Summer Music Highlights for D.C, Maryland & Virginia

More details about all of these venues is available here.

JULY

•  Neon Trees — Tickets remain only for the Baltimore show of this appealing gay-fronted Mormon synth-pop band (7/11, Rams Head Live, 7/13, 9:30 Club) 
• Natalie Merchant – From 10,000 Maniacs down to 1 (7/12, Lincoln Theatre) 
• French Express Label Night — Moon Boots, Perseus, Jonas Rathsman, Isaac Tichaeur (7/12, U Street Music Hall) 
• Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland w/Brandy Clark (7/13, Wolf Trap) 
• The Fray (7/16, Wolf Trap) 
• The Barefoot Movement — Tennessee bluegrass/Americana/rock band, a Free Summer Outdoor Concert series (7/16, Strathmore) 
• Matthew Sweet w/Tommy Keene (7/16, Birchmere) 
• Queens of the Stone Age w/St. Vincent, Brody Dalle (7/17, Merriweather) 
• Puss N Boots — Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper tour in support of their country/jazz group’s debut album No Fools, No Fun (7/17, 9:30 Club) 
• Rahsaan Patterson — Underappreciated gay neo-soul artist, who got his start in Kids Incorporated (7/17, Rams Head On Stage) 
• Jean Carne — Soul legend (7/17-20, Blues Alley) 
• Fall Out Boy w/Paramore, New Politics — An assortment of edgy synth pop acts led by the Baltimore boys
• (7/18, Merriweather) 
• Charles Feelgood (7/18, U Street Music Hall) 
• James Brown – The Man, The Music & The Message (7/18, Lincoln Theatre) 
• Camera Obscura (7/18, 9:30 Club) 
• Daft Phunk — A Tribute to Daft Punk (7/18, Fillmore) 
• Justin Trawick Trio — Local folk crooner performs with his trio here regularly as part of Free Loft Late Night Music series (7/18, Hamilton) 
• Jay Brannan — The sweet-voiced acerbic-acting gay crooner still best known from the film Shortbus (7/19, U Street Music Hall) 
• O.A.R. & Phillip Phillips — Rockville’s own jam band comes home for a show with the “Home” hit-maker and redundantly named American Idol winner from 2012(7/19, Merriweather) 
• Queen + Adam Lambert — The almost American Idol performs as almost-Freddy Mercury in the original Queen (7/20, Merriweather) 
• Huey Lewis & The News (7/20, Wolf Trap) 
• Bebel Gilberto (7/20, 9:30 Club) 
• John Hiatt and the Combo & The Robert Cray Band (7/20, Strathmore) 
• New Edition — Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike – the old New gang is all here, Ralph and Johnny too (7/20, Verizon Center) 
• Lionel Richie w/CeeLo Green — Richie’s stuck on performing, and Green might be crazy (7/21-22, Wolf Trap) 
• Conjunto Chappottin — A veteran Cuban son band performs at two free area concerts (7/21, Kennedy Center, 7/23, Strathmore) 
• Vans Warped Tour — To cite only the best-known among the too-many acts: Anberlin, Bad Rabbits, Breathe Carolina, Cute Is What We Aim For, Enter Shikari, K.Flay, Less Than Jake, Lionize, Of Mice and Men, The Devil Wears Prada (7/22, Merriweather) 
• Flume – U Street Music Hall Presents… (7/23-24, 9:30 Club) 
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds w/Nicole Atkins (7/23, DAR Constitution Hall) 
• Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks — Animal Collective founder tours with new band, inspired by horror films and rural music (7/23, U Street Music Hall) 
• Aisha Kahlil (7/23, Blues Alley) 
• Beck — After glowing reviews from Coachella and Austin City Limits, this Anti-“Loser” adds another local stop in support of the new Morning Phase (7/24, Merriweather) 
• Angela Johnson — An indie “Queen of Soul” (7/24, Blues Alley) 
• Neutral Milk Hotel — Jeff Mangum started this influential, experimental indie-rock band 25 years ago and now, 15 years after disbanding, reteams with other members for a reunion tour (7/25, Merriweather) 
• The Antlers (7/25, 9:30 Club) 
• Lee Burridge (7/25, U Street Music Hall) 
• Start Making Sense w/HmfO — Talking Heads tribute act with another for Hall & Oates (7/25, Hamilton) 
• Chus & Ceballos — A rare D.C. stop from one of the best progressive house DJ acts, straight Spaniards who headline major gay dance parties elsewhere (7/25, Flash) 
• Sarah McLachlan — The pet-rescuing soft-pop Canadian crooner (7/26, Wolf Trap) 
• Dave Matthews Band – Billed as “A Very Special Evening,” performing two sets, one acoustic, the other electric (7/26, Jiffy Lube Live) 
• Bliss w/Will Eastman and Keenan Orr (7/26, U Street Music Hall) ^
• The Legwarmers — Billed as D.C.’s Biggest ‘80s Retro Dance Party (7/26, State Theatre) 
• Darius Rucker — Where’s Hootie? Where’s the Blowfish? (7/27, Wolf Trap) ^
• Phish (7/26-27, Merriweather) 
• Mixtape — Shea Van Horn and Matt Bailer’s monthly roving party returns to the 9:30 Club (7/25, 9:30 Club) 
• Mates of State (7/28, U Street Music Hall) 
• Heart — The rocking melodic “Magic” women (7/29, Wolf Trap) 
• Hess Is More — A seven-piece band from New York offering a “100 percent live orchestra experience,” free on the Millennium Stage (7/29, Kennedy Center) 
• Chuck Brown All Star Band — Late Godfather of Go-Go’s band performs as part of free summer outdoor concert series (7/30, Strathmore) 
• The Disco Bisquits (7/31, 9:30 Club) 
• Rodrigo y Gabriela — Supercharged Mexican guitar duo (7/31, Wolf Trap) 
• Tweet & PJ Morton — The “Oops (Oh My)” hip-hop/pop singer performs with the keyboardist from Maroon 5
• (7/31, Howard Theatre)

