Kick Off The Weekend With Last Train Home At Mason District Park

Roots-rock band Last Train Home will return to tonight as part of the Spotlight by Starlight summer concert series. The band formed in 1997 in Washington, D.C. and has since evolved into an acclaimed full-time touring group based out of Nashville. Frontman Eric Brace is a former Washington Post columnist who followed his dream of becoming a professional musician.

Learn more about tonight's performance in this Q&A with Brace.

What can local concertgoers expect from the band’s performance tonight?

I think Last Train Home is a perfect band for an outdoor show, and we'll have a six-piece band that can do it all: country, swing, bluegrass, straight-ahead rock. It's music that will have you dancing and leave a smile on your face as you leave, but it's thoughtful and sharp and well-crafted, I promise. 

Have you performed at Spotlight by Starlight before?

We have, a couple of times, and it's one of our favorite summer concert series. It's always really well run, and the sound is always very good. I really love playing under the trees and stars and watching the fireflies do their thing. It's beautiful.

How has the band’s sound changed since 1997? Do you stick mostly to roots-rock or do you explore other genres?

The term "alt-country" had been coined back in the '90s and you could say that we were part of that trend at the time, but as we grew as a band, we added trumpet and saxophone and keyboards and the sound evolved. I started writing songs that the particular musicians could sink their teeth into, so my songwriting evolved to include more complex progressions, rather than the standard country and roots-rock chord changes. We are willing to tackle anything now, and that shows in our live sets. A lot of bands say that their sound is hard to describe, but I think Last Train Home's sound is really hard to describe!

How has the transition from Washington Post columnist to full-time musician living in Nashville affected you? Were there any bumps along the way or is this exactly where you want to be?  

I started taking the band down to Nashville for gigs a few years before I left the Post, and every time I was there, it felt like a musical home to me. Lots of people in Nashville were trying to do the kinds of things I wanted to do and I felt like it was time to take the plunge. Once I did, I felt like I had kind of found my musical tribe. There were so many great musicians and songwriters that I immediately worked harder at the craft and I'm definitely better than I was 10 years ago, at songwriting, singing, playing guitar, leading a band. I started my own label down there, Red Beet Records, and that has been a great experience too. It felt like a really natural transition, and honestly, I never had a minute of regret.

You’re also performing at McLean’s Fourth of July celebration on Monday. How often does the band return to Northern Virginia for shows?

We try to play Northern Virginia as much as we can, so maybe 10 times a year. We feel that IOTA in Clarendon is still our second home, and we'll be playing there on Sept. 2. We also like to play the Barns at Wolf Trap, and we're there on Nov. 10. The July 4 gig came about after the Spotlight by Starlight show was booked, and I couldn't turn it down.

What do you love most about playing music?

There are two elements: playing with the band, and playing for a live audience, and I love them both. On stage with a band, you're speaking your own language to a few others who create something new and different each time they get together, and that's always magical. Playing in front of people is incredibly rewarding, because you get to see them reacting, dancing, singing along. Every time I play a show it makes me realize I did the right thing by becoming a full-time musician.

Outdoor lawn concert; cancelled by 3:30 p.m. day of the show if inclement weather. Click here for more information on Last Train Home.

Friday, July 1, 7:30 p.m.; Free
6621 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA; (703) 324-SHOW