Spring Arts Preview: Pop Picks

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POP PICKS: We shudder to think how old Joanne Germanatta was when she first heard the music of Morrissey or Bruce Springsteen. Nevertheless, the disco diva who calls herself Lady Gaga time-shares this spring's stages with luminaries from back in the day, as well as with contemporary pop icons such as Katy Perry and Britney Spears. Meanwhile, in scruffier locales, hipster stars Neko Case, A.C. Newman, and Peter Bjorn and John are due to enchant the Converse-wearing masses.

The biggest name on this season's slate comes with tons of baggage. But whatever your musical taste, you can't deny the towering tabloid-luring talents of Miss Britney Spears. She takes her "Circus" act to Verizon Center on March 24, so expect energetic dancing, convincing lip-syncing and "Womanizer."

On the indie beat, expect fewer backup dancers and more angst. Things heat up in May with a 9:30 Club performance by everybody's favorite Swedish whistlers (and Kanye West's favorite band), Peter Bjorn and John, on May 2. The band tries to prove it can get past "Young Folks" with new album, "Living Things," out March 31. On May 11, the same venue gets weird with a visit from Animal Collective. The band released "Merriweather Post Pavilion" in January, a pop-minded change of tune for the noise-prone Baltimoreans.

For blues and blugrass fans who missed Bela Fleck and the Flecktones on their holiday tour in December, never fear, Fleck and Victor Wooten are (back) here. Bassist Wooten reunites with JD Blair for a groove-oriented project on March 23 at the Birchmere, and Fleck brings his new Africa Project to the State Theatre on April 9.

The Flecktones aren't the only band splitting up for solo shows in the area: The New Pornographers' de facto leader Carl Newman, aka A.C. Newman, takes his solo act to the Black Cat on March 18 to promote January's "Get Guilty." Meanwhile, fellow New Pornographer Neko Case hits 9:30 Club on April 8 in support of "Middle Cyclone," due March 3.

If that weren't enough, one half of garage-rockers the Black Keys — Dan Auerbach, alongside backing band/opener Hacienda — will also hit 9:30 Club's stage Feb. 28. Auerbach's very Keys-like new album, "Keep It Hid," dropped Feb. 10.

Verizon Center also hosts two other big names, including one we haven't seen in a while. The surviving members of the Grateful Dead reunite as The Dead on April 14 as part of their first tour in five years. Expect hundreds of Deadheads invading the Gallery Place Metro looking for a miracle ticket.

But the most attention may go to the Boss himself, as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band command the Verizon Center on May 18. If his Super Bowl performance in January is any guide, we can look forward to a mix of new tunes from "Working on a Dream" as well as the Bruce classics. Hey, maybe even the president will show up — he is a fan.

Lady GaGa will "Just Dance" in all her crazy glory on April 2, with two sold-out 9:30 Club shows. Similarly, popster Katy Perry attempts to prove she's more than just curious at her sold-out April 10 show at 9:30 Club.

Spring also brings a series of intellectual rappers to the area, with Mos Def taking a break from acting to play two shows at 9:30 on Feb. 23. Experimental Somalian rapper and "Troubador," as his album title claims, K'Naan graces the Kennedy Center stage on Feb. 27.

St. Patrick's Day may be March 17, but the party gets started on March 14 with the now-annual Shamrock Fest at RFK Stadium. Irish punk rockers Flogging Molly and the Celtic-infused Carbon Leaf headline. If your idea of fun isn't thousands of people drunk in RFK's parking lots, you could always go see melancholic former Smiths singer Morrissey when he debuts material from his new record, "Years of Refusal," at the Warner Theatre that same night.

Written by Express contributor Rudi Greenberg
Photo courtesy Wolf Trap