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Free Throw in Washington DC

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Free Throw
Baltimore Soundstage — Baltimore, MD
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About Free Throw

Free Throw is a pop punk and emo band from New Jersey that built a devoted following on the strength of introspective songwriting and infectious melodies. Their 2016 debut "What's Golden" introduced listeners to singer Mat Kerekes' particular brand of anxious vulnerability, where he'd examine his own neuroses with the kind of specificity that made them feel universal. Songs like "Lavender" and "Strawberry" became the kind of tracks people looped endlessly, catching new details in the production each time. The band kept releasing solid records—"Piecing It Together" and "Jet Black Jetpack"—each time refining their approach without losing the raw emotional core that made people connect in the first place. They're the kind of band that plays smaller venues but inspires genuine devotion from the people who find them.

Their crowds are engaged and vocal, singing along to every word like these songs have been soundtracking their lives. Energy is intense but intimate, the kind of show where people genuinely feel heard. Kerekes connects with the room; it doesn't feel performative.

Known for Lavender, Strawberry, Graphic, Map of the Sun, Gawker

Free Throw + Washington DC

Free Throw rolled through Black Cat on April 19, 2025, and the set felt like watching someone rifle through their own diary. They opened with "Such Luck" and didn't waste time getting weird—"Two Beers In" and "Good Job, Champ" came fast, establishing that particular Free Throw tone where everything sounds slightly off-kilter but deliberate. Midway through, "How I Got My Shrunken Head" landed like a curveball, all angular and uncomfortable in the best way. The closing stretch with "Now Kith" and "The Corner's Dilemma" showed why people keep coming back: Free Throw writes songs that feel like they're written to one person in a crowded room. "Randy, I Am the Liquor" went out as the finale, which tracks.

Free Throw in Washington DC News

Live Music in Washington DC

DC's indie rock world has always had a weird streak—bands here tend toward the uncomfortable and idiosyncratic rather than polished. Free Throw fits that sensibility perfectly. The city's DIY ethos and mid-size venues like Black Cat create the right kind of pressure for bands that don't play it safe. This is where angular, lyrics-first indie rock finds an actual audience instead of just a niche.

Washington DC road trip to see Free Throw?

Stay in Georgetown or Capitol Hill, both walkable neighborhoods with excellent restaurants and bars. Book a table at Kinfolk in Capitol Hill for refined New American cooking, or head to Pineapple and Pearls for something more elaborate if you want to splurge. During the day, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden offers world-class contemporary art without the crowds of the main Smithsonians. Walk the C&O Canal towpath if the weather cooperates. Hit up one of the city's serious record shops like Smash! Records before the show.

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