Parklife DC

1 week ago | parklifedc.com | Mickey McCarter

Simple Minds closed the main set of their recent show in DC area with a boisterous performance of “Don’t You (Forget Me),” the song that put them on the musical map in the United States in 1985. In the middle of the song, frontman Jim Kerr turned the song over to the enthusiastic audience, which filled Merriweather Post Pavilion with extended refrains of “La, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la” from the song’s closing.

1 week ago | parklifedc.com | Mark Joseph Engleson

When Suzanne Vega emerged from New York City’s folk scene in the mid-’80s, the singer-songwriter tradition that bloomed during the ’70s had fizzled out. The major figures had gone into mainstream pop and rock or more experimental directions, and the audience and market had dried up.

1 week ago | parklifedc.com | Mark Joseph Engleson

Throughout their long careers, Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ have promoted the traditions of the blues while pushing the boundaries of the music, making them among the genre’s most beloved, popular, and acclaimed artists. Earlier this year, they released their second collaboration album, Room on the Porch (they initially teamed up for 2017’s TajMo, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album the following year).

2 weeks ago | parklifedc.com | Mark Joseph Engleson

I thought I’d never see Paul Simon perform live. In 2018, he announced his retirement after his last tour, which stopped at Capitol One Arena. But retirement in entertainment — be it musicians, actors, or pro wrestlers — is often fleeting. The muse driving their achievements is a relentless beast, and many find it hard to quit. Paul returned to the road this year with his band for the first time since Covid.

2 weeks ago | parklifedc.com | Mickey McCarter

Bloc Party recently performed live at The Anthem in DC to celebrate 20 years of their debut album, Silent Alarm (2005), and they played through that album’s song and other tunes with impressive power and style. They also made some very smart choices that augmented the intensity of the show, which had the best sound that I had heard in the 6,000-person venue in a long time. On June 2, Bloc Party arrived fresh and ready for the tasks at hand: 1.