Music & Concerts
Music in the air
Ferrick, Lauper, Pink and more among upcoming shows


Part of an eclectic fall, Melissa Ferrick will be in Washington twice this fall. (Photo courtesy of Ferrick)
From the biggest names in pop to the best and brightest of D.C.’s local LGBT talent, the fall concert season is nothing if not eclectic.
For starters, in case you missed the show here last year at about this time, Madonna’s “MDNA World Tour” concert DVD released in multiple formats this week.
Sonia Rutstein and her band Disappear Fear release their album “Broken Film” with a world release concert on Sept. 17 at Creative Alliance at the Patterson (3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore). This will be Rutstein’s 17th album in her 25-year career of writing and performing songs about important issues of the heart and of society. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door. For more information, visit creativealliance.org.
Lesbian singer Melissa Ferrick makes two stops to the District this fall on her CD release tour of “the truth is.” She’s with with Catie Curtis (also a lesbian) at the Church of the Epiphany (1317 G St., N.W.) on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25. Ferrick will return to the 9:30 Club (815 V St., NW) on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. where she will appear with Ani DiFranco. Tickets are $40. Visit melissaferrick.com for more information.
The Birchmere’s SpeakeasyDC show features gay comedian Chelsea Shorte on Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Birchmere Music Hall (3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.). In her act, Shorte shares her story about evolving from a closeted comedian to finding her authentic voice. Tickets are $20. For more information, visit birchmere.com
Raven’s Night returns the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) on Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. to celebrate the sexy trick or treats of Halloween. The evening includes an All Hallows Eve Carnival, which is a flashback to World’s Fairs, a Salon Lunaire Concert and a Cabaret Macabre Belly Dance Show. Tickets are $25. For details, visit birchmere.com.
Gay duo and Capital Pride vets Jason & DeMarco come to Metropolitan Community Church of Washington (474 Ridge St., N.W.) on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. as a part of their tour “Celebrating Diversity” to commemorate their 10 years together as well as welcoming twin boys into their lives. The group will perform in several venues around Maryland throughout the month of October. This performance is free but a $20 donation is suggested. For more information, visit jasonanddemarco.com.
The Choral Arts Society of Washington kicks off a new season with its show “Legacy and Life,” featuring performances of Steven Stucky’s “Take Him, Earth” and Giuseppe Verdi “Requiem,” on Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. The society will also bring in the holiday season with “An Enchanted Christmas” on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. All performances will be at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.). There are several ticket packages as well as individual tickets from $54-$141. Visit kennedy-center.org for more information.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXopMPYpz0o

Cyndi Lauper (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Cyndi Lauper, LGBT rights activist, comes to the Warner Theatre (513 13th St., N.W.) on her “She’s So Unusual Tour” on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. She’s celebrating the 30th anniversary of her landmark debut album this year and, as on the spring leg, will perform the album in its entirety with an encore devoted to newer hits. Tickets are $33-$73. For more information, visit warnertheatredc.com.
Pink returns to the Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) on Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. as part of her “Truth About Love Tour.” This tour takes the name from her sixth studio album, with “Just Give Me a Reason” adding to her Top 10 hits overall. Tickets are $50-$142. Visit verizoncenter.com for more details.
To bring in the holiday season, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will have its concert “Sparkle, Jingle, Joy” with special guest Grammy Award-winner Matt Alber on Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 21 at 3 p.m. at the Lisner Auditorium (730 21st St., N.W.). Tickets are $25-$50. For details about the shows or for subscription information for the upcoming season, visit gmcw.org.
Gay-friendly church First Baptist (1328 16th Street, N.W.) is celebrating the installation of its massive new five-manual pipe organ with a host of recitals. Resident organist Lon Schreiber gives the inaugural recital Sunday at 4 p.m. Ken Cowan plays on Oct. 20, Christopher Houlihan on Nov. 24 and a special event is planned for the evening of Halloween as well. Visit firstbaptistdc.org for details.
Speaking of organists, queer virtuoso Cameron Carpenter will make a special appearance on the new Rubenstein Family Organ at the Kennedy Center (2700 F Street, N.W.) for the season-opening ball of the National Symphony Orchestra on Sept. 29. He’s back for a solo recital Oct. 16 (kennedy-center.org).
Uber gay-friendly Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, Va.) has nine acts planned to appear through Sept. 21 for its new Autumn Cabaret Festival. Details at signature-theatre.org.
Special Agent Galactica has her rounds in D.C. with her happy hour show at the Black Fox Lounge (1732 Connecticut Ave., N.W.). The show includes live jazz, blues, cabaret, standards and comedy with Galactica backed by a three-piece jazz combo. There is no cover charge. For more information, visit pinkhairedone.com.
And in the straight-but-still-interesting category, check out the Michael Gallant Trio at Bethesda Blues & Jazz on Wednesday; the Beijing Symphony Orchestra makes its Washington-area debut Oct. 20 at the Strathmore. Details here.
Music & Concerts
Underdog glorious: a personal remembrance of Jill Sobule
Talented singer, songwriter died in house fire on May 1

