Concerts

Review: Kathleen Madigan: The Mermaid Lady Tour at the Lyric Opera House

Prolific comedian and TV personality Kathleen Madigan brought her new The Mermaid Lady standup tour to Baltimore Saturday night at the Lyric Opera House, featuring a fresh medley of her favorite...

Review: National Philharmonic: Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No. 7’ with Brian Ganz at The Music Center at Strathmore

The National Philharmonic kicked off its 2016-2017 Fall/Winter season with three of Beethoven’s most celebrated works, featuring a special appearance by pianist Brian Ganz performing Piano Concerto...

Review: NSO Pops: The Second City Guide to the Symphony Starring Colin Mochrie

What happens when you put together famous improv comedian Colin Mochrie, Canadian comedy troupe The Second City, and the National Symphony Orchestra? A night of music and sketch comedy at the John F....

Review: Amos Lee with Lauren Talese at The Kennedy Center

American music at its best is alive and well as showcased by last night’s Amos Lee concert at The Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall. The evening was off to a good start with an opening performance by...

Review: “Weird Al” Yankovic at Wolf Trap

“All bets are off,” says Wolf Trap’s website, when “Weird Al” Yankovic, King of Parody, takes over the concert hall. Absolutely anything can happen. 35 years on, the polka-dancing, accordion-playing...

Review: Angelique Kidjo at The Music Center at Strathmore

The raves never stop pouring in for Grammy Award-winning singer, composer, and humanitarian Angelique Kidjo – nor should they. Called by NPR “Africa’s greatest living diva,” Kidjo’s ample gifts – her...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘Room 21’ by Jace Clayton at The Barnes Foundation

The 2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival celebrated its official launch at the Barnes Foundation on Friday evening with an extraordinary one-night-only sold-out event in the Curated Fringe, as New York...

Review: Don Henley at Wolf Trap

Seeing American icon in concert Don Henley is a must! He is Americana at its best! A musician to the core, his musical craftsmanship holds up to the test of time. A founding member of one of the most...

Review: ‘Kraftwerk’ at The Music Center at Strathmore

Review: Kraftwerk brings electro-pop and 3D imagery to The Music Center at Strathmore The electro-pop group Kraftwerk has been shredding the envelope of what is possible in electronic instrumentation...

Review: Disney in Concert: ‘Tale as Old as Time’ With the Wolf Trap Orchestra

On the first cool evening in the DC area in a while, what better way to spend it than at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap? Tonight’s concert, Disney in Concert’s Tale as Old as Time, with the Wolf Trap...

Review: Chicago at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center

Last night, I had the incredible pleasure of seeing Chicago at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center. I have never been to a show quite like this where the band is rock solid from start to finish and the...

‘Love Can Build a Bridge’: An Anti-Violence Charity Concert: Interviews With Actors and Musicians

The violence in the US and overseas has rattled millions of people, making many of us feel vulnerable. Sarah Gafgen, well-known actor, singer, and director, took the initiative and, with the help of...

Review: Kristin Chenoweth at Wolf Trap

On a hot, humid summer evening at the Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center last night, the lithe and absolutely charismatic Broadway, television, and singing sensation Kristin Chenoweth brought out the...

Review: Barbra Streisand: ‘Barbra: The Music…The Mem’ries…The Magic!’

A diva in the best sense of the word, Barbra Streisand has always understood that only an artistic perfectionist could span decades inspiring generations with her God-given vocal instrument —and,...

Review: Matt Nathanson and Phillip Phillips at Wolf Trap

A few years ago, I asked to review Gavin Degraw at Wolf Trap. I had loved his music for years, and was anxiously awaiting his turn for the stage when his co-headliner, a man named Matt Nathanson – who...

Review: The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at Wolf Trap

A high school teacher of mine used to say that there are two universal languages in the world. One is math; the other is music. Simply stated at the time, its message has echoed through my life in...

Review: ‘Seth MacFarlane and The Great American Songbook’ with NSO at Wolf Trap

Like many people my age, I’ve been a fan of Seth MacFarlane’s work for some time. Creator of hugely successful shows Family Guy and American Dad!, his list of accolades is impressive– and exhaustive!...

Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ in Concert at The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

Lights, music, and… magic! Last night the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra brought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first film of the beloved franchise, to the Strathmore stage in this latest...

