Music & Concerts

Long-awaited Nicks fix

Fleetwood Mac singer joins Gaga, Britney with spring albums

Published

14 years ago

March 3, 2011

Stevie Nicks’ new album is largely a collaboration with the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart. (Photo courtesy of Warner Reprise)

For some queer music lovers — yes, we acknowledge that Gaga is all the rage (more on her in a minute) — the real reason we’re excited is the May release of the new Stevie Nicks album, her first solo studio album in a staggering 10 years.

The Fleetwood Mac singer’s solo career got rolling with a wallop in the ‘80s when she was putting out an album about every two years on top of her steady release schedule with the Mac. But things ground quickly to a near halt thereafter and, not counting compilations, there was only one album in the ‘90s (the dreadful “Street Angel”) and one in the ‘00s (the solid “Trouble in Shangri-La”). Yes, “Crystal Visions,” a compilation, and her live “Soundstage” release were welcomed — Nicks’ commentary on the video bonus disc on the “Visions” deluxe edition is priceless — but long-time fans are positively salivating at the thought of a new “real” album from the legendary, but in some ways underrated, songstress.

All early signs for “In Your Dreams,” set to drop May 3, are good. Nicks worked mostly with the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart on the 13-track album. First single “Secret Love” is a demo that’s been widely bootlegged for years so there were few surprises there, but Nicks sounds more excited and energized about this album than she has in years gushing to a California paper about “love songs, hard rock ‘n’ roll songs, really contemplative songs and very Bob Dylan-y songs …”

Even Mac-mate Lindsey Buckingham, who’s never been shy about dissing Nicks’ sub-par work, says the new album is amazing. He contributed a last-minute duet called “Soldier’s Angel.”

The last Mac album, “Say You Will” is masterful — here’s hoping Nicks is in equally fine form here.

The other big news is, of course, the new Lady Gaga record “Born This Way,” slated for a May 23 release. The first single is the title track, released last month. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, despite criticism that it’s a rip-off of Madonna’s “Express Yourself.”

Gaga, an unabashed workaholic, is still touring her last album (she was in town last week for a second D.C. stop on the same tour). Hopes are high for the new project, which will have 14 cuts though a deluxe edition with three extra tracks and five remixes will be available at Target. “Fame Monster” vets Fernando Garibay and RedOne are back in the production booth along with DJ White Shadow, Jeppe Laursen and Gaga herself.

The quirky singer has set the bar absurdly high promising fans “the greatest album of this decade.” Gaga says “it’s fucking really good” and “about what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid.”

Is there room for more than one pop diva or will Britney Spears, whose “Femme Fatale” drops March 25, face a bomb like Christina Aguilera did last year with the brittle, rigid “Bionic?”

“Fatale,” Spears’ seventh album and first since 2008’s “Circus,” is off to a great start. Like Gaga, Spears’ first single, “Hold It Against Me” zoomed to the top of the Hot 100.

Look for a new R.E.M. album, featuring queer front man Michael Stipe, next week. “Collapse into Now” is the group’s 15^th album and was produced by Jacknife Lee and the band.

Also of note, Linda Eder’s “Now,” released this week, Avril Lavigne’s “Goodbye Lullaby” set for next week, Dionne Warwick’s “Only Trust Your Heart” on March 15, Duran Duran’s “All You Need is Love” on March 22 along with Jennifer Hudson’s sophomore album, “I Remember Me.”

Local gay singer/songwriter Tom Goss releases his third album “Turn It Around” April 12 with 11 new cuts though advance copies will be available at release parties slated for next weekend at Go Mama Go. A video for first single “It’s All Over” is in the works while “Lover,” a video from Goss’s last record, debuted on Logo last week.

Details are still sketchy on Beyonce’s new album, her fourth. Look for it sometime before year’s end. Also rumored to be working on 2011 albums are Fiona Apple, Kate Bush, Kelly Clarkson, Culture Club, Renee Fleming and Amy Winehouse.

Music & Concerts

Red, White, and Beyoncé: Queen Bey takes Cowboy Carter to D.C. for the Fourth of July

The legendary music icon performed on July 4 and 7 to a nearly sold-out Northwest Stadium.

