Connecticut souvenirs, Connecticut tee shirts, connecticut apparel • Finding Connecticut
shop.findingconnecticut.com

District Music Hall weekly round-up: 4 shows announced, including Matt Berninger of the National

District Music Hall announced Matt Berninger (of The National), Bingo Loco, Welcome to Night Vale and Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets this week. Tickets are on sale now at districtmusichall.com

Matt Berninger
District Music Hall – 71 Wall Street, Norwalk CT 06850 
June 1, 2025
Tickets are on sale now via districtmusichall.com

Matt Berninger

Matt Berninger to perform at district music hall in Norwalk connecticut in June 2025

In 2023, after ten years of living in Los Angeles, Berninger (along with his wife and teenage daughter) moved to Connecticut. This change of scene suited him; he began to spend his days outside, painting, reading, smoking weed and listening to music, much of it his own. He wrote lyrics all over old baseballs, and arranged dust-covered items in his barn into strange and surreal works of art. It felt good to be creating and to understand why he loves what he does.

Throughout his work with The National, Berninger is known for his contemplative narratives in which characters peer over the cliff’s edge. He has always been forthcoming about his own mental and emotional pitfalls. “Our heart’s are like old wells filled with pennies and worms,” he explains. “I can’t resist going down to the bottom of mine to see what else is there. But sometimes you can get yourself stuck.” In 2020 he went through “a long period of writer’s block and self-disgust. I just got sick of of asking myself ‘Why am I like this?’” For him, identity is amorphous and ever-evolving, and stretches beyond individuality. This is the driving force of his second solo album Get Sunk. Under water, everything moves in slow motion and Berninger saw his creative voice slipping away. But sometimes we have to drown to remember how to breathe. Get Sunk is the inhale, bringing blurry realizations to the surface.

Berninger worked with Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer Sean O’Brien. The pair would get together once a week to “fuck around for five or six hours.” The sonic world blossomed with the help of of friends and musicians, including Booker T Jones, Meg Duffy (Hand Habits), Julia Laws (Ronboy), Kyle Resnick (The National), Garret Lang, Sterling Laws, Mike Brewer (Nancy), Walter Martin (Walkmen), Paul Maroon (Walkmen) and Harrison Whitford to name a few. Some recorded individual parts, most recorded together in a basement with Berninger.

The collection of songs spans the last few years, but Berninger re-recorded vocals and rewrote lyrics for many of the older compositions. “I got my voice back, so I needed to say something new,” he explains. Inspired by the flora and fauna of his new home, he recalled his childhood on the edge of Ohio, and spending summers on his aunt and uncle’s farm in Indiana with his five cousins. They would hike in creeks, cracking open “crystal apples” (a Berninger term for geodes) surrounded by Osage orange trees and dirt, dust and bugs. They harvested Christmas trees and tobacco––Berninger admits he’s loved nicotine since first chewing on a tobacco plant when he was 12––and camped out. On one particular freezing night, Berninger kept close to the fire and woke to find the soles of his shoes sizzling blue-violet.

Get Sunk is not necessarily an autobiographical album, but the narrator is processing how he became himself. Who is he compared to the kid on that sepia-toned farm? What is his idea of happiness? What the hell are we all searching for? Berninger is an expert in what it feels like to lose all bravery, and Get Sunk points to an undulating reflection in the water. It’s about realizing that you are not yourself without a thousand others; parents, friends, siblings, spouses and exes, college roommates, childhood best friends, cousins and kids, strangers even.

Get Sunk’s opener “Inland Ocean” matches propulsive, marching keys with a choral chant: “God loves the inland ocean / Lost cause, I have no emotion.” Berninger often drifts to water in his lyrics––ocean sounds and kids’ voices are heard on the Ronboy-featuring “Silver Jeep” and album closer “Times of Difficulty” speaks of “how long we’ve been staring out to sea.” He says this is not an intentional motif, but rather a more expansive metaphor. “It’s a sea of wildflowers, or crickets. It’s that drowning feeling of life. It’s a sea of stars,” he says, adding, “dead stars still delight us.” It was important to Berninger that these songs be delightful and romantic. He wanted the sun to come out, to find the colors and bright spots, but also encourage the shadows to coexist. “Times of Difficulty” points to this reach as he sings “I’ll think of you if you think of me / The way the sky thinks of the sea.”

Get Sunk’s “Bonnet of Pins” highlights his knack for world-building, pointing to the tiny details that make this stuff palpable. There are cigarettes and styrofoam cups filled with Nabokov cocktails, miscommunication and sorrow. It’s a reminder that grief can also be a little funny. “Breaking Into Acting,” which features Meg Duffy (Hand Habits) on vocals, laments on the plasticity of performance. “Your mouth is always full of blood packets / You’re breaking into acting / I completely understand,” the pair sing over a slow acoustic sway. “Sometimes you have to fake forgiveness before you can actually forgive,” he explains.

