Metro Weekly

Live Music Returns to Strathmore & Merriweather this summer

Strathmore kicks off its season on May 30, Merriweather on July 2

Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys

“It’s true: live music is coming back this summer!” Such news has been trumpeted on repeat occasions over the past week, as several of the area’s leading concert presenters announced plans for their first shows in over a year — and all of them set for semi-outdoor stages. This includes Strathmore, which will unveil a new, open-air venue on its leafy campus in North Bethesda for the occasion.

“Experiencing live music together creates an immersive energy, shared aliveness, and magic that we’ve been craving — and you’ll feel it all at The Patio Stage this summer,” reads an official announcement. The outdoor area by the Music Center will allow groups of up to four guests to be seated at physically distanced tables for up to 124 guests per show.

The season kicks off with an Opening Night! Performance featuring the JLCO Septet and Wynton Marsalis (5/30). Other highlights from a full slate of shows include the harmony-steeped Americana band The Lone Bellow (6/17), Dar Williams (7/3), Anny Hampton Callaway performing “The Linda Ronstadt Songbook” (7/16), folk singer-songwriter Susan Werner (8/20), and the Scottish rock group Skerryvore (9/9). Tickets, sold per table, range in price from $104 to $340. Visit www.strathmore.org.

At Merriweather Post Pavilion, the season will launch with a bang over the July 4th weekend with the annual, three-day M3 Rock Festival headlined by Queensryche, Night Ranger, and Kix (7/2-4). Other shows planned this summer, all at reduced capacity with socially distancing, include Rod Stewart with Cheap Trick (8/11), Wilco & Sleater-Kinney (8/20), the Dave Matthews Band (8/21), Alanis Morissette with Garbage and Liz Phair (8/31), Daryl Hall & John Oates with Squeeze and KT Tunstall (9/18), and Pet Shop Boys & New Order (9/28). Ticket prices vary. Visit www.merriweathermusic.com.

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