar riffs, Friday night's most memorable moments were the most personal. more ›

At this point in their amazing and improbable career, I'm not sure there's much that hasn't already been said as far as reviewing a concert by The Flaming Lips. Anyone that has seen them live in the last 10 years or so knows about the confetti canons and balloons, the crowd surfing inside a giant bubble, the costumed dancers pulled from the audience, the lighting setups and the various costumed mascots that pop up every now and then. You know that you're going to hear "Race For The Prize," "Yoshimi Part 1," "The WAND," "She Don't Use Jelly" and "Do You Realize" and a bunch of other songs. So it's a credit to the band (and the audience for that matter) that it can all seem so new and fun as it happens. Yes, you can nitpick at the setlist, but then you'd be missing the point. Just sit back, enjoy the show and sing along with everyone else. And if you weren't there, don't fret. Wayne Coyne told the audience they were recording last night's show -- so at some point in the future you might be able to hear what you missed. more ›

Just like the biggest summer movie blockbusters tend to be mindless affairs full of car chases and loud explosions, summer concerts are sometimes best enjoyed with big, dumb rock songs being played at high volume with thousands of people singing along. That was certainly the case last night as Stone Temple Pilots closed out their short July tour under the stars at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The crowd was far from a sell out, likely owing to the band's appearance at last year's Virgin Festival, but what those in attendance lacked in numbers they made up for in volume and sheer fanaticism. more ›

The plot thickens for the Montgomery County-Live Nation concert hall deal. In September the county signed a non-binding letter of intent with concert promoter Live Nation for a Fillmore concert hall in Silver Spring, which would give the company $8 million in state and county funds, rent well below the market rate, and other perks. But now, county council members, groups of residents, and even the Howard County executive are questioning the county's deal and backing the proposal by I.M.P., Seth Hurwitz's Montgomery-based company that runs the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion. I.M.P.'s proposal for a club would be cheaper for the county and would pay more rent. more ›

It looks like I.M.P., the Montgomery County-based company that runs the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion, hasn't given up on opening a Silver Spring music hall. In September, we wrote that concert producer and venue owner Live Nation had signed a non-binding letter of intent to put a Fillmore music hall in the old J.C. Penney store at Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road in Silver Spring, across from the AFI Silver Theater. Both the... more ›

We've gotten a couple emails wondering about the strange things afoot with the two scheduled Spoon shows at the 9:30 Club in October. In case you haven't heard the somewhat confusing story, Spoon booked two nights (October 22 and 23) at the 9:30 Club, and tickets went on sale August 9. Sometime last week, tickets mysteriously stopped being sold, without explanation. Then this past weekend, people who'd already purchased tickets received the following email:... more ›

'Tis the season for outdoor venues, and it just so happens the greater D.C. area has a plethora of them. Outside the confines of our beloved Fort Reno, Wolftrap, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Nissan Pavilion, and a few more decent venues all exist within an hour of the District. They might require a bit of a hike, and usually a car, but if you have the means, might as well pick up a cheap lawn seat... more ›

>> This week's big event is, of course, the 15th Annual Capital Jazz Fest at Merriweather Post Pavilion, which begins today and runs through Sunday. As is the norm for this event, the lineup is heavy on the smooth jazz and R&B tip, but it also incorporates some more challenging artists. Highlights include Herbie Hancock, Anita Baker, Al Jarreau, Ramsey Lewis, and David Sanborn. Visit the event's web site for the full schedule, and tickets... more ›

>> Sen. John McCain probably wishes he didn't sing "bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boy's "Barbara Ann" at a meeting with supporters. Or at least he wishes it wasn't captured on YouTube. [via Reason's Hit & Run] >> Local groups continue to schedule memorials to the victims of Monday's shootings at Virginia Tech. You can find a good list of Washington-area events here. [NBC4] >> Tickets for both Wilco and the... more ›