Get Sunk is an ode to the infinite. The others that make us who we are; the possibilities our paths can take and the abyss of both misery and bliss. Never static, Berninger dissolves the border between process and product, and surrenders to the many shapes both he and these songs will take. These shapes oscillate throughout Get Sunk but coalesce just enough to offer catharsis, and something that feels tangible and real. “I was able to get the blurry picture as close to just right for me,” he says. That the picture ever comes into full focus isn’t the point; it’s by being happy that we can make out anything at all.

Ronboy

Julia Laws, who performs as Ronboy, spent her formative years on Fidalgo Island off the coast of Washington State. Emerging from the DIY music scene, she steadily built her distinctive sonic identity and began to produce and record her own music, releasing Ronboy’s first EP in 2020. She later collaborated with Matt Berninger (The National) and Resynator on a synth-driven cover of Tom Petty’s “Only a Broken Heart.” Ronboy’s debut album Pity To Love soon followed, a melancholy-rock journey of cathartic anthems and soaring melodies. In addition to her own works, Laws has performed and recorded with artists including Berninger, Jade Bird, and IDLES. Now, Ronboy is gearing up for another release, filled with raw intensity while preserving her signature emotional vulnerability.


Bingo Loco
District Music Hall – 71 Wall Street, Norwalk CT 06850 
June 14, 2025
Tickets are on sale now via districtmusichall.com

Bingo Loco

Bingo Loco at district music hall in norwalk connecticut in June 2025

Bingo Loco has flipped the traditional game of bingo on its head and turned it into a 3-hour long interactive stage show complete with dance-offs, rave rounds, lip sync battles, throwback anthems, confetti showers, and prizes ranging from international holidays to cars, air fryers, lawnmowers, and so much more.

Bingo Loco is not an event; it is a show with the mentality of a theatre performance & the energy of a festival, completely suited for somebody who’s looking for a unique night out in their city or even the best work party on the planet.

Welcome to Night Vale
District Music Hall – 71 Wall Street, Norwalk CT 06850 
October 8, 2025
Tickets are on sale now via districtmusichall.com

Welcome to Night Vale

Welcome to Night Vale at district music hall in norwalk connecticut in July 2025

Welcome to Night Vale’s Brand-new touring live show, Murder Night in Blood Forest

Beloved former teen militia member Tamika Flynn is joining a few hundred of her friends for the annual Murder Night in Blood Forest, a celebration of crows, ravens, and all corvids. But a masked killer is hunting these carefree partiers one by one. Who would ruin Murder Night with murder? Can Cecil and Tamika solve the mystery before the murderer has gotten them all?

Starring Cecil Baldwin, Symphony Sanders, surprise guests playing fan favorite characters, a special musical guest as “The Weather” and live music by Disparition. Both fans of the show and newcomers will be able to enjoy this stand-alone performance.

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets
District Music Hall – 71 Wall Street, Norwalk CT 06850 
August 1, 2025
Tickets are on sale now via districtmusichall.com

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets at District Street Music hall in Norwalk Connecticut in August 2025

Nick Lowe has made his mark as a producer (Elvis Costello-Graham Parker-Pretenders-The Damned), songwriter of at least three songs you know by heart, short-lived career as a pop star, and a lengthy term as a musicians’ musician. But in his current ‘second act’ as a silver-haired, tender-hearted but sharp-tongued singer-songwriter, he has no equal.

Starting with 1995′s ‘The Impossible Bird’ through to 2011′s ‘The Old Magic,’ Nick has turned out a fantastic string of albums, each one devised in his West London home, and recorded with a core of musicians who possess the same veteran savvy. Lowe brings wit and understated excellence to every performance, leading Ben Ratliff of the New York Times to describe his live show as “elegant and nearly devastating.”

Los Straitjackets are the leading practitioners of the lost art of the guitar instrumental. Using the music of the Ventures, The Shadows, and with Link Wray and Dick Dale as a jumping off point, the band has taken their unique, high energy brand of original rock & roll around the world. Clad in their trademark Lucha Libre Mexican wrestling masks, the “Jackets” have delivered their trademark guitar licks to 16 albums, thousands of concerts and dozens of films and TV shows.

Together Nick & The Straitjackets have toured extensively around Europe and the United States, and are releasing an EP of new songs in June 2017.

Don’t Miss

SONO 1420 Distillery Presents Live Music Series
Soundside Music Festival Returns with The Killers and Hozier Headlining in Bridgeport
An Easter on Mulberry Street play reading a bittersweet comedy about an Italian-American family on the WWII Home Front at Weston Weston History & Culture Center 

Share your District Music Hall experiences with us by using #findingconnecticut on Instagram
Click here to learn more about the District Music Hall
Click here for the latest news at the District Music Hall
Click here for the upcoming events at the District Music Hall
Click here for the upcoming events in Norwalk
Click here for the latest news in Norwalk
Click here for upcoming events in Fairfield County
Click here for the latest news in Fairfield County

Click here for Norwalk Merch
#thenorwalklife • 203 Norwalk • I Clover Norwalk • I’d rather be in Norwalk • I Really Really Miss Norwalk • Just a kid from Norwalk • Norwalk Coordinates • Norwalk Pride

•••• Message center – Connecticut savings and messages from our sponsors •••••••

Connecticut Merch

If you’re from Connecticut or just love it, then you’ve come to the right place. Show your state pride with our assortment of unique Connecticut merchandise.

