Toad the Wet Sprocket hopping into Tysons

Toad the Wet Sprocket became staples on the radio with the release of “Fear” more than 30 years ago and delivered a collection of Billboard-charting hits such as “Walk on the Ocean,” “All I Want,” “Something’s Always Wrong,” and “Fall Down.”

Glen Phillips founded the band back in 1989, and it’s still going strong today with original members guitarist Todd Nichols and bassist Dean Dinning joining him. And the music remains as strong as ever.

The band will head to Tysons on June 15 for its first-ever gig at Capital One Hall where it will play all of its best-known songs, as well as tunes from the band’s most recent release, “Starting Now.”

“There will be laughter, mayhem, and a lot of Toad’s songs,” Phillips said. “I have a lifetime of memories in the D.C. area. As a kid, walking on the Mall and seeing the seeds of government and the memorials. And it’s meant a lot to me over the years, and we always enjoy playing here.”

Toad the Wet Sprocket will be part of a double bill with fellow-90s rockers, Marcy Playground, best known for the 1997 hit, “Sex and Candy.” 

“We’re excited to be back out with them, it’s been a really long time,” Phillips said. “We went out with them in the early days and really happy to be doing it with them again.”

Phillips will also be playing one of his solo songs somewhere in the middle of the set, but for the most part, the songs will all be fan favorites. 

During the pandemic, Phillips and his bandmates were busy, but mostly on separate projects. Dinning did a ton of recording and production work; Nichols continued his work of designing custom guitars and spent a lot of time fishing; while Phillips concentrated on a series of livestreams.

“I do a lot of choir leading, so I did that over Zoom and I did three live stream fundraisers on YouTube and I did a show every Sunday, and I did that for about 18 months,” Phillips said. “I played a lot and probably more consistently than usual.”

Eventually, the band did get together—at least virtually—and recorded “Starting Now,” having initially started the album two days before lockdown. 

“We would work individually and send tracks by Dropbox and make comments and we ironed things out,” Phillips said. “It was different but we managed to put together something special.”

He also put together a solo album, moved in with his girlfriend (who is now his fiancé), and was happy that each of his three grown daughters moved back in with him for a time. 

“It was a really unexpected time, but also really beautiful,” Phillips said. “Everyone in the band had a really lucky time and it would have been really hard to be isolated.”

Toad the Wet Sprocket was back on the road by the end of 2021 and found a new appreciation for the live crowds.

“We were super stoked and audiences were as well,” Phillips said. “We were so ready to play and audiences were so ready to hear music again. It’s been really great. You can take things for granted really easily, so getting to see how people value