‘How to Quit Your Day Job’ to Debut at NYC’s Feinstein’s 54 Below on Saturday, July 30th at 11:30 PM by Star Johnson

How to Quit Your Day Job to Debut in New York City on July 3oth Jonathan Larson wrote a song a day. This may be a musical theatre urban myth, but it’s constantly on loop in my mind. In any other...

Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ With the National Symphony Orchestra with Pianist Yuja Wang, Conducted by Lionel Bringuier at Wolf Trap

It was a stifling hot, totally sticky humid July evening in the DC area. Cooling breezes under the glowing wooden open structure that is Wolf Trap’s Filene Center at first were few and far between...

Review: Bob Dylan at Wolf Trap With Mavis Staples

Bob Dylan and the balmy air of the Mid-Atlantic summer: the folksy voice of an era and the backwoods feel of Wolf Trap seem like they were meant to go together. However, for those fans hoping for a...

A Report on Last Night’s ‘A Capitol Fourth’ Rehearsal

What do you get when you combine Smokey Robinson, Gavin DeGraw, Kenny Loggins, Team USA Olympians, the National Symphony Orchestra, and more? The incredible production of A Capitol Fourth produced by...

Review: Patti LaBelle at The Music Center at Strathmore

After more than 50 years in the music business, Patti LaBelle can still pack a house. The fans came out full force to enjoy an evening of old R&B favorites sung by a funky diva who sings from the...

Review: Musicians of National Orchestral Institute Perform Two Dances and a Titan

The lobby is packed. The line for ticket pick-up is a few dozen deep. The lobby is filled with plush lounge furniture and lit with low-hanging, contemporary chandeliers. While this could be a scene...

Kelli O’Hara in ‘Seth Rudetsky’s Broadway Concert Series’ at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia

Closing out their Concert Series Season on Tuesday, the Kimmel Center welcomed Kelli O’Hara, one of Broadway’s brightest stars, to the Merriam stage along with Seth Rudetsky for a conversation with a...

Review: ‘Sultans of String’ at AMP at Strathmore

The Sultans of String delight and excite. This is World Music as you’ve never heard it before. The music is, quite simply, a soul satisfying mash-up of European gypsy, classical, punjabi, jazz, and...

Review: ‘Some Enchanted Evening: The Music of Rodgers and Hammerstein and the American Songbook’ with Renée Fleming and Norm Lewis With The Choral Arts Society of Washington

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II pioneered a flair that was all their own in the golden age of musical theater. From 1940 to Hammerstein’s death in 1960, this musical duo dominated the musical...

Review: Washington Performing Arts Presents Itzhak Perlman and Emanuel Ax

You can feel the excitement in a room when witnessing the performance of an icon. With over 100 years of combined experience bringing classical music’s greatest pieces to life, Itzhak Perlman on...

Review: ‘Carmina 35’ at The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

It was an extremely innovative and conceptually brilliant idea to celebrate 35 wonderful years of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW) in a sophisticated, elegant and somewhat serious mode...

Review: The American Pops Orchestra Presents ‘Make Someone Happy: A 60’s Cocktail Party’ at Lisner Auditorium

For 90 minutes last Friday night (May 6, 2016), orchestra founder and Music Director Luke Frazier, Director Nathan Brewer, and Choreographer Kelly d’Amboise transformed Lisner Auditorium into the New...

Review: ‘All About Dvořák’ at National Chamber Ensemble by Ross Heath

Czech out the National Chamber Ensemble The wonderful National Chamber Ensemble closed its ninth season tonight with a Mother’s Day concert spotlighting the music of the renowned Czech composer,...

This Sunday at 8 PM at The Kennedy Center: GMCW’s Restrospective Concert featuring ‘Carmina Burana’

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW) commemorates its milestone 35th anniversary with Carmina 35 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall on Sunday, May 8, 2016 at 8...

Review: ‘Tender Tears and Love and Life: Songs by Anton Rubinstein, Anton Arensky, Alexander Glazunov, and Mark Minkov’ at the Russian Chamber Art Society

In a concert that rang the rafters and tugged at the heartstrings, the Russian Chamber Art Society bade a thrilling farewell to its longtime home at the Austrian embassy, which, after hosting more...

