August's best concerts
The Washington Post Staff | Updated 08/17/2012
Summer is winding down, but you can still bask in the concert season for one more month. We've broken down some of the best remaining shows into six categories, with three picks for each. Get out there before it's back to the grind.
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Loudon Wainwright III
Vienna, VA | 8/18
She was loved in and around Washington before she became one of country music's biggest stars. She continues be one of the genre's most consistent songwriters.
My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses
Columbia, MD | 8/18
The new kings of the summer concert season? It's hard to beat the nearly three hours of headbanging, skyscraping, heavy-jamming alt-Southern-rock these longhairs routinely deliver.
Raheem Devaughn, Black Alley
Washington, DC | 8/23
The self-described "R&B hippie neo-soul rock star" takes a break from his "Hold Your Wife" tour to play an intimate show at the Howard Theatre.
Al Green
Vienna, VA | 8/24
The irresistible soul dynamo remains a force to be reckoned with on stage. And that voice remains in shockingly great shape.
Juniper Lane
Washington, DC | 8/24
Local band has a radio-ready sound and is one big break from playing shows that will cost a lot more than nothing.
Brad Paisley, The Band Perry, Easton Corbin
Bristow, VA | 8/25
It's hard to top Brad Paisley, one of country's best songwriters and showman. But newcomers the Band Perry are quickly rising up the country music ranks and will be headliners themselves within a couple of years.
Mary J. Blige, D'Angelo, Melanie Fiona
Washington, DC | 8/26
Mary J. Blige is the headliner on "The Liberation Tour," but you can bet that just as many people will be there to see the long-awaited return of the magical and mysterious R&B singer D'Angelo, who is reemerging after a decade away.
Bobby Womack
Alexandria, VA | 8/28
Here's one of 2012's best comebacks, in two ways. The soul/R&B favorite from the 1960s released an album produced by Blur's Damon Albarn, and he also beat cancer.
Rodriguez
Washington, DC | 8/30
Make this one a "should-be legend." The long-forgotten protest singer from the early '70s is experiencing a career renaissance thanks to the new documentary about his stranger-than-fiction life, "Searching for Sugar Man."
Dixie Power Trio
Washington, DC | 8/31
One of the District's most popular summer traditions ends with an upbeat, New Orleans-style party.
More Editors' Picks
Events
- Best summer concerts
- Best events for August and September
- Best rainy-day diversions
- Summer arts preview: Museums
- Best quick trips
- August's best concerts
- Best live jazz without crowds or cover charges
- Summer arts preview: Film series
- Best events this weekend
- Summer arts preview: Visual arts
Restaurants
- Best restaurants for vegetarians and vegans
- Best restaurants for a quiet meal
- Best bites near the Howard Theatre
- Best banh mi
- Best crab cakes
- Best veggie burgers
- Best summer salads
- Best coffee shops
- Best chocolate shops
- Best mac and cheese
Bars & Clubs
- Best sushi happy hours
- Fail-proof first dates
- Best late-night happy hours
- Intern Guide: Two-for-one happy hours
- Best pool halls
- Best people watching
- Intern Guide: Beer for a buck
- Best D.C. Beer Week events
- Best bars near the Convention Center
- Best jazz clubs
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