Music & Concerts
FALL ARTS 2019: CONCERTS — Chely, Chaka and (OMG!) Cher
Regional concert stages brimming with queer and ally talent of all genres


This fall sees a number of great acts coming to the District. Country vocalists Carrie Underwood and Chely Wright, DJs Diplo and Martin Garrix, pop acts like The Chainsmokers and Kim Petras, as well as Todrick Hall and Cher(!) are just a few of the acts coming to D.C. in the coming months.
DJ and producer Diplo will perform at Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Rd., N.E.) this Saturday, Sept. 14 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $40-50 and are available at eventbrite.com.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17 The B-52s bring their “40th Anniversary Tour” show to the Anthem (901 Wharf St, S.W.) at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at theanthemdc.com, and range between $55-95.
Pop singer Lizzo will be gracing the District with her presence on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at The Anthem. The tickets, ranging from $45-75, are currently sold out.
Out punk pioneer Bob Mould is touring following the release of his most recent album “Sunshine Rock,” and will be making a stop at City Winery (1350 Okie Street, N.W.) on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for $35-45 directly from City Winery at citywinery.com.
DJ Martin Garrix is at Echostage Oct. 2-3 at 9 p.m. Tickets are available directly at echostage.com. Prices range from $40-50.
Carrie Underwood will be in town with her “The Cry Pretty Tour 360” at the Capital One Arena (601 F St., N.W.) on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for $49-99 and up at ticketmaster.com.
Country music star Phil Vassar plays The Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave.) on Thursday, Oct. 10 in Alexandria, Va. Tickets for the show are $45 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
The acclaimed Chicago-based artist Chance The Rapper will appear at Capital One Arena on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. Ticket prices range between $59-129 and up, and can be purchased via ticketmaster.com.
The following evening, on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m., rapper Post Malone is coming to Capital One Arena as part of his “Runaway Tour.” Prices range from $99-503 and can be acquired at ticketmaster.com.
Also on Oct. 12, American rock group The Black Keys will be in town for a show at The Anthem at 7 p.m. Tickets ranging from $125-250 are available at theanthemdc.com.
Chely Wright, one of the few out artists in country music, will take the stage at Jammin Java (227 Maple Ave. E.) in Vienna, Va., on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets for her show are available through ticketmaster.com and range between $37-67.
Also on the 13th, lesbian former gospel singer Jennifer Knapp plays City Winery at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $17 at citywinery.com.
On Monday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m., the pop-rock group Augustana will have a concert at U Street Musical Hall (1115 U St., N.W.). Tickets for general admission can be purchased for $20 and are available at ticketfly.com.
The Chainsmokers will be bringing their “World War Joy Tour” to Capital One Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. They will be joined by the Australian boyband 5 Seconds of Summer and Lennon Stella. Tickets are available for $29-159 and up at ticketmaster.com.
The indie rock group Bon Iver is coming to The Anthem on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. The tickets, which range from $55-75, are available at ticketfly.com.
Country singer Lee Ann Womack is taking her “Solitary Thinkin’ Acoustic Tour” to The Birchmere on Friday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are available for $35 from ticketmaster.com.
Capital Pride vet/LGBT ally Alessia Cara brings her “The Pains of Growing Tour” to The Anthem on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $40 through ticketmaster.com.
“American Idol” winner Fantasia plays EagleBank Arena (4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, Va.) on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $59-125 and may be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
Also on the 27th, out twins Tegan and Sara have a sold-out show at the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.) in Washington for their “Hey, I’m Just Like You Tour.” Tickets may open up later at ticketfly.com.
On Saturday, Nov. 2 Logic’s “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Tour” lands at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and the tickets, ranging from $29-250 and up, can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
Chris Thile of the Punch Brothers and host of the public radio program “Live From Here” plays the Music Center at Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Md.) on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets, which range from $33-79, are available from Strathmore directly at strathmore.org.
Todrick Hall is coming to Baltimore with his “House Party Tour” on Sunday, Nov. 10. The concert will be held at the Baltimore Soundstage (124 Market Place, Baltimore) at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are available for $30 and meet-and-greet packages for $129 at ticketmaster.com.
Fresh off of her new album “Hello Happiness,” Chaka Khan comes to the Warner Theatre (513 13th St., N.W.) on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets prices are available at livenation.com and start at $72.
Country music singer Eric Church is bringing his “Double Down Tour” to The Anthem on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets are sold out.
German-born trans pop princess Kim Petras’ “The Clarity Tour” arrives in Silver Spring on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 8:30 p.m. at the Fillmore (8656 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, Md.). Tickets start at $38 for general admission and can be found at livenation.com.
Cher is finally bringing the tour spawned by her “Dancing Queen” album of ABBA covers to the District. The beloved singer will be at Capital One Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $67-341 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
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.”