The Ghost Club comes alive at D.C.’s Songbyrd Music House

After a series of unfortunate events, The Ghost Club finally took the stage at Songbyrd Music House in Washington, D.C. – the second-to-last stop on their first ever national tour – and brought it to life.

The Ghost Club, a five-piece indie rock band based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, began their headlining tour on February 29, 2024. They were originally set to come to Washington, D.C. on March 3, but two days before, lead singer Domenic Dunegan got a concussion at their show in New York (Read their IG post here). The band postponed the following two shows in Philadelphia and D.C. to the end of their tour.

Despite the tribulations, the band has had a great tour, according to the members. The band will end their tour with a home show in Pittsburgh on April 20.

“There’s been so much good to come from the tour that those bad moments get overshadowed very easily by what went great for us,” bassist Logan Casper said in an interview with the band.

This show was greater than great. The Ghost Club has such a strong energy, and their stage presence is infectious. Keyboardist and saxophonist Jake Barber discussed how they consistently felt like they had played their best show after each show throughout the tour.

“Had we been here a month and a half ago, I think you would have heard of a different band play,” drummer Christian Laliberte said. “The way that we’ve evolved and changed and listening to each other, playing off of each other – even though this form of the band has been together for a while now – I think a lot of growth happened.”

Casper said that the band members are all friends, so it has been a fun adventure to tour the country with friends. And the audience could see their friendship onstage.

After playing over 20 shows on this tour, the band has gotten to experience lots of different cities even if they don’t have time to explore it. Laliberte said that he could tell that each city has its own feeling.

“If you could take the feeling of being in that room during a show, and do a blindfolded test, you could tell which city you’re in,” Laliberte said. “It’s hard to explain…Even if you don’t get to see the city, you can feel the city when you’re in the room.”

Across the country, the small band has encountered a variety of crowds. Some have been bigger and more energetic than others, but overall The Ghost Club believes their audiences have enjoyed their performances.

“It almost comes as a challenge when you get a crowd that isn’t as active as another and they're kind of more still, because it’s like, ‘let’s see if we can get everybody to start moving here,’” bassist Logan Casper said.

But The Ghost Club didn’t have to face that challenge on Tuesday. 

Though they had a small crowd, the fans who attended the show were enthusiastic and engaged for the duration of the show, including for the opener. Jack Swing, known as “Pittsburgh’s House Band,” opened for The Ghost Club. Isaiah Ross, lead guitarist for The Ghost Club, also played guitar for Jack Swing (with an outfit change in between).

As a native Pittsburgher myself who is currently in school in the DMV, I was ecstatic to hear that the band was coming to D.C. The band has ties to the city, regardless of their Pennsylvanian roots. D.C. was where the band produced some of their first songs, and Laliberte’s grandfather was a jazz musician in the area. 

The Ghost Club brings a little bit of Pittsburgh wherever they go. A lot of artists who have come out of Pittsburgh, such as Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa, are proud of their city, and The Ghost Club thinks no differently. Even though they don’t mention Pittsburgh in any of their songs, they made sure the audience knew where they came from. 

The Ghost Club’s music is high in energy and reminiscent of classic rock icons like Bruce Springsteen and Tears For Fears. Yet, their lyrics are poignant and timely for this generation. A lot of their songs take a deep look into their internal thoughts and discuss ideas like loneliness in the age of social media. 

“Don’t trust your thoughts after 9 p.m.,” Dunegan said as he introduced “Likes and Comments.” “I wrote this song at 10 p.m.”

Despite this somewhat grim theme, their songs are relatable for a lot of people, and since they’re set to headbanging music, the fans at the Songbyrd show really connected with the music. Songbyrd, a small music venue, offers an artist a great opportunity to connect with the audience.

“Thank you for letting me get emotional,” Dunegan said after “Likes and Comments.”

To keep things lighthearted Dunegan joked with the crowd. He said they would be singing a cover of Oasis’s “Wonderwall,” but then played a different song. Later in the show, he apologized for faking out the crowd and said that they would actually play “Wonderwall” now. The band proceeded to play “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers instead.

But the audience joked with the band right back. As a tall singer, Dunegan was struggling to keep his microphone stand in one piece as he raised it, claiming that he often gets rickety stands. “I think you might be the problem with the microphone stand,” a fan shouted, making the band laugh. 

He said he was no Freddie Mercury, who was often seen carrying half a mic stand around the stage, but Dunegan doesn’t need to be like Mercury. He has his own unique flair when he performs. The whole band does, too.

They ended their show with their hit single “Don’t Let Go.” This song was actually my number one most listened to song in 2023, according to my Apple Music Replay, so naturally I had been looking forward to this song most of all.

And The Ghost Club truly brought their all in this final song.   “Don’t Let Go” perfectly embodies The Ghost Club’s perseverance and determination. They didn’t let go and kept pushing on with their tour despite the setbacks. Nothing can keep these ghosts in their graves.

“You bump your head, your RV breaks down, you lose a tire. It’s all rock and roll,” Casper said in the interview.

After seeing this show at Songbyrd, I have reason to believe that The Ghost Club is about to get very big, and I’m grateful that I was able to get in on the ground floor.