AUGUST

• Mary Chapin Carpenter — Performing her songs and more with an orchestra (8/1, Wolf Trap) 
• Mad Decent Block Party DC — Dilton Francis, Diplo, Flux Pavilion, Sleigh Bells, Trippy Turtle, Wave Race, Wolfgang Gartner, Cashmere Cat and Children of the Night (8/1, Merriweather) ^
• Nellie McKay — An early LGBT ally for marriage equality, quirky folk artist offers the cabaret “A Girl Named Bill” (8/1, Rams Head On Stage) 
• Ed Kowalczyk — Former lead singer of Live toasts the 20th anniversary of that melodic hard rock band’s breakthrough album Throwing Copper (8/1) 
• Melba Moore (8/1-2, Blues Alley) 
• 2014 Sumer Spirit Fesetival — Ms. Lauryn Hill, Janelle Monae, Meshell Ndegeocello, Raheem DeVaughn, Talib Kweli, Junkyard Band, Backyard Band, RDGLDGRN, George Tandy Jr., Roman GlanArthur, DJ Quicksilva (8/2, Merriweather) 
• Turqoise Jeep (8/2, U Street Music Hall) 
• Boris (8/2, 9:30 Club) 
• Rascal Flatts w/Sheryl Crow & Gloriana (8/2, Jiffy Lube Live) 
• Dark Star Orchestra — Ultimate Grateful Dead tribute (8/3, Wolf Trap) 
• Akua Allrich — A homegrown jazz/R&B vocalist (8/3, Blues Alley) 
• Keyshia Cole — Sassy soul singer and reality-TV figure (8/3, Fillmore) 
• Nine Inch Nails & Soundgarden (8/4, Jiffy Lube Live) 
• Anthony David — India.Arie’s longtime collaborator (8/5, Blues Alley) 
• Pat Metheny Unity Group, Bruce Hornsby — Jazz quintet and pop pianist, together at last (8/6, Wolf Trap) 
• Cathy Ponton King — Free Summer Outdoor Concert (8/6, Strathmore) 
• Passenger — The wispy male Kiwi vocalist (8/6, Echostage) 
• David Gray — British folk-rock singer-songwriter (8/7, Merriweather) 
• Pink Floyd — Dark Side of the Moon, performed in its entirety (8/8, Wolf Trap) ^
• Presidents of the United States of America (8/8, 9:30 Club) 
• Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds (8/8, Howard Theatre) 
• Kathy Sledge — Sister Sledge offers a tribute to Billie Holiday (8/8-9, Blues Alley) 
• Buster Poindexter  — The “Hot Hot Hot” hitmaker, aka David Johansen of the New York Dolls (8/8, Birchmere) 
• Uke and Guitar Summit 2014 (8/9, Strathmore) 
• The Deadmen and Vandaveer (8/9, 9:30 Club) 
• Martyn w/Curses, Vanniety Kills — A night of dance led by D.C.-based Dutch dubstep/techno artist Martyn (8/9, U Street Music Hall) 
• Carbon Leaf — Virginia bluegrass/rock quintet (8/9, Hamilton) 
• Moonrise Festival (8/9-10, Pimlico Race Course) 
• Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson (8/10, Wolf Trap) 
• Nickel Creek, Josh Ritter — Pop-infused bluegrass and Americana (8/13, Wolf Trap) 
• Miniature Tigers (8/14, U Street Music Hall) 
• Smokey Robinson Presents: Human Nature — Australia’s biggest male vocal group brings its hit Vegas Motown-themed concert to D.C. (8/14, Warner Theatre) ^
• Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington Open Mic (8/14, Black Fox Lounge) 
• Green Velvet (8/15, U Street Music Hall) 
• Boyz II Men — More than two decades since topping the charts, apparently they still haven’t found the end of the road
• (8/15, Fillmore Silver Spring) 
• ABBA – The Concert — Annual tribute show (8/16, Wolf Trap) 
• Tori Amos – A tour in support of Unrepentant Geraldines, her first all-pop set in years (8/16, DAR Constitution Hall) 
• Silopanna Music Festival — Rams Head Promotions, an organization including Baltimore’s Rams Head Live, offers a festival of nearly 20 acts headlined by the Flaming Lips, Dashboard Confessional, Matt & Kim and Eric Hutchinson (8/16, Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds) 
• Arcade Fire (8/17, Verizon Center) 
• RuPaul’s Drag Race: Battle of the Seasons (8/18, 9:30 Club) 
• Echo & The Bunnymen (8/18, Fillmore) 
• Josh Groban (8/19-20, Wolf Trap) 
• Robyn + Royksopp –Great Swedish dance-pop star and equally fine Norwegian electronic duo (8/21, Wolf Trap) 
• Lyle Lovett & His Large Band (8/22, Wolf Trap) 
• Motley Crue w/Alice Cooper – “All Bad Things Must Come to an End.” (8/22, Jiffy Lube Live) ^
• George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (8/24, 9:30 Club) 
• Boston (8/24, Wolf Trap) ^
• The Band Perry (8/28, Wolf Trap) 
• MJ Day 2014 — Fifth annual Michael Jackson dance party (8/29, 9:30 Club) 
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — Nearly 50-year-old country/rock band behind “Mr. Bojangles” (8/30, Strathmore) 
• Juan MacLean — DJ set from this edgy electro New Yorker (8/30, U Street Music Hall) 
• Jeff Bridges & The Abiders — Yes the actor is also a musician (8/31, Birchmere)

