Time to make all your live music plans for the remainder of 2023.
I’ve combined the months of November and December into one list as December is often light on concerts (plus I’m out of town for half the month).
Unsurprisingly, this round there were twice as many options I considered putting on the list in November (42), compared to December (19), and November outclassed December 22-8 in the final 30. I also added two new venues for consideration, Dew Drop Inn and Atlas Brew Works, upping the number of local venues I check to create these lists to 42! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that DC isn’t a music town.
Don’t sleep on Atlas Brew Works in Ivy City, they will be showcasing a variety of music genres going forward, expanding beyond their traditional death/doom metal programming.
Have a good holiday season, and enjoy the hell out of live music!
Note: If you want some local DC-based bands/artists, we’ve highlighted local artists in yellow.
Top 30 Concerts for November/December
Yumi Zouma @ Black Cat (11/3/23) (A dream pop band from New Zealand, and I’ve seen every show they’ve performed in DC! Never too late to start your own streak. See a review from last year’s concert in DC, also at the Cat.)
The Japanese House @ 9:30 Club (11/4/23) (This show immediately sold out, and for good reason. Amber Mary Bain’s (aka The Japanese House) first album, Good at Falling (2019 via Dirty Hit) was amazing. I still need to listen to her new album, In the End It Always Does, released in June, but I’ve heard good things.)
Addison Grace @ Union Stage (11/5/23)
Ava Mirzadegan w/ Halpine + Keeper @ Comet Ping Pong (11/5/23) (A record release show for Ava Mirzadegan, who previously fronted the DC indie folk band, Pen Palindrome. She moved to Philly, so this is her homecoming show to celebrate the release of her first solo album. Both the indie rock band Halpine and Keeper are also local.)
Runnner + Sun June @ DC9 (11/7/23) (Austin’s Sun June just released their latest album, Bad Dream Jaguar (via Run For Cover), and a new video for the song “Sage”. As the band describes it; “‘Sage’ is about family displacement – the loss of a central home, distance apart, and time away. It’s also about the dirty Hudson River and how much I love it. The song was a response to a recurring dream about my childhood home slowly dissolving away. The house is long gone but I tried to imagine I could sage it from a distance. By the time we finished recording the song, it felt very therapeutic to go from a sad bedroom guitar demo to something bigger. Music rules.”)
Blond Redhead @ Howard Theatre (11/9/23) (Blond Redhead’s latest album, Sit Down For Dinner (via Section1), came out in September, and is their first in 10 years. This alternative rock band started in New York City in 1993, and are still going strong. Don’t miss out!)
Karen Jonas w/ Ramona & the Holy Smokes @ Pearl Street Warehouse (11/9/23) (Karen is returning to Pearl Street, with her great Americana and country sounds. See a review of a previous show.)
A. Savage @ Black Cat (11/9/23) (This is the solo project of Andrew Savage, the lead singer of the rock band Parquet Courts.)
RDGLDGRN @ Songbyrd Music House (11/10/23) Sold Out (A sold out show for local Virginia legends, celebrating their 10-year anniversary of their first album. The name is a play on each of the band members nicknames, Marcus Parham (Red), Andrei Busuioceanu (Gold) and Pierre Desrosiers (Green).)
Far Caspian @ Songbyrd Music House (11/11/23)
Outerloop w/ Dog Shoes + The Dissenters @ The Pocket (11/12/23) (I witnessed post punk band Outerloop a few times in 2022, but haven’t caught them live this year. Hopefully this is the one.)
The Big Moon @ DC9 (11/13/23)
Kasabian @ 9:30 Club (11/15/23)
Karen Culi w/ A Shrewdness of Apes + Daring For Glory @ The Pocket (11/16/23)
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs w/ Cam Kahin + Spring Silver @ Atlas Brew Works (Ivy City) (11/16/23) (Presented by Pie Shop, held at Atlas Brew Works in Ivy City and already sold out!)
Mipso @ 9:30 Club (11/17/23) (Mipso is an indie folk/bluegrass band from North Carolina, and are currently touring for their sixth album, Book of Fools. Their first album was produced by Andrew Marlin (of Watchhouse) which is a good way to start your career.)
Dawn Landes @ Millennium Stage (Kennedy Center) (11/18/23) (A free country show at Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage. They have been programming some great free shows of late, I witnessed both Margo Price and Hurray for the Riff Raff there earlier this year. Also, Dawn Landes is good, check out a review from a previous show.)
Bully @ Black Cat (11/18/23) (This show was rescheduled from September. Bully started out as a great grunge band, and now is a solo project by lead singer Alicia Bognanno. The fourth album, Lucky for You (via Sub Pop), came out in June of this year. Take stock of this review of a previous show.)
Light Beams w/ Johnny Dynamite & the Blood Suckers + Club USA @ Comet Ping Pong (11/18/23) (DC’s Light Beams will celebrate the release of their second album, Wild Life (via Dischord Records and Mud Memory Records), at Comet Ping Pong. The band is fronted by DC iconoclast Justin Moyer (Edie Sedgwick, El Guapo. Supersystem, Antelope) and their recent lineup features a who’s who of recent DC post punk history. They’ll be joined by Johnny Dynamite and new the DC post punk band Club USA.)