I’ve always prided myself on being the kind of music consumer who purchased music on impulse. When I stumbled across “Things Here Are Different,” Jill Sobule’s 1990 MCA Records debut album on vinyl in a favorite Chicago record store, I bought it without knowing anything about her. This was at a time when we didn’t have our phones in our pockets to search for information about the artist on the internet. The LP stayed in my collection until, as vinyl was falling out of fashion, I replaced it with a CD a few years later.
Early in my career as an entertainment journalist, I received a promo copy of Jill’s eponymous 1995 Atlantic Records album. That year, Atlantic Records was one of the labels at the forefront of signing and heavily promoting queer artists, including Melissa Ferrick and Extra Fancy, and its roster included the self-titled album by Jill. It was a smart move, as the single “I Kissed A Girl” became a hit on radio and its accompanying video (featuring Fabio!) was in heavy rotation on MTV (when they still played videos).
Unfortunately for Jill, she was a victim of record label missteps. When 1997’s wonderful “Happy Town” failed to repeat the success, Atlantic dumped her. That was Atlantic’s loss, because her next album, the superb “Pink Pearl” contained “Heroes” and “Mexican Wrestler,” two of her most beloved songs. Sadly, Beyond Music, the label that released that album ceased to exist after just a few years. To her credit, the savvy Jill had also started independently releasing music (2004’s “The Folk Years”). That was a smart move because her next major-label release, the brilliant “Underdog Victorious” on Artemis Records, met a similar fate when that label folded.
With her 2009 album “California Years,” Jill launched her own indie label, Pinko Records, on which she would release two more outstanding full-length discs, 2014’s “Dottie’s Charms” (on which she collaborated with some of her favorite writers, including David Hadju, Rick Moody, Mary Jo Salter, and Jonathan Lethem), and 2018’s stunning “Nostalgia Kills.” Jill’s cover of the late Warren Zevon’s “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” on “Nostalgia Kills” was particularly poignant as she had toured with him as an opening act.
Jill was a road warrior, constantly on tour, and her live shows were something to behold. My first interview with Jill took place at the Double Door in Chicago in early August of 1995, when she was the opening act for legendary punk band X. She had thrown her back out the previous day and was diagnosed with a herniated disc. To be comfortable, she was lying down on a fabulous-‘50s sofa. “I feel like I’m at my shrink’s,” she said to me, “Do you want me to talk about my mother?”
That sense of humor, which permeated and enriched her music, was one of many reasons to love Jill. I was privileged to interview her for seven of her albums. Everything you would want to know about her was right there in her honest lyrics, in which she balanced her distinctive brand of humor with serious subject matter. Drawing on her life experiences in songs such as “Bitter,” “Underachiever,” “One of These Days,” “Freshman,” “Jetpack,” “Nothing To Prove,” “Forbidden Thoughts of Youth,” “Island of Lost Things,” “Where Do I Begin,” “Almost Great,” and “Big Shoes,” made her songs as personal as they were universal, elicited genuine affection and concern from her devoted fans.
While she was a consummate songwriter, Jill also felt equally comfortable covering songs made famous by others, including “Just A Little Lovin’” (on the 2000 Dusty Springfield tribute album “Forever Dusty”) and “Stoned Soul Picnic” (from the 1997 Laura Nyro tribute album “Time and Love”). Jill also didn’t shy away from political subject matter in her music with “Resistance Song,” “Soldiers of Christ,” “Attic,” “Heroes,” “Under the Disco Ball,” and the incredible “America Back” as prime examples.
Here’s something else worth mentioning about Jill. She was known for collaboration skills. As a songwriter, she maintained a multi-year creative partnership with Robin Eaton (“I Kissed A Girl” and many others), as well as Richard Barone, the gay frontman of the renowned band The Bongos. Jill’s history with Barone includes performing together at a queer Octoberfest event in Chicago in 1996. Writer and comedian Julie Sweeney, of “SNL” and “Work in Progress” fame was another Chicago collaborator with Sobule (Sweeney lives in a Chicago suburb), where they frequently performed their delightful “The Jill and Julia Show.” John Doe, of the aforementioned band X, also collaborated with Jill in the studio (“Tomorrow Is Breaking” from “Nostalgia Kills”), as well as in live performances.
On a very personal note, in 2019, when I was in the process of arranging a reading at the fabulous NYC gay bookstore Bureau of General Services – Queer Division, I reached out to Jill and asked her if she would like to be on the bill with me. We alternated performing; I would read a couple of poems, and Jill would sing a couple of songs. She even set one of my poems to music, on the spot.
Jill had an abundance of talent, and when she turned her attention to musical theater, it paid off in a big way. Her stage musical “F*ck 7th Grade,” a theatrical piece that seemed like the next logical step in her career, had its premiere at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre in the fall of 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The unique staging (an outdoor drive-in stage at which audience members watched from their cars) was truly inspired. “F*ck 7th Grade” went on to become a New York Times Critic’s pick, as well as earning a Drama Desk nomination.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of Jill’s eponymous 1995 album, reissue label Rhino Records is re-releasing it on red vinyl. Jill and I had been emailing each other to arrange a time for an interview. We even had a date on the books for the third week of May.
When she died in a house fire in Minnesota on May 1 at age 66, Jill received mentions on network and cable news shows. She was showered with attention from major news outlets, including obits in the New York Times and Rolling Stone (but not Pitchfork, who couldn’t be bothered to review her music when she was alive). Is it wrong to think that if she’d gotten this much attention when she was alive she could have been as big as Taylor Swift? I don’t think so.
Music & Concerts
Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’
Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co.
Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.
For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

Aussie pop icon Kylie Minogue brings her acclaimed “Tension” world tour to D.C. next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital One Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.
The show features songs spanning her long career, from 1987 debut single, “The Loco-Motion,” to “Padam, Padam” from her album, “Tension.”