SEPTEMBER

• ZZ Top & Jeff Beck w/Gary Clark Jr. (9/3, Merriweather) 
• Gipsy Kings (9/4, Wolf Trap) 
• Jamie XX — One half of the hot indie-pop band The XX (9/5, 9:30 Club) 
• Mary Mary — The “Shackles (Praise You)” gospel/pop sister act (9/5, Howard Theatre) 
• Bob Mould (9/6, 9:30 Club) 
• Ed Sheeran w/Rudimental — Yet another twenty-something British folk-rock singer-songwriter, and a hip electronic collective as opener (9/6, Merriweather) 
• Colbie Callat (9/7, Wolf Trap) 
• Willie Nelson — Months after his show with Allison Krauss at Merriweather, country legend returns for a more intimate affair (9/9, 9:30 Club) 
• Chris Isaak (9/9-10, Birchmere) ^
• Die Antwoord (9/10, Echostage) 
• The Gaslight Anthem & Against Me! — Nashville-steeped classic rock meets hard punk led by MTF trans artist Laura Jane Grace (9/11, 9:30 Club) 
• NSO Pops w/Pink Martini and the von Trapps — Steven Reineke kicks off NSO Pops season with eclectic world cocktail band and the family that inspired The Sound of Music (9/11-13, Kennedy Center) 
• Grouplove, Portugal The Man and Typhoon (9/12, Merriweather) 
• Lera Lynn (9/12, Strathmore) 
• Melissa Ferrick — Lesbian folk-rock guitar goddess, a regular opener for Ani DiFranco (9/12, Birchmere) 
• Route 29 Revue — Trampled by Turtles, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Iron and Wine, The Devil Makes Three, Guster, Hurray for the Riff Raff (9/13, Merriweather) 
• Holy Ghost! — New Order-inspired New York band offers a DJ set (9/13, U Street Music Hall) 
• Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull (9/13, Verizon Center) 
• Shemekia Copeland — Young soul/blues singer who’s opened for the Rolling Stones (9/13, Hamilton) 
• Jack White — Former White Stripes leader is a renaissance-man type who indie-rock music mavens all-but regard as the Second Coming, though to him, he’s the Third Man (9/14) 
• Ty Segall (9/15, 9:30 Club) 
• Sam Smith — The newest British singing sensation (9/16, Echostage) 
• OK Go — Creative pop band is known for its art project-like videos and surprising and immersive live shows (9/16, 9:30 Club) 
• Metronomy — Adventurous, ambitious British pop act with psychedelic and soul influences (9/17, 9:30 Club) 
• Clean Bandit — Great classically inspired electro/pop British group (9/18, 9:30 Club) 
• Simian Mobile Disco (9/18, U Street Music Hall) 
• Jane Monheit — “Hello Bluebird: The Jazz of Judy Garland” (9/18-21, Blues Alley) 
• Erasure – Synth-pop pioneers Andy Bell and Vince Clark reteam for the Violent Flame Tour (9/19, 9:30 Club) 
• Rubblebucket — Brooklyn outfit sounds like how a kaleidoscope looks, a continually changing pattern of ebullient drum beats, harmonies and horn exclamations (9/19, U Street Music Hall) 
• How To Dress Well — Pseudonym for Brooklyn-born, Berlin-based, falsetto-rich R&B artist
• (9/20, U Street Music Hall) 
• Brad Paisley (9/20, Jiffy Lube Live) 

A full listing of these venues is available here.