Published

2 days ago

July 9, 2025

Joe Reberkenny

Beyoncé performs on July 7. (Washington Blade photo by Joe Reberkenny)

Just in time for Independence Day, Beyoncé lit up Landover’s Commanders Field (formerly FedEx Field) with fireworks and fiery patriotism, bringing her deeply moving and genre-defying “Cowboy Carter” tour to the Washington, D.C. area.

The tour, which takes the global icon across nine cities in support of her chart-topping and Grammy-winning country album “Cowboy Carter,” landed in Prince George’s County, Maryland, over the Fourth of July weekend. From the moment Beyoncé stepped on stage, it was clear this was more than just a concert — it was a reclamation.

Drawing from classic Americana, sharp political commentary, and a reimagined vision of country music, the show served as a powerful reminder of how Black Americans — especially Black women — have long been overlooked in spaces they helped create. “Cowboy Carter” released in March 2024, is the second act in Beyoncé’s genre-traversing trilogy. With it, she became the first Black woman to win a Grammy for Best Country Album and also took home the coveted Album of the Year.

The record examines the Black American experience through the lens of country music, grappling with the tension between the mythology of the American Dream and the lived realities of those historically excluded from it. That theme comes alive in the show’s opening number, “American Requiem,” where Beyoncé sings:

“Said I wouldn’t saddle up, but
If that ain’t country, tell me, what is?
Plant my bare feet on solid ground for years
They don’t, don’t know how hard I had to fight for this
When I sing my song…”

Throughout the performance, Beyoncé incorporated arresting visuals: Black cowboys on horseback, vintage American iconography, and Fox News clips criticizing her genre shift — all woven together with voiceovers from country legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. The result was a multimedia masterclass in storytelling and subversion.

The “Cowboy Carter” tour has been a social media sensation for weeks, with fans scrambling for tickets, curating elaborate “cowboy couture” outfits, and tailgating under the summer sun. At Commanders Field, thousands waited in long lines for exclusive merch and even longer ones to enter the stadium — a pilgrimage that, for many, felt more like attending church than a concert.

One group out in full force for the concert was Black queer men — some rocking “denim on denim on denim on denim,” while others opted for more polished Cowboy Couture looks. The celebration of Black identity within Americana was ever-present, making the concert feel like the world’s biggest gay country-western club.

A standout moment of the night was the appearance of Beyoncé’s 13-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Commanding the stage with poise and power, she matched the intensity and choreography of her mother and the professional dancers — a remarkable feat for someone her age and a clear sign that the Carter legacy continues to shine.

It’s been nearly two decades since Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child parted ways, and since then, she’s more than lived up to her title as the voice of a generation. With “Cowboy Carter,” she’s not just making music — she’s rewriting history and reclaiming the space Black artists have always deserved in the country canon.

Music & Concerts

Berkshire Choral to commemorate Matthew Shepard’s life

Concert held at Washington National Cathedral

Published

2 weeks ago

June 27, 2025

Tinashe Chingarande

Craig Hella Johnson’s fusion oratorio ‘Considering Matthew Shepard’ will be performed at the Washington National Cathedral. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Berkshire Choral International will present a concert performance of composer Craig Hella Johnson’s fusion oratorio “Considering Matthew Shepard” on Friday, July 11, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at the Washington National Cathedral.

The program will be guest conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Benson, a native of the DMV who currently serves as Director of Choral Activities at San José State University. The concert is a partial benefit for the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Notably, Matthew’s remains are interred at the National Cathedral and his parents, Dennis and Judy, will give opening remarks at the performance.

Tickets are $20 – $65, and 50% of ticket proceeds will be donated to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Tickets are only available online at berkshirechoral.org.

Music & Concerts

Indigo Girls coming to Capital One Hall

Stars take center stage alongside Fairfax Symphony

Published

4 weeks ago

June 12, 2025

Tinashe Chingarande

The Indigo Girls are back in the area next week. (Photo courtesy of Vanguard Records)

Capital One Center will host “The Indigo Girls with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra” on Thursday, June 19 and Friday, June 20 at 8 p.m. at Capital One Hall.

The Grammy Award-winning folk and pop stars will take center stage alongside the Fairfax Symphony, conducted by Jason Seber. The concerts feature orchestrations of iconic hits such as “Power of Two,” “Get Out The Map,” “Least Complicated,” “Ghost,” “Kid Fears,” “Galileo,” “Closer to Fine,” and many more.

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster or in person at Capital One Hall the nights of the concerts.