Violet Grohl in Washington DC

Violet Grohl might have the biggest “leg up” in the start of her solo career by being the daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, but she proved that she belonged on the biggest of stages during a recent Washington, DC stop on her Be Sweet To Me solo tour. Donned in black clothing, Violet Grohl looked every part of a rockstar, while her tight backing band blazed through a 14-song set that included nearly every song from her thrilling debut LP, Be Sweet To Me, a Ween cover and three new songs that have not officially been released. The concert was held at The Atlantis (a venue directly next door the legendary 9:30 Club), which coincidentally hosted its first official concert in May 30, 2023 with Foo Fighters headlining, will likely be known as “the house that Grohl built” after two legendary shows in just three short years featuring a Grohl.

The concert didn’t have an opening band, and the anticipation of seeing Violet Grohl take the stage was at a fever pitch as the sold out crowd made its way into the packed, 450-person capacity venue. Upon arriving at the venue, it was clear that the show was a pretty big deal as professional videographers and cameramen were all over the club, which led to speculation within the crowd that her very famous dad might be in attendance. If Dave Grohl was there, he didn’t make an appearance on stage during the show, and Violet got her chance to wow the crowd with her powerhouse vocals.

Once the backing band took the stage, Violet launched into her current single of “Bug In The Cake” firmly, but confidently planted herself behind the mic stand to let the vocals be star of the show. The aggressive nature of songs like “THUM” and “Cool Buzz” had a nice punch to them with the tight-knit backing band that featured a bassist, lead guitarist, a backing female guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist, and a very energetic drummer. The songs found on Be Sweet To Me were already strong, but hearing them in an intimate club setting like The Atlantis made them really “pop” and go off live.

During the breaks between songs, Violet mentioned that “DC was her whole heart and soul” as the Grohl family has deep ties to the DC/MD/VA area. On the set closer of “Plastic Couch,” her band did a nice job of doing a raucous, extended outro to the song as Grohl shyly smiled and nodded in approval. By the time the track ended, she frequently thanked the audience for coming out to her first solo tour, and blew kisses to the crowd after wrapping up a really concise and deliberate set of captivating material.