A Tropical Escape in Snowcrete DC
The Movement performing at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on January 30, 2026
DC coined a new term this winter: ‘snowcrete’. A mixture of snow, sleet, and ice that has compacted and refrozen into a dense, solid, concrete-like layer. Citizens all around the capital continue to find it extremely difficult to go about their life without encountering a 4ft wall of snowcrete in the middle of the sidewalk.
Tropidelic and The Movement seem to have heard these cries of misery from DC residents, and decided to melt our worries away with a tropical explosion of reggae, hip-hop, rock, and funk.
Before Tropidelic even goes on, the venue is packed, the line to get in is around the block - something we honestly weren’t expecting when we thought to cover the show. Our assumption was that most folks would be staying in the warmth of their home, staying far away from the chaos that is the intersection of 14th & U st NW. Boy were we wrong.
Folks came bundled up, braved the treachery of the roads and walkways, and arrived for their evening of righteous reggae. As folks shed their many layers, it was clear that this was an audience waiting for its turn during the holiday hiatus. Composed mainly of a mixture of Gen X and Millenials, this was a big crowd. There was hardly any room to even turn to talk to your neighbor.
Tropidelic performing at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on January 30, 2026
As Tropedelic took the stage, I’m overwhelmed with a thumping bass - a song hasn’t even begun, and the bass is serving as a whack-a-mole beneath the floor causing attendees to bob up and down with the entirety of their body.
To fans of the scene this might seem blasphemous, but with no prior exposure to Tropidelic or this blend of Reggae and Hip Hop, I was very surprised when the lead slings his guitar a side to take to the mic and start rapping. His flow was smooth, and fit within the cascades of the instruments well. I was even more surprised when the keyboardist swung around and pulled a trumpet out, causing the room to erupt, almost as if he turned a knob on his keyboard, before picking up the brass, to increase the energy levels in the room.
Tropidelic performing at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on January 30, 2026
The band takes many twists and turns with a different emphasis on each of the many genres they claim. In some you’re truly transported to the islands, others you can hear their native Ohio sound ringing true, in others it transports me to any of the many smokeshop/kava bars in my old home of St Petersburg, Florida - the sound is uniquely Tropidelic.
As the stagehands switch the instruments between sets, the crowd swells. It has somehow increased even more, with more people than The Aftertone staff have ever seen at the 9:30 Club. This was the epitome of a sold out show. In stark contrast to the single digit temps that awaited you outside, folks were sweating and had to come out of the pit for air because of how many bodies were stacked up around them. The movement for The Movement was clearly very strong. The set break brought a different sensory experience than most concerts, and one that reaffirmed the sensation of feeling like you were in a smokeshop in Western Florida - the smell of incense burning takes over the venue and its floral opulence wafting through the air told us that The Movement was about to take the stage.
The incense were the perfect prelude to the Alan Watts narration that boomed through the pit. ‘The Great Discovery’ opened the Movement’s set, and as soon as I heard the full production at once, I thought to myself “I get it now”. They had such a mature sound. It’s hard to describe what I mean by that, but it just felt very dialed in, like these guys had been around the block and then some.
The Movement performing at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on January 30, 2026
I am in love with the visuals they are displaying. The stage mapping almost makes you feel like you’re in an arena (and with the size of this crowd, I bet they’d have no trouble filling 9:30 Club’s big brother The Anthem, if they wanted to). They transport us back to the islands, beautiful deeply saturated blues from the ocean, green from the palm trees, and yellow-gold from the sandy beaches - I really did forget about the winter wasteland outside for a little bit.
The Movement performing at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on January 30, 2026
Jonathan and I both recognized how distinct it was that there was no lead guitar. One of our first shows with such a set up. This gave all the other instruments the room they needed to breathe, grow, and shine. With the bass guitar leading the charge at most times, what really stood out to me was the marimba sound. We were too far back to even see if there was one on stage, but even if the sound was coming from the keyboard - it was so strong and full that it stood out above the rest. The brass instruments coming out with such a sharp turn without warning really widens the room, I honestly felt a contraction of the room like everyone’s diaphragm was expanding to blow on the horns together.
The Movement performing at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on January 30, 2026
With deep and intentional use of the smoke machine, the fog is thick in the room - and ripples through the purple lights like a haze on a foreign planet. Coupled with the visuals that continue to morph and collide, getting very psychedelic and taking us on a trip - this concert is really hitting all of the senses at once (besides taste I suppose, but we could’ve fixed that with a signature IMP 9:30 cupcake - which btw if you join their friends with benefits program online, you can get a free cupcake at a show during the month of your birthday).
The Movement performing at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on January 30, 2026
Neither of us have ever been huge fans of reggae, but that didn’t stop us from having a great night. These are talented musicians that have really honed in on a craft that makes sense to them and their audience. The Movement certainly lived up to the hype set by the largest audience at a show attended by The Aftertone thus far, and we’re excited to see what’s in store from them in the future.
As we trudged through the snowcrete after the show, shivering as we tried to zip up our coats, the songs of the islands continue to play in our heads and we realize…it’s not so cold in The Aftertone.