For all the gentle bitching and tempered moaning we do about certain aspects of our local music venues, on the whole, they're nothing to sneeze at. Sometimes amidst endless debates about sound quality and beer prices, we forget that we're rather lucky to have so many high quality venues in the area. Luckily, the fine folks at Pollstar haven't forgotten. Wolf Trap's Filene Center, Merriweather Post Pavillion, The Birchmere and the 9:30 Club have all been nominated for the 2007 Concert Industry Awards. more ›

What does this bode for rock venues like the 9:30 Club and the Black Cat?. Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham put in his two cents, calling the proposed development “very detrimental” to local venues. 9:30 Club owner Seth Hurwitz lamented to the Post that, “We will lose half our business, at least” if and when a local House of Blues opens its doors. We at DCist are slightly more optimistic about the 9:30’s future. True, HOB is a nationally recognized name, but the 9:30 is a long-standing local institution. Don’t be so hard on yourself, Seth! more ›

Poor Noel Gallagher. Perhaps the greatest British songwriter of the last 10 years and his little brother reduces him to a bit player in the background by simply walking to the front of the stage, putting his hands in his pockets and his ever present tambourine in his mouth and just standing there. Those simple actions at the beginning of Oasis show last night at Merriweather Post Pavilion ensured the audience was eating out of Liam's hand the entire night. more ›

Monday: We love to start our weeks with a bang. Go have dinner in Little Ethiopia, then make your way to DC9 for some good old-fashioned punk with The Vibrators, The Screws, and Corrupted Youth. Bang! $8. Tuesday: Presumably, at some point, Sufjan Stevens is going to finish serenading the Rust Belt and start penning tributes to the Mid-Atlantic. And what we all want to know is, is he going give the District some love?... more ›

As the Hot Ticket turns into the pleasantly, autumnally cool ticket, there are certain hot items that will go without saying from now on, so don't ask why we haven't mentioned them. These are: 1) You should all be ashamed for not going to Nats games while there are a few left in this inaugural season, but we're not going to mention this anymore. 2) There is, apparently, a professional football team in the area,... more ›

In last Sunday's Post Magazine, the newspaper's retiring rock critic David Segal described what he called the "great Live Concert moment." He wrote: It's about music, but it's also about an experience that's ephemeral and communal, that you share for a couple of hours with a bunch of strangers who, at some level, you feel like you know because they have the same idiotic glint in their eye when the lights come up. It's... more ›

It's been a good summer. For DCist it has, anyway, filled with cheetah cubs and buttersticks, Nats games and Borf sightings, and lots of sweaty, booze-soaked cookouts. But fall is coming, people, and it's time to put the flip-flops aside, say goodbye to the interns, and fill out your autumn dance card. DCist humbly offers the following suggestions. Oh, they grow up so fast. One day they're lil, playing hoops and making MTV videos, the... more ›

WEDNESDAY: more ›

MONDAY: >> In one of the strongest bills of the summer, the Pixies and Bloc Party (at left) take the stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Gates are open at 5:30 p.m. >> Local rockers Greenland and City-State hit DC9 with Richmond band Conshafter for $6. TUESDAY: >> Arlington punk quartet Four Letter Lies plays with local glam rockers Death By Sexy at the Black Cat. 9 p.m., $5. THURSDAY: >> Bloc Party, post sharing the... more ›

TUESDAY: >> The Sea and Cake’s Sam Prekop does solo post-rock at the Black Cat. $12. Local singer Brandon Butler (formerly of Canyon) opens. WEDNESDAY: >> Get a huge dose of hipsterness when The Killers (at right) play Merriweather Post Pavilion. Bands-of-the-moment Keane, Louis XIV, Regina Spektor, and Maximo Park all open. Lawn tickets at $25 are still available at Ticketmaster. >> If you don't feel like making the trek out to Merriweather, you can... more ›

>> Capital Jazz Fest 2005 goes throughout the weekend at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The line up includes George Benson, Joe Sample, Chaka Khan (at right) Lalah Hathaway and more. Ticket information can be found here. more ›