Our popular collections 203 • Two o’ Three • 860 • Eight Six O’ • I Really Really Miss Connecticut • Just a kid from Connecticut • Pride • Love & Live • Connecticut Fall

We also have merch by town, not all towns are available yet. You can always contact us and we can order the design you are looking for. 

Save 10% on all products with promo code Post10. Always free shipping

AMG Catering & Events Spring Cooking Schedule

4/9 – Boozy Brunch with sipstirs – Click here for more information
4/30 – Cinco de Mayo Class – Click here for more information
5/14 – Spring Sauce Class – Click here for more information
5/21 –  Hibachi / Blackstone Class — Click here for more information

The Record Company Live at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den on April 12, 2025

Don’t miss the chance to see The Record Company perform live at the legendary Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den on April 12, 2025. Known for their electrifying blend of blues, rock, and soul, The Record Company delivers an unforgettable live performance every time. Click here for more information.

Gourmet Cookies

Indulge in Keksi gourmet cookies, featuring classic flavors such as chocolate chip and snickerdoodle, as well as new monthly creations. Made with the highest quality ingredients, each bite is a delicious treat. Perfect for any cookie lover!

Hartford Wolf Pack March home games

4.11.25 – Hartford Wolf Pack vs Providence Bruins click here to purchase tickets
4.16.25 – Hartford Wolf Pack vs Charlotte Checkers click here to purchase tickets
4.18.25 – Hartford Wolf Pack vs Bridgeport Islanders click here to purchase tickets

Movie showtimes at Prospector Theater

Looking to see a movie. Click here for showtimes

Save on CBD!

My name is Jillian, and I am the editor here at Finding Connecticut. When I came across New England Hemp Farm a few years ago, I had recently had my ankle fused. New England Hemp Farm’s Sports Relief Rub and 500 MG Full Spectrum CBD Oil have helped with everyday and weather pain.

Finding quality products that can improve your day-to-day life can be tough, but with New England Hemp Farm, getting a good night’s sleep or relieving your pain and anxiety has never been easier. Plus, using our code Findingconnecticut35, you’ll save 35% on your first purchase. And don’t forget, returning customers can use code Findingconnecticut20 to save 20% on orders. Let us help you find relief and savings with New England Hemp Farm.

Products we use here at Finding Connecticut include Sports Relief Rub500 MG Full Spectrum CBD Oil Pet Drops • Pet Treats

Let’s create with Victory Designs

Need help with your creative needs? Our team has 20+ years of experience with Adobe, Shopify, and WordPress, and we offer affordable graphic design and web services. Let Victory Designs assist you with bringing your ideas to life.

Connecticut business owners:
Are you a local business owner in Connecticut looking to boost your visibility and reach more customers? Look no further! Our platform provides a unique opportunity to showcase your business to an engaged audience of people who love and live in Connecticut. By partnering with us, you can reach potential customers who are actively seeking things to do, places to dine, and local merchants and service providers to support. Don’t miss out on this chance to grow your business and connect with the local community!

Connecticut with us! 

Stay informed with daily news directly in your inbox! Our service is completely free, and we guarantee your privacy – your email and information will never be shared, traded, or sold.


Stay connected with us on social media
FacebookInstagram • Threads • Tiktok XGoogle NewsNewsbreak Bluesky
Join our Reddit community 

Share your Connecticut experiences with us by using #findingconnecticut on Instagram

Click here to return to Finding Connecticut’s home page

Don’t miss our reviews

Concert reviewsRestaurant reviewsFamily restaurant reviews

Looking for the latest news by region, topic, and events

Latest news by region

Fairfield County Hartford County •  Litchfield County •  Middlesex CountyNew Haven County • New London County• Tolland CountyWindham County 

Latest sports news by team

Hartford Wolf PackHartford Yard GoatsConnecticut SunNorwich Sea Unicorns • 

2025 schedules

Hartford Wolf Pack Hartford Yard GoatsConnecticut Sun • Norwich Sea Unicorns

Events by region

Fairfield CountyHartford County • Litchfield County • New Haven CountyNew London CountyMiddlesex CountyTolland County Windham County

Events by Interest

ArtSportsFamily FriendlyHistoryConcertsFarmers’ Markets 

Events by the month

March 2025April 2025May 2025June 2025July 2025August 2025September 2025October 2025November 2025December 2025

Events by venue

College Street Music HallSpace Ballroom • Westville Music BowlDistrict Music HallFairfield Theatre Company •  Hartford Stage The Bushnell Goodspeed Opera House •  Mohegan SunFoxwoods New York Comedy Club StamfordWestport Country PlayhouseGoodspeed Opera House