Over the summer, Wolf Trap celebrated the 50th anniversary of its signature venue the Filene Center, named in honor of the organization’s founder and chief benefactor Catherine Filene Shouse. Notably, the series of concerts presented in the 7,000-seat outdoor amphitheater were also the first after nearly 18 months of the pandemic.
With the advent of fall, the focus shifts to another venue in a different section of the lush, 100-acre property known as America’s National Park for the Performing Arts. And this season, The Barns at Wolf Trap is celebrating a milestone of its own: It’s now been 40 years since two adjoining 18th-century barns were retrofitted and opened as a charming, intimate, and acoustically rich venue with seating for just under four hundred.
Among the highlights over the next month are cabarets by two longtime leading ladies of musical theater. First up is Linda Eder, who got her start in the late 1980s on Star Search. Eder is best known for her many collaborations with composer (and ex-husband) Frank Wildhorn — starring in the original Broadway production of Jekyll & Hyde. She’s touring in support of last year’s Retro-Volume Two, the prolific artist’s 19th studio album, which features new interpretations of songs from other Wildhorn shows including The Scarlet Pimpernel and Tears of Heaven and more (10/14).
Laura Benanti — Photo: Jenny Anderson
The last Saturday of October brings two shows from Laura Benanti, who has been making quite a splash all over TV recently — from her recurring uproarious impersonation of former First Lady Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, to her guest turns on TVLand’s Younger and HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot. Yet the five-times-nominated Tony-winning triple threat (Gypsy, My Fair Lady) has a dedicated local following chiefly due to her performances with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington. So you can expect a sizable gay presence at her shows, which comes a year after the release of her full-length pop debut, a delightful assortment ranging from Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright, the Jonas Brothers, and Selena Gomez, all covered in stunningly realized fashion (10/30).
Other notable performers coming to the Barns include veteran singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff (10/8), Virginia rockers the Pat McGee Band (10/22-23), pop-rock mainstay John Waite (11/3), and the Broadway-style multimedia show “Harlem 100,” a jazzy celebration of the Harlem Renaissance led by the large ensemble Mwenso & The Shakes (11/4).
The Barns at Wolf Trap is at 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Ticket prices vary. COVID restrictions apply. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit www.wolftrap.org for more information.
Public Image Ltd -- John Lydon's pioneering post-punk outfit embarks on its ominously named This Is Not The Last Tour (10/1)
Buffalo Traffic Jam -- Pictures of You Tour with HAFFWAY and Lydia Maes (10/2)
Can't Feel My Face: 2010s Dance Party (10/2)
The California Honeydrops -- Sweet Like That Tour (10/3)
Medium Build -- Bisexual singer-songwriter Nick Carpenter brings The King of Having Fun on Tour, with Ken Yates opening (10/4)
Sylvan Esso (10/5-6)
BERTHA: Grateful Drag -- The world's first Grateful Drag band brings together queer and allied Nashville musicians in wigs and full face, with $1 from every ticket benefiting SMYAL (10/8)
Bright Eyes -- $1 from every ticket supports the Poison Oak Project's LGBTQ advocacy, with a particular focus on the trans community (10/9)
Mo Lowda & The Humble -- Tailing the Ghost Tour with Surf Hat (10/10)
Basement -- Momma opens (10/10)
Knox -- With Emi Grace (10/12)
Rebecca Black -- The queer pop artist continues her remarkable reinvention on the Exhibitionism Tour (10/15)
Laundry Day -- The Larger Than LIFE Tour with Illusion Hills (10/16)
Allison Russell -- The Grammy-winning queer singer-songwriter performs with emerging LGBTQ country-soul artist Autumn Nicholas opening (10/16)
Andrew McMahon and His Piano -- With Ivory Layne (10/17)
The Residents -- The famously enigmatic avant-garde collective revisits its 1979 album Eskimo (10/17)
Quadeca -- With DERBY and Oleka (10/18)
Waylon Wyatt -- Dustpiles World Tour with Noah James (10/20)
The Damned -- The British punk pioneers mark their 50th anniversary on the Final Damnation 50 tour, with Flamin' Groovies and The Courettes (10/21)
LØLØ -- God Forbid a Girl Goes on Tour with Mylie Taylor and Sydney Sherrill (10/22)
RØZ -- Se Esta Haciendo Tarde (10/23)
Paris Paloma -- The British singer-songwriter behind the feminist anthem "Labour" tours behind her new album, The Fatal Flaw, with Susannah Joffe opening (10/24-25)
hey, nothing -- The Hound Tour with Brother Bird (10/26)
Patrick Droney (10/27)
Sueco -- With Jeris Johnson (10/28)
MICO -- Running From a Feeling Tour (10/29)
Jukebox the Ghost: HalloQueen -- The local piano-pop trio performs one set of originals and another devoted to the music of Queen (10/30)
Bassvictim -- With Thoom (10/30)
The Army, The Navy -- The Fake Brave Tour (10/31)
Holywatr -- Deo Gratias Tour with Mercury (10/31)
She Wants Revenge -- With Rosegarden Funeral Party (11/1)
Hovvdy -- With Christian Lee Hutson (11/2)
The Music of Hey Arnold! Live! -- Composer Jim Lang and The PS 118 AllStars celebrate the animated series' 30th anniversary with its jazz, hip-hop, blues, R&B, and funk-infused music (11/4)
Hiss Golden Messenger -- I'm People Tour (11/7)
Winyah -- Foxtide opens (11/7)
Mountain Grass Unit -- Appalachian Smoke Tour (11/8)
Slow Pulp (11/9)
Amble (11/11)
Sammy Rae & The Friends -- Queer bandleader Sammy Rae presides over three nights of exuberant jazz, rock, funk, and soul (11/12-14)
Strawberry Guy (11/13)
Fruit Bats -- Eric D. Johnson tours in support of Baby Man, his intimate, stripped-down new album, with Sarah Klang opening (11/14)
Giant Rooks (11/15)
Jalen Ngonda -- Doctrine of Love Tour (11/16)
Die Spitz -- The riotous Austin punk quartet performs with queer "fairy-doom" trio Faetooth (11/17)
Matt Hansen -- The Orchid Tour (11/18)
They Might Be Giants -- The beloved alt-rock eccentrics settle in for an ambitious four-night stand (11/19-22)
emmet swimming and Dillon Fence (11/25)
nimino -- Keep Me Awake Tour (12/3)
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong -- With Fireside Collective the first night and Dizgo the second (12/4-5)
Montell Fish -- The Nest Tour (12/7)
GWAR -- With Midnight, Mac Sabbath, and X-Cops (12/8)
Squirrel Nut Zippers -- Christmas Caravan Tour (12/9)
Lucy Bedroque -- The nonbinary experimental rapper and producer performs with pinponpanpon (12/13)
The Taylor Party: Taylor Swift Night (1/9)
Ibeyi -- French-Cuban twin sisters Lisa-Kainde and Naomi Diaz fuse electronic soul with Afro-Cuban rhythms and Yoruba traditions (2/8)
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