What are you plans for October? Music, of course!
So much music coming the first two-thirds of October, let’s recommend 25 shows.
Also, this is the first month that concerts at The Atlantis will enter this list (the 44 lottery shows for $44 celebrating 44 years of the 9:30 Club era is over).
Note: If you want some local DC-based bands/artists, we’ve highlighted local artists in yellow.
Top 25 Concerts for October
Riovaz @ Songbryd Music House (10/3/23) (19 year-old pop/hip-hop artist, Riovaz, released his new EP, Disturb the Norm, and is touring with such hits as “Prom Night”, which has over 150 millions streams on Spotify. Should be a good time!)
The Doobie Brothers @ MGM National Harbor (10/5/23) (Whoa, oh, listen to the music, all the time.)
Dear Spring // Flowerbomb // Peak Bloom @ The Runaway (10/5/23) (Go to enjoy The Runaway’s burgers, stay for the local music scene.)
Outerloop, Credit, KINDA EVIL, and Close @ Potomac House (10/6/23) (Local music alert. This house show will also serve as a album release show for KINDA EVIL. Add Outerloop to the bill, and it is a can’t miss show! Tickets are available by DMing one of the bands via Instagram.)
Miya Folick @ The Atlantis (10/7/23)
The Aces @ 9:30 Club (10/7/23) (I first witnessed this all female rock band at All Things Go in 2018, and they continue to impress.)
Worriers @ DC9 (10/8/23) (The Worriers, punkish indie rockers, are touring for their first album in years, Trust Your Gut (via Ernest Jenning Record Co.). The album represents a cathartic manifesto for songwriter Lauren Denitzio, after having open-heart surgery at age 25, they focused on things that were important; relationships – including with yourself, and embracing gender identity.)
Band of Horses @ The Fillmore Silver Spring (10/9/23) POSTPONED
CHAI @ Union Stage (10/10/23)
Kim Petras @ The Anthem (10/12/23) (After numerous singles and EPs, Kim released her first AND a surprise second album in 2023. She just released Problématique (via Amigo and Republic), in September before her tour began. Check out a review of a previous show.)
CHROMEO @ 9:30 Club (10/12/23)
You Fool! w/ Nostranders + Grimm Winter @ The Pocket (10/13/23)
Gregory Alan Isakov w/ Lucius @ The Anthem (10/13/23) (Both are great live! Lucius’ golden harmories are not to be missed. See reviews of previous shows; Gregory Alan Isakov and Lucius.)
Kate Bollinger @ The Atlantis (10/13/23) (Kate, born in Virginia (now lives in LA), will bring her folk-pop sounds to The Atlantis in October. Her debut EP, Look at it in the Light, came out in 2022, and she has followed that up with a string of dreamy singles, like “You At Home”. Kate describes the song; “Dave (Longstreth of Dirty Projectors) and I wrote this song together during one of my first visits to LA. I’ve loved his band Dirty Projectors for a long time, so it was kind of a dream to play music with him. We wrote and recorded it simultaneously the day we got together and added some extra things almost exactly a year later: more guitars, house-keys percussion, my clogs walking down the steps.”
Courtney Barnett @ The Atlantis (10/15/23) (Courtney is fantastic live! Check out a review from a previous show in DC.)
The Beaches @ Pearl Street Warehouse (10/15/23) (This one is sold out, but The Beaches are also returning in March to the Howard Theatre!)
Lily & Madeleine @ Jammin Java (10/16/23) (Folk-pop sisters Lily & Madeleine visit Jammin Java in October, touring for their fifth studio album, Nite Swim. One of the singles, “No Part of Me”, is about ditching an unhealthy relationship in favor of independence and self-love. Don’t miss this show, and if you haven’t made it to Jammin Java before, take the plunge and get over there.)
Faye Webster @ 9:30 Club (10/17 & 10/18/23) (Both sold out. Check out a previous review.)
Lauren Calve @ DC9 (10/18/23) (Lauren’s debut album, Shift (self-released), dropped on September 1st. She’ll start her headlining tour at DC9, and it will be well worth attending. Lauren is a singer/songwriter from Virginia, and her music style fits gracefully in realm of Americana.)
Violent Femmes @ Rams Head Live (10/20/23) (Performing their debut album in its entirety!)
The Brook & The Bluff @ 9:30 Club (10/21/23) (The Brook & The Bluff is a five-piece folk-rock band, two brother and childhood friends, from Alabama. Their new album is Bluebeard, and so far all the singles, like “Tangerine”, have been great.)
Ammonite // Desert Sharks // Venray @ The Runaway (10/22/23)
Depeche Mode @ Capital One Arena (10/23/23)
Grocer w/ Grady (now Massie), Pinky Lemon, Close @ Pie Shop (10/23/23)
Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin @ The Birchmere (10/26, 10/27 & 10/28/23) (Three shows! All sold out!)
Bonus
(Never set limits!)
Christian Lopez (opening for Shawn James) @ Black Cat (10/5/23)
Massie @ Black Cat (10/13/23) (Massie used to be Grady, and now they are releasing an EP. This is the EP release show!)
Melt @ 9:30 Club (10/14/23)
Demob Happy @ Songbyrd Music House (10/16/23)
Thomas Day @ Songbyrd Music House (10/18/23) (Up and coming artist, Thomas Day, already has over 130 millions streams (Spotify, TikTok). His first album and the name of tour, Love Me For Another Day (via Arista Records), releases on October 27th.
Live @ Lincoln Theatre (10/18/23) (An unplugged performance.)
Speedy Ortiz @ Black Cat (10/18/23)
The House You Grew Up In w/ Red Medicine @ Pie Shop (10/20/23)
Cat Clyde @ Songbyrd Music House (10/23/23) (An indie-folk artist from Ontario, Canada, she released the new album, Down Rounder, earlier in 2023, that mixes in elements of Americana with the power of rock. She’ll headline the first part of the tour, but later will open for the great Margaret Glaspy. Should be a good show!)
The North Country @ DC9 (10/26/23) (Local band alert! DC-based pop band will showcase their experimental sound in the new single “The Invisible Hand”, with a punch of glam infused in an electro-pop feel, about the injustice of the 1% ruling over the rest of us.)
The 9 Songwriter Series @ Pearl Street Warehouse (10/29/23)
Slow Pulp @ Union Stage (10/30/23)
A DC Journey 