Mark Joseph Engleson

6 days ago | parklifedc.com | Mark Joseph Engleson

Like another famous musician named Bob, Bob Mould contains multitudes. In his more than 40-year career, Mould has gone from making hardcore punk with Husker Du to becoming one of the most revered figures in alternative (even if he did write a song called “I Hate Alternative Rock.”) Along the way, Bob made his solo debut with the largely acoustic Workbook in 1989 and dabbled electronica. A lifelong wrestling fan, he worked for World Championship Wrestling during its dying days.

2 weeks ago | parklifedc.com | Mark Joseph Engleson

In his almost 75 years, Alejandro Escovedo has lived an incredible life that has taken him all over to the country and allowed him to be a part of some of the most important scenes in the development of contemporary music. Over 50 years of making music, he’s jumped from genre to genre: punk to alt-country to glam-rock, and, for more than 30 years, he’s been a celebrated singer-songwriter. In his recent solo at The Hamilton Live, Escovedo went deep on an intimate night of songs and stories.

4 weeks ago | parklifedc.com | Mark Joseph Engleson

Some years ago, Steve Earle — a man who knows goods songs — said that the best writers and artists in Nashville today are all women. One of the people he had in mind may very well have been Ashley Monroe. She’s an ace songwriter whose found her greatest success in writing for other artists, but she’s also made a series of terrific albums. The quality of her writing and singing was on full display when she recently appeared at The Atlantis in a stripped-down set.

1 month ago | parklifedc.com | Mark Joseph Engleson

Kristian Mattson, aka The Tallest Man on Earth (who is, if anything, slightly less than average height), has a lot of energy. It takes a certain amount of presence and charisma to command a stage playing solo, especially in a room the size of Strathmore. Kristian has it in spades, though, and he captivated the audience in his recent performance there.

1 month ago | parklifedc.com | Mark Joseph Engleson

Calgary, Alberta, Canada native Bella White may be in her early 20s, but her songwriting shows a maturity well beyond her tender years. Raised by a father who came from Virginia and played bluegrass and influenced by the songwriting of John Prine and fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell, White signed with Rounder and made her first album, 2021’s Just Like Leaving, while she was still a teenager.