What concerts are you excited about in September?
September will be an incredible month for concerts, and you should go to as many as possible. Are you ready? Eat your Wheaties to prepare for this onslaught of live music. If you need a little more of a push, here’s a handy guide showcasing some of the best options.
I’m also going to attempt to set a personal goal this month. My all-time record for most concerts in a single month is nine (achieved in October of 2019). So my goal is to witness 10 concerts in September 2024. Let’s (redacted) go!
Because there is such a plethora of choices, I only whittled it down to 40 shows, plus some bonus entries. It’s far too difficult to go lower (probably).
As always, find local music in yellow. Use some of your concert going capital to see local music at DC’s small venues. You’ll be helping those businesses and artists, and too much live music is not a thing.
(Concert guide updated 9/19/24)
September 2024
One Way Out w/ PANIK FLOWER + partygirl @ The Pocket (9/1/24) (One Way Out has been honing their live show (adding more improvisation) over the last year, so if you haven’t witnessed them live recently get to The Pocket on Sept. 1st! They also have a second live record coming this Fall. Check out some of their previous songs we’ve featured on this blog. The other two bands are both from Brooklyn.)
Allen Stone @ 9:30 Club (9/4/24) (Check out our review of a previous show.)
Amen Dunes @ Black Cat (9/6/24) (Damon McMahon (aka Amen Dunes) just released a new album, Death Jokes (via Sub Pop), his first since 2018. The songs speak to the lingering effects that the COVID years have had on all of us, spiritually and emotionally. The songs ended up as solemn indictments of our culture’s blind spots as we misjudge and attack, with our veiled self-centeredness and self-importance masquerading as morality.)
The Midras w/ KINDA EVIL + Wanted Man @ Pie Shop (9/6/24) (Local band alert! Both KINDA EVIL and Milo in the Doldrums Wanted Man are DC-based, and I highly recommend you check them out! I’ve never seen the Richmond band, The Midras, but if they’re on the same bill, they must be good.)
Waxahatchee and Snail Mail @ Wolf Trap (9/6/24) (Check out our review of a recent Snail Mail concert.)
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band @ Nationals Park (9/7/24) (He’s the boss, so you have to go. Those are the rules.)
Nectarine Girl + Heath 240 w/ Home Remedies @ DC9 (9/7/24) (Home Remedies is local.)
The Killers @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (9/8/24)
Wild Rivers w/ Jade Bird @ Lincoln Theatre (9/9/24) Sold Out (One of the first concert reviews we ever did on this site was for Wild Rivers. And we’ve reviewed Jade multiple times. This is a legit show!)
Maya Manuela @ Songbyrd Music House (9/9/24)
beabadoobee w/ Hovvdy @ The Anthem (9/9/24) (beabadoobee heads to DC on the strength of her third album, This is How Tomorrow Moves, produced by Rick Rubin. From England, she’s been on a fast and furious rise since 2020 into indie pop stardom. Check out a review of her live show at 9:30 Club in 2022.)
Joseph w/ Becca Mancari @ Sixth & I (9/12/24) (Joseph are sisters from Portland, OR and are celebrating 10 years since their debut album, Native Dreamer Kin. They just put out a new introspective single, “Starting Over at the End”, their first music since their fourth album, 2023’s The Sun.)
St. Vincent @ The Anthem (9/13/24)
Lake Street Dive @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (9/13/24)
The Brothers Comatose w/ Michaela Anne @ The Atlantis (9/14/24) (Ooh, we’re fond of the country sounds of Michaela Anne, who grew up in the DC area and performs here often.)
Hotel Fiction @ Pearl Street Warehouse (9/14/24)
Weezer w/ The Flaming Lips + Dinosaur Jr. @ The Anthem (9/14 & 9/15/24) 1st Night Sold Out (I haven’t seen Weezer live in awhile (like 10 years), so that’s a good reason to go. And The Flaming Lips will blow your mind, their live show is nuts in a good way!)
renforshort w/ Sophie Cates @ Songbyrd Music House (9/16/24)
The Airborne Toxic Event @ 9:30 Club (9/16/24)
The National w/ The War On Drugs + Lucius @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (9/16/24) (My #1 show of the month (maybe the year?), because all three bands are fantastic by themselves, but together? Wow. Check out previous reviews of both The War On Drugs and Lucius. It has been since 2017 that I’ve seen The National live, so I’m ready to see how they’ve evolved.)
Glen Hansard w/ Trousdale @ 9:30 Club (9/18/24) (Folk-pop trio Trousdale, named after a roadway running through the campus of USC, honed their golden harmonies early on recording covers of ABBA, the Eagles, the Beach Boys, etc. They put it all together in their debut album, Out of My Mind, and just released a Deluxe version. They just finished a headlining tour, but are back out there with the preeminent Glen Hansard, maybe best known for starring in and recording music for the 2007 movie Once, but also formerly part of the bands, The Frames and The Swell Season.)
FLETCHER w/ Maude Latour @ The Anthem (9/18/24) Sold Out
Swataa w/ Yellow Velvet + Mar Rose @ The Pocket (9/19/24)
A Shrewdness of Apes w/ Nightwind + Jenny Jones Dio @ Atlas Brew Works (9/20/24) (Head over to Atlas for some DC hard rock and a Ronnie James Dio tribute, and stay for the shrewd prog rock stylings of ASOA!)
Kings of Leon w/Phantogram @ The Anthem (9/20 & 9/22/24) 1st Night Sold Out (The first and only time I witnessed Kings of Leon live was at 2016’s Firefly Music Festival and I’ve been looking out for their return to the DC area since. The opportunities have been few, as they’ve only played at Merriweather in recent years. The last time they played in DC was also 2016, so we’re ready. I love Phantogram, they opened for Queens of the Stone Age last year (both shows) at The Anthem, and I highly recommend you go early to see them!)