Santino Fontana Discusses ‘The 2016 Oscar Hammerstein Festival’ at the Bucks County Playhouse

The 2016 Oscar Hammerstein Festival, being held this weekend at the Bucks County Playhouse, brings together a wide array of musical theatre artists, scholars, and enthusiasts to explore the importance...

Review: ‘I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk’ at Strathmore

From Handel’s Giulio Cesare to Donizetti’s Anna Bolena to Adams’ Nixon in China, real-life historic figures have often been the subjects of operas. The multi-talented actor, singer, composer, and...

Review: The Cult at The Fillmore

The real rock stars and rock band of our time is The Cult. While Guns ‘N Roses is gearing up for their reunion tour, The Cult has been going strong for 20+ years even employing Guns ‘N Roses drummer...

Review: ‘Johnny Mathis –The 60th Anniversary Concert Tour’ at Strathmore

Johnny Mathis, iconic and legendary vocalist of love songs, jazz, tin pan alley, Brazilian music, holiday music and the Great American Songbook, celebrated his 60th Anniversary in Show Business...

“Creating An American Citizen”: An Interview with Pianist Bruce Levingston

On Wednesday, April 6, 2016, Georgetown University will welcome acclaimed pianist Bruce Levingston, one of the country’s leading figures in contemporary classical music, for the Washington, D.C....

Review: An Evening with Art Garfunkel at The Hylton Performing Arts Center

In his 70s, Art Garfunkel still has control of a gorgeous, light counter-tenor, and an ability to tell the story of a song while connecting with his audience. The Hylton Center for the Arts at George...

Review #2: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ‘Broadway Divas’

Maybe you could not dance all night, but on Thursday, March 31, 2016, when the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed Broadway Divas at the Music Center at Strathmore, I could not stop tapping my feet...

Review #1: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ‘Broadway Divas’

What does one call a group of Broadway divas? After tonight’s performance of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Jack Everly, “Dreamgirls” seems like perhaps the...

A Master Class with Renée Fleming at The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America’s (CUA) Benjamin T. Rome School of Music presented a master class by Renée Fleming on Sunday, March 13, 2016. Dr. Grayson Wagstaff, Dean of the School of Music, gave...

Review: The Montreal Symphony Orchestra with Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center

Who needs to skip around musical history in a concert? A hundred years ago the musical world was in ferment, with shocking new developments right before and after World War I. The Montreal Symphony...

Review #1: Boots, Class & Sass at The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

Yee-Haw! Saddle up and come see the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC’s (GMCW) ‘Boots, Class & Sass at the Lincoln Theatre. Fortunately there are three performance left next weekend, so you’ll have...

Review: ‘Advance Always: A Celebration of Frank Battisti and Garwood Whaley’ at The Kennedy Center

The Baldwin Wallace University Symphonic Wind Ensemble (BWUSWE), conducted by Dr. Brendan Caldwell, and the Bishop Ireton Symphonic Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Randall Eyles, performed the concert...

Review: BSO: All-Beethoven at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

Showcasing Beethoven’s pioneering range and imaginative ingenuity, Conductor Markus Stenz led the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the Romantic and triumphant incidental music to Egmont last night,...

Prokofiev Spring in Washington: A Preview of Seven Musical Events

When Andrew Lloyd Webber recently told a group of teenage rock musicians on Broadway that he wanted to talk about the music of Sergei Prokofiev rather than his own musicals, he was the latest in a...

Review: Fortas Chamber Music Concerts: eighth blackbird at The Kennedy Center

eighth blackbird‘s performance on Monday night at The Kennedy Center was introduced with the theme of murder and mayhem, which explained the state of the set. Rickety looking ladders, dead clocks,...

Review: ‘Vienna Mozart Orchestra’ at Strathmore

Opera-lovers got a chance to travel back to the 18th Century the night of March 7, 2016, at The Music Center at Strathmore’s J. Willard and Alice Marriott Foundation Concert Stage, when the Vienna...

John Jiler on 11th Hour Theatre Company’s Next Step Concert Series’ Performance of ‘Big Red Sun’ in Philadelphia

Big Red Sun, the post World War Two-era musical Georgia Stitt and I are developing at the 11th Hour Theatre Company of Philadelphia, began life at the Stephen Schwartz ASCAP workshop ten years ago. We...