The openly gay pop star and former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert has announced a surprise concert next Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the 9:30 Club as a benefit for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. The purpose is to raise money to help convince voters to vote for the state ballot measure granting same-sex couples marriage equality. 9:30 Club owner Seth ... [Read]

"Never too old to contain my rage," Bob Mould sings on the title track to his blistering, bewitching new album Silver Age, out today. He's also apparently not too old to make his Late Show with David Letterman debut, happening tonight. "It's always hard to tell when you're going to get a break like that," Mould told Spotlight. "If you're ... [Read]

Merriweather Post Pavilion kicks off its 2012 season with its annual Sweetlife Food and Music Festival, sponsored by delicious local salad chain Sweetgreen and headlined by Swedish electronic whippersnapper AVICII, rapper Kid Cudi and indie darlings The Shins. Also on the bill: Fun., Zola Jesus, Ben Browning of Cut Copy and local band BLUEBRAIN offering a DJ set. Local farmers ... [Read]

Born Quentin Cook, the British Fatboy Slim is one of dance music's most famous producers, known for his jerky, bouncy '90s hits "Weapon of Choice," "The Rockafeller Skank" and "Praise You." He tried to retire the moniker a few years ago, but the name has stuck -- it's just too fun to let go. Friday, March 23. Doors at 10 ... [Read]

Canadian electro-rock singer Valerie Anne Poxleitner has actually changed her legal name to Lights. A child of missionary parents who grew up in remote places of the world, her most recent album is titled Siberia, with melodic songs dirtied up in retro-electronic fashion. She's all over the map. The Brooklyn-based eclectic rock/electronic band Ambassadors opens. Tonight, Monday, March 5. Doors ... [Read]

A more thoroughly Latin-flavored Black Eyed Peas, the Los Angeles-based Ozomatli may actually be even more fun and festive. And then there is its advanced level of prestige: Ozomatli has been designated an official U.S. State Department Cultural Ambassador, representing L.A. and a melting-pot U.S. to the world. The 14-piece orchestra Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band, inspired by Fela Kuti's Afrobeat ... [Read]

I.M.P. presents a special concert at the new Kastles Stadium from D.C.'s own international music juggernaut, Thievery Corporation. At its best, Eric Hilton and Rob Garza's chillout electronic band transports you to the kind of progressive, multicultural global city that Washington could, even should, be. The music deftly incorporates various musical influences -- reggae, punk, soul, Afrobeat, Arabic -- and ... [Read]

"Bayou Soul" is the descriptor for Louisiana singer-songwriter Marc Broussard's music, a gumbo of funk, swampy blues, R&B, even church hymns. If you've ever watched the NBC series Medium, you've at least heard a snippet of his song "Home," used for the show's theme. Broussard, the son of acclaimed Louisiana guitarist Ted, stops at the 9:30 Club in support of ... [Read]

D.C.'s most-visible straight-club DJ, Will Eastman, of Bliss and Blisspop dance parties fame, has teamed with Brian Billion for this popular event of "guilty pleasures and underground classics" -- Ace of Base to Happy Mondays, Bell Biv Devoe to Oasis. And, of course, hollering at a certain TLC song. It returns to the 9:30 Club just two months after the ... [Read]

We're giving away a pair of tickets to the Pat Benatar concert at the 9:30 Club this July. Enter now for a chance to win. Form is below or visit metroweekly.com/win for more contests to choose from. var host = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + host + "wufoo.com/scripts/embed/form.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var z7q8r3 = new WufooForm(); z7q8r3.initialize({ 'userName':'metroweekly', ... [Read]

We're giving away a pair of tickets to Raphael Saadiq at the 9:30 Club! Enter directly at metroweekly.com/win or using the form below. var host = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + host + "wufoo.com/scripts/embed/form.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var z7q8k1 = new WufooForm(); z7q8k1.initialize({ 'userName':'metroweekly', 'formHash':'z7q8k1', 'autoResize':true, 'height':'656', 'ssl':true}); z7q8k1.display(); ... [Read]

var host = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + host + "wufoo.com/scripts/embed/form.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var z7q8w7 = new WufooForm(); z7q8w7.initialize({ 'userName':'metroweekly', 'formHash':'z7q8w7', 'autoResize':true, 'height':'656', 'ssl':true}); z7q8w7.display(); ... [Read]

The British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen toured last year in support of a new album, The Fountain, but this year they're back to play two of their older albums in their entirety: Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here. Wednesday, May 11. Doors at 7 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $35. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com. ... [Read]

var host = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + host + "wufoo.com/scripts/embed/form.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var z7q9x7 = new WufooForm(); z7q9x7.initialize({ 'userName':'metroweekly', 'formHash':'z7q9x7', 'autoResize':true, 'height':'706', 'ssl':true}); z7q9x7.display(); From the 9:30 Club website: "Whenever you're here, you're alive" are the first words sung on Dynamite Steps, the fifth album from Greg Dulli's Twilight Singers collective, and the group's first in ... [Read]

Femi Kuti carries the torch for his late father, Nigerian Afro-beat pioneer and superstar Fela Kuti, the subject of the exhilarating recent Broadway musical sensation Fela! Femi Kuti and the Positive Force's Afro-beat expands on his father's funky jazz base to incorporate the sounds of new R&B and dance music from all corners of the world -- but it's as ... [Read]

The Loretta Lynn concert set for this Thursday, March 17 has been rescheduled. The new date is Oct. 15, 2011. Tickets will be honored. Refunds at place of purchase through Oct. 14, 2011. Visit 930.com for more details. Here's some vintage Lynn to get you through till then... ... [Read]

Despite the two "vs." in the title, DJ Lil'e's wildly popular dance party Lady Gaga vs. Madonna vs. Kylie Dance Party is not really a battle. It is now closer to a contest than ever though, since Lil'e tweaked the formula and replaced M.I.A. with international superstar Kylie Minogue. (And since Gaga continues her reign of hits.) It's new and ... [Read]

Gang of Four, the definitive punk-funk/post-punk band, has returned 30 years after storming the airwaves and inspiring everyone from R.E.M. to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Franz Ferdinand to The Rapture. Last month, the British band released the critically acclaimed Content, and now it tours in support. Wednesday, Feb. 9 at the Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Doors at ... [Read]

A D.C.-based indie-rock band formed in 1993, The Dismemberment Plan actually dismembered a decade later, in 2003, with a final show at the 9:30 Club. They re-membered briefly in 2007 for two benefit shows to help a local musician. And now the band, named after a phrase from Groundhog Day, have re-membered again, this time for an open-ended term, initially ... [Read]

Troy "Trombone Short" Andrews and his bandmates from the Crescent City merge rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop and soul, or what he calls "supafunkrock." His latest gritty jazz album Backatown refers to the locals' term for the area of New Orleans that includes the Tremé neighborhood, the oldest black neighborhood in the U.S. Saturday, Jan. 1. Doors at 8 p.m. Nightclub ... [Read]