The Bobby Lees w/ One Way Out @ The Atlantis (11/20/23)
Liz Phair w/Blondshell @ The Anthem (11/25/23) (Liz is celebrating the 30th Anniversary of her debut album, Exit to Guyville. Should be amazing. And Blondshell is also great live.)
Joan Osborne @ The Barns (Wolf Trap) (11/29 & 11/30/23)
DC101-derland 2023 @ The Anthem (12/1/23) (This year’s edition has a great line-up including Young the Giant and MisterWives.)
Velocity Girl w/ Tuscadero + Pohgoh @ Black Cat (12/1 & 12/2/23) (DC greats, Velocity Girl, have returned for two more shows at the Black Cat. The Dec. 2nd show is already sold out. Do not miss this!)
Body of Light @ Quarry House Tavern (12/6/23) (Body of Light is from Arizona, and their dark synth pop sounds puts one in the mood for the likes of New Order and Depeche Mode.)
Scream w/ Soulside @ Black Cat (12/7/23) (Old school local music alert! The hardcore punk band that Dave Grohl famously played for before he joined Nirvana.)
Hello Mary @ Songbyrd Music House (12/8/23)
The Crystal Casino Band @ The Atlantis (12/16/23)
Interpol @ 9:30 Club (12/16, 12/17, 12/18/23) (All three shows are sold out!)
Madonna @ Capital One Arena (12/18 & 12/19/23) (I like putting local and sometimes little known artists on this list, and then there is Madonna. Luckily, I found a spot for her.)
Bonus
(When the list ends, and you need more! So much more.)
Laufey @ Lincoln Theatre (11/4/23)
Vérité (opening for LP) @ The Anthem (11/7/23)
Nightly @ 9:30 Club (11/11/23) (Check out a review from a previous show.)
The Bug Club w/ The Smashing Times + Home Remedies @ Comet Ping Pong (11/16/23) (Jangle pop bands The Smashing Times and London’s The Bug Club will inject some post punk energy to their Comet Ping Pong sets. The Smashing Times are releasing their debut album.)
Couch @ The Atlantis (11/18/23) Sold Out
Kishi Bashi @ Lincoln Theatre (11/19/23) (Not only will Kishi screen his new documentary (A Song Film By Kishi Bashi: “Omoiyari”), he will also follow it with a conversation AND a live set performing the soundtrack, joined by a string section. The film explores his own journey around the research into the incaraceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans that followed in the wake of Pearl Harbor in 1941.)
Mia x Ally @ Union Stage (11/20/23)
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway @ 9:30 Club (11/21/23)
The Owners @ Slash Run (11/25/23) (The DC punk band just put out a new single called “I Don’t Cry”. You will cry, however, if you miss this show.)
Elena La Fulana w/ Taisha Estrada @ The Pocket (11/30/23) (Taisha is the lead singer of Outerloop and the jazz-infused band The Attic Sessions. Here she’ll perform solo, opening for Elena La Fulana, a local Latin Grammy-nominated artist whose music ranges from folk and Americana, to violin-infused Latin cumbia.)
deadmau5 @ Echostage (12/2/23)
2023 Wammie Award Winners Showcase Concert @ Songbyrd Music House (12/3/23) (Great initiative, four local artists/bands will perform showcasing previous winners of a Wammie. The artists are: Autumn LaBella (Best R&B/Soul Song), Black Rave Culture (Best Electronic/Techno Artist/Group), Outerloop (Best Hard Rock/Punk Song), and Pretty Bitter (Best Pop Album & Best Pop Song). The nominations for the 36th Annual Wammie Awards starts in December and voting will begin in January.)
Emmylou Harris @ The Hamilton (12/3/23) (GA at the bar is all that is left, and a bit pricey at $90, but you’ll be seeing a legend.)
Lydia Loveless @ The Atlantis (12/4/23) (Alt-country singer, Lydia Loveless, is touring in support of her new album released in September, Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again (via Bloodshot Records). The single “Runaway” is a beautiful entry point to the album!)
Ella Vos @ Songbyrd Music House (12/5/23) (Check out a review from a previous show.)
Kiki & Herb @ Howard Theatre (12/6/23) (Aka Mx. Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman are bringing their music/comedy act to DC! The New York Times calls their show, ‘A hyper-magnified cabaret concert that has the heat and dazzle of great balls of fire.’)
We Are Scientists @ Union Stage (12/8/23)
Born Without Bones w/ The Vaughns @ Comet Ping Pong (12/10/23) (The Massachusetts indie punk band Born Without Bones will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 2013 album, Baby, and are joined by The Vaughns, a power pop band from New Jersey.)
Karina Rykman @ The Atlantis (12/14/23)
Wrizzards @ Union Stage (12/29/23)
A DC Journey 