By Madeline Jones
On February 24, 2026 at the 9:30 Club, Peter McPoland returned not as a newcomer with something to prove, but as a self-proclaimed “not cool” folk singer fully in command of a room that quite literally vibrated with excitement. The last time he played the venue was on his 2023 Piggy tour, and early in the set he shouted out the returning fans who had been with him since that debut album. “This uncool folk singer is on his way back to town,” he joked, as cheers drowned him out.
Not long after he took to the stage, McPoland beamed about his long-standing love for D.C. As a child, he said he used to make regular trips down to the city to visit his Aunt Paula, and on this night she stood proudly on the balcony, waving as he pointed her out to the crowd. At one point she flashed him a heart sign, and he waved back, less touring frontman and more grateful nephew. Shortly thereafter, he praised the opener, Americana/folk duo DUG, commenting, “You guys are gonna love DUG, I already know you love DUG.” Here, the crowd got a glimpse of the personal, playful, and generally unguarded nature that McPoland embedded into the rest of his show.
He opened with “Dead Air,” alone on acoustic guitar, his three bandmates—Josh Suarez (keys and guitar), Landon Laney (guitar), and Joe Curtin (drums)—huddled behind him on back-up vocals. Dressed uniformly in all black, they looked like a minimalist indie group, with the intimacy and comfort that comes with practice. This is perhaps unsurprising given that Laney and Curtin have been with McPoland since the early days, when they performed as Peter McPoland and the Haps. “Good Day” followed, giving each member a vocal solo that showcased just how strong the ensemble’s voices really are.
Throughout the set, McPoland switched effortlessly between acoustic intimacy and brash electric energy. “What Do You Do To Me?” from Big Lucky and “A Place Like This” from Friend leaned into glossy indie-rock, while “Slow Down / Mary Anne”—probably my favorite performance of the night—felt tender yet warm enough to fill the room. With “Blue” from Piggy and the nostalgic anthem “Shit Show,” McPoland found the crowd shouting every word back at him.
The balcony floor shook during “Romeo & Juliet,” making it feel as if you were on stage with him, the energy buzzing up through even the cushioned seats of the balcony bar. “Mold,” recorded live at the 9:30 Club on his last tour, was a wildcard, with one remarkably dedicated fan apparently DM-ing him since October to play it. “Weird pick,” he laughed, but nonetheless he obliged.
Between the moments of angst and pure adrenaline, there were moments of pure sweetness, too. Before “I Love The Animals,” he shouted out a young fan named Levy in the crowd. Later on, a fan tossed him clover-shaped glasses in honor of “Big Lucky,” which he wore with theatrical flair I might add. And before covering “Bruised Orange,” he delivered the night’s most memorable quote: “John Prine is kind of the whole reason I got into music…I stopped listening to him when I thought he wasn’t cool, but then I woke the fuck up.” The cover, sung between McPoland and Laney, was folksy, reverent, and raw.
For “Roll Away My Stone,” McPoland took to the keys, with his bandmates providing interspersed backing vocals. By the time “Digital Silence” ended, he was sweaty and out of breath, dancing with a jittery joy reminiscent of 9:30 Club alum indie pop project Dayglow—jumping back and forth like someone who can’t believe that this is his job.
The set closed with “Speed of the Sound (of You),” punctuated by a curtsy. There was no encore (as McPoland apparently hates the pageantry of encores), just a very content McPoland enthusiastically shouting out every band member, his tour team, and even the humble penny (“For exact change, making wishes, and exact change,” he said).
Uncool? Maybe. But at the 9:30 Club, Peter McPoland proved that sincerity, sweat, and a floor-vibrating set are cooler than ever.
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