HFStival @ Nationals Park (9/21/24) (Featuring The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, Incubus, Bush, Liv Phair, Jimmy Eat World, Girl Talk, Violent Femmes, Tonic, Filter, and Lit.)
Magdalena Bay @ 9:30 Club (9/21/24) Sold Out
Black Cat Anniversary Party w/ Des Demonas + Teen Cobra @ Black Cat (9/21/24)
Jesus Aguaje Ramos and his Buena Vista Orchestra @ Warner Theatre (9/22/24)
Coral Moons w/ Devonly + GLOSSER @ Pie Shop (9/22/24)
Khruangbin @ The Anthem (9/23 & 9/24/24) Both Sold Out (Khruangbin, a trio from Houston, TX, just released their first album in four years (and fifth overall), A LA SALA (via Dead Oceans). They bring a red-hot psychedelic and surf rock vibe, mostly instrumental (occasionally with lyrics). Highly recommend!)
Sara Bareilles @ The Kennedy Center (9/24, 9/25 & 9/26/24) (Sara’s shows were highly sought after as they all sold out, so I’ll console myself by drowning out the sorrows to the dulcet tones of her debut album, Little Voice.)
Zolita @ The Atlantis (9/24/24) Sold Out (Check out our review of Zolita’s great show at Songbyrd last year.)
Marky Ramone w/ Dot Dash @ Black Cat (9/24/24) (Marc Steven Bell (aka Marky Ramone), former drummer of The Ramones, will play all their classics! Dot Dash, DC’s legendary power pop/post-punk band in the making, will open the bill with songs from their latest album, 2023’s 16 Again (via Escalator in the Rain). Consider it a greatest hits album, as they have selected 15 songs from their seven albums over the last decade, along with a cover.)
UPSAHL @ Howard Theatre (9/25/24)
Why Bonnie + Flowerbomb @ Comet Ping Pong (9/26/24) (Why Bonnie is from Brooklyn, and Flowerbomb is one of the best DC rock bands performing live these days. They adopted the term ‘bubble grunge’ to define their sound, and if you take the definition (bubblegum pop versions of the harder sounds of the alternative/grunge genre) and listen to Flowerbomb, there is no other conclusion!)
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers @ Warner Theatre (9/28/24)
All Things Go @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (9/28 & 9/29/24) (Like clockwork, this festival that started in DC is sold out. You can join the Waitlist if tickets become available. I haven’t yet made it to All Things Go since they moved to Merriweather, but I hit up many of the great All Things Go lineups when they were behind Union Market.)
bôa w/ Rocket @ The Atlantis (9/29/24) Sold Out
Vampire Weekend @ The Anthem (9/30 & 10/1/24) Both Sold Out (It’s been awhile, so looking forward to these shows! They haven’t played within DC since 2010, but they did perform a couple times at Merriweather Post Pavilion (last in 2019). They are touring for the new album, Only God Was Above Us.)
The Red Pears @ Songbyrd Music House (9/30/24)
Bonus!
(For when the author of this post wants to cheat and keep adding more shows!)
Kara Levchenko w/ Miss Moon + Sean Custer @ Pie Shop (9/1/24)
Band of Horses @ Wolf Trap (9/1/24)
Crowded House @ Wolf Trap (9/3/24)
Live + Stone Temple Pilots @ Jiffy Lube Live (9/4/24)
Goth Babe w/ The Aces @ The Anthem (9/6/24)
Birthday Girl x High w/ Pretty Bitter + Cherub Tree @ Pie Shop (9/8/24) (Birthday Girl is from Brooklyn, Pretty Bitter and Cherub Tree are from DC.)
Petite Amie w/ Breymer + Glosser + Special World @ The Garage (9/12/24) (Check out our review of Mexico’s Petite Amie show from 2022. Glosser is local.)
Silversun Pickups @ Rams Head Live (9/13/24)
Chanel Beads @ Songbyrd Music House (9/20/24)
Gift @ DC9 (9/22/24)
INJI @ The Atlantis (9/23/24)
Luna Li @ Union Stage (9/24/24)
Suzanne Vega @ The Birchmere (9/25/24)
Julien Baker @ The Atlantis (9/27/24) Sold Out
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats + My Morning Jacket @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (9/27/24)
The Fray @ Lincoln Theatre (9/27/24)
Outerloop w/ Misc. + Buko Buko + Liability @ Pie Shop (9/27/24)
Nilüfer Yanya w/ Eliza McLamb @ Black Cat (9/30/24)
Venus Stats (41 concerts + 18 bonus)
- The Anthem = 7 + 1
- Merriweather Post Pavilion = 4 + 1
- 9:30 Club = 4
- Black Cat = 3 + 1
- The Atlantis = 3 + 2
- Songbyrd Music House = 3 + 1
- Pie Shop = 2 + 3
- The Pocket = 2
- Nationals Park = 2
- Warner Theatre = 2
- DC9 = 1 + 1
- Sixth & I = 1
- Atlas Brew Works = 1
- Pearl Street Warehouse = 1
- Comet Ping Pong = 1
- Howard Theatre = 1
- The Kennedy Center = 1
- Lincoln Theatre = 1 + 1
- Wolf Trap = 1 + 2
Bonus only
- Jiffy Lube Live = 0 + 1
- The Garage = 0 + 1
- Rams Head Live = 0 + 1
- Union Stage = 0 + 1
- The Birchmere = 0 + 1
A DC Journey 