Music & Concerts
Washington Concert Opera celebrates 30 years
Bel canto tenor Michele Angelini slated to appear
Washington Concert Opera celebrates its 30th anniversary with a concert at Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University (730 21st St., N.W.) on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m.
Opera stars Angela Meade and Vivica Genaux will perform alongside bel canto tenor Michele Angelini and baritone Javier Arrey. The concert also celebrates Washington Concert Operaās 15th anniversary under the direction of Masetro Antony Walker. Tickets range from $15-90.
For more details, visit concert opera.org.
Music & Concerts
Lana Del Rey, Katy Perry plan fall releases
A Fleetwood Mac live album, more Joni archives among vintage options
Paris Hilton released her āInfinite Iconā album on Sept. 6. Itās just the second effort following a massive hiatus ā her debut album āParisā was released way back in 2006. Sia produces. This summerās āIām Freeā was the first single. A tour is planned. Hilton promised a āheavily gay-leaning release.ā
Miranda Lambertās āPostcards from Texasā is slated to drop today. Lambertās 10th studio album was preceded by the May release of single āWranglers,ā which stalled in the lower 30s on country radio. Lambert calls the album a musical ode to her home state. She co-produces with Jon Randall and either wrote or co-wrote 10 of the projectās 14 cuts.
Katy Perryās ā143ā is set for a Sept. 20 release. It will be her seventh studio album. Its title refers to what she says is her symbolic angel number. Perry is aiming for a dance party feel working with producers Max Martin, Dr. Luke, Stargate, Vaughn Oliver and Rocco Did It Again! The proceedings are not off to a strong start. First single āWomanās Worldā stalled at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up āLifetimesā failed to crack the Hot 100 at all.
Fleetwood Mac releases āMirage Tour ā82ā on Sept. 20. It includes six tracks previously unreleased including āDonāt Stop,ā āDreams,ā āNever Going Back Again,ā āSaraā and more. Available on double CD, triple vinyl and digitally.
Volume four of Joni Mitchellās āArchivesā series dubbed āThe Asylum Years: 1976-1980ā releases Oct. 4. Itās being offered in six-CD or four-LP (highlights) configurations. It will feature unreleased studio sessions, alternate versions, live recordings, rarities and a 36-page book with new photos and an extensive conversation between Mitchell and filmmaker/uberfan Cameron Crowe.
Sophie B. Hawkins releases her āWhaler Re-Emergingā album (a re-recording of her landmark 1994 album) on Oct. 15. Order through her site and the first 250 copies will be signed. Hawkins (who identifies as omnisexual) says it surpasses the original.
Joe Jonasās āMusic for People Who Believe in Loveā and Shawn Mendesās āShawnā are both set for Oct. 18 releases. Jonasās album (his first solo effort since 2011ās āFastlifeā) will feature songwriting he says is of a more personal nature. Billboard called it āunvarnishedā but with a shimmery pop sound aglow with garage rock and alt-pop influences. First single āWork It Outā was released over the summer and failed to chart.
āShawnā will be Mendesās first album since 2020ās āWonder,ā the tour of which he cancelled citing mental health. Two singles ā āWhy Why Whyā and āIsnāt That Enoughā ā have been released. The former stalled at no. 84 on the Hot 100. He has called the album his āmost musically intimate and lyrically honest work to date.ā
Lana Del Reyās āLassoā is expected for a possible fall release, although some sources say itās been bumped to early 2025. No date had been announced as of yet. Sheās apparently going the Beyonce route and releasing a straight-up country album.
Dolly Parton plans a Nov. 15 release for āSmoky Mountain DNA ā Family, Faith & Fables.ā Parton recruited family to help her on the 37 (!)-track collection, which will also encompass a four-part docuseries tracing Partonās familial roots. One song (āA Rose Wonāt Fix Itā) is an outtake from the feverish writing sessions that led to her solid (but underrated) 1998 album āHungry Again.ā An extremely limited-edition triple vinyl release is also planned.
Release dates shift and many more releases will be announced later. Pitchfork keeps a great running tab at pitchfork.com/news/new-album-releases. Also check your local record store for Black Friday special editions available on Friday, Nov. 29. Release info was scant as of this writing. Ā
(Joey DiGuglielmo was variously the Bladeās news and features editor from 2006-2020.)
Music & Concerts
Fall concerts feature Sivan, Eilish, Lauper, more
Ndegeocello pays tribute to Baldwin at Strathmore next month
Sigur Ros will be joined by the Wordless Music Orchestra at the Anthem (901 Wharf St., S.W.) on Wednesday, Sept. 25th. Theyāre continuing their 2023 tour in support of āAtta,ā their first LP of original music in a decade. Frontman Jonsi is gay. Tickets are $60.50-173.50 for this seated show.
Troye Sivan brings the āSweat Tourā with Charli XCX (co-headlining) to Baltimore at the CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) on Thursday, Sept. 26th at 7:30 p.m. Itās sold out. The latter is touring behind her 2024 album āBrat.ā The former is touring behind his 2023 album āSomething to Give Each Other.ā Sivan is gay and has performed at Capital Pride.
Cyndi Lauper brings her āGirls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tourā to Capital One Arena (601 F St., N.W.) on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $29-179. Itās her first solo arena stateside tour since her ā86-ā87 āTrue Colors World Tour.ā Lauper is a longtime and avid LGBTQ ally.
St. Vincent brings her āAll Born Screaming Tourā to the Anthem (901 Wharf St., S.W.) on Friday, Sept. 13th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $55-95. A Variety review called it āminimalistā and said āwith no video screens, backup singers or sketches, and a lot of electric guitar, itās the purest distillation of St. Vincent weāve had on stage in quite a few years.ā Anne Erin Clark (aka St. Vincent) doesnāt identify as anything sexually but has mostly dated women in recent years.
Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming play Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Rd., Vienna, Va.) on Friday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. Individual sets are planned, but there will likely be a duet or two. Tickets are $29.
Out singer/songwriter Perfume Genius brings his āToo Bright 10th Anniversary Tourā to The Atlantis (2047 9th St., N.W.) on Monday, Sept. 16. This highly limited run will only play six dates in five cities. Mike Hadreas (aka Perfume Genius) will perform his 2014 album in its entirety. Itās sold out.
Meghan Trainor brings āThe Timeless Tourā to Jiffy Lube Live (7800 Cellar Door Dr., Bristol, Va.) on Tuesday, Sept. 17th at 6:30 p.m. Sheās touring behind her album of the same name released earlier this year. Tickets are $33-155. No lawn seats available for this show.
Queer-affirming gospel singer Amy Grant (who also had a decent pop chart run in the ā90s) brings her fall tour to The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. As sheās done on tour with previous re-releases, Grant could include more songs than usual from her 1994 āHouse of Loveā album, which was just released in an expanded edition and on LP for the first time. Tickets are $95.
Sara Bareilles, a self-described LGBTQ ally, joins the NSO Pops for a three-night stint at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) on Sept. 24-26 at 8 p.m. each night. Itās sold out.
Billie Eilish brings her āHit Me Hard and Soft: the Tourā to CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) in Baltimore on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. Her album of the same name dropped in March. Although sheās mostly dated guys publicly, Eilish identifies as bi. Itās sold out.
Queer artist Meshell Ndegeocello plays the Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Md.) on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. Her show is dubbed āNo More Water: the Gospel of James Baldwinā and is billed as a tribute event to the legendary Black gay writer. A pre-concert event, āThe Gospel of Meshell Ndegeocelloā is free but advanced registration is required. Tickets for the concert are $28-74.
Former Capital Pride headliner Betty Who (āqueer/biā herself) brings her āAn Acoustic Evening in Celebration of 10 years of TMWYGā to the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.) on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $55. Itās a nod to her 2014 debut album āTake Me When You Go.ā
Justin Timberlake brings his āForget Tomorrow World Tourā to Capital One Arena (601 F St., N.W.) on Sunday, Oct. 13. This seventh headlining concert tour (and first in five years) supports his 2024 sixth album āEverything I Thought it Was.ā Reviews for the tour have been strong; the setlist looks career-spanning and generous. Itās sold out.
Gay-helmed Pink Martini with China Forbes and Ari Shapiro plays the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) on Monday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40-80.
ā80s pop sensation Debbie Gibson brings her āAcoustic Youth: Songs & Stories from Electric Youth Eraā to the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Tickets are $59.50. Gibson is celebrating her 1989 album āElectric Youth,ā her second. Sheāll accompany herself on piano playing the songs āthe way I first wrote them.ā
DJ/producer Diplo, who says heās ānot not gay,ā plays Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Road, N.E.) on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. Walker and Royce join. Tickets are $60.
Motown diva Diana Ross brings her āBeautiful Love Performances Legacy Tourā to MGM National Harbor (101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill, Md.) on Oct. 24-25 at 8 p.m. Except for adding a couple cuts from her abysmal 2021 album āThank Youā (her latest), her setlist has not changed much in 15 years. Sheās a little better about performing Supremes songs than she was earlier in her career (for ages, they were crammed into one medley), but she still heavily favors her solo material. Tickets start at $102.
āThe Life and Music of George Michaelā comes to the National Theatre (1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) on Friday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. Hard to tell from promo material if this is a typical jukebox musical-type show or more like a tribute band concert for the late gay singer. Tickets are $55.
āSapphic Factory: Queer Joy Partyā is at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) on Friday, Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. Itās slated to feature music by artists such as Mana, Chappell Roan, Fletcher, Phoebe Bridges, Kehlani, Rina Sawayama, boygenius, Kim Petras, Tegan and Sara and more. Tickets are $23.
Kacey Musgraves brings her āDeeper Well World Tourā to CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. It supports her sixth studio album, released in March. The setlist morphed slightly over a spring run in Europe. Itās sold out.
Soul diva Gladys Knight plays the Hall at Live! (7002 Arundel Mills Circle) in Hanover, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 17th at 7:30 p.m. Knight, who hasnāt had a new album out in a decade, tends to be fairly generous with her classic Motown- and Buddha-era hits with the Pips in approximately 75-minute sets. Tickets start at $95.
(Joey DiGuglielmo was variously the Bladeās news and features editor from 2006-2020.)
Music & Concerts
National Symphony plays free concert Sunday
NSO Labor Day performance held at U.S. Capitol
The National Symphony Orchestra’s free annual Labor Day weekend concert returns to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday, Sept. 1.Ā The performance is free and tickets are not required. Seating is first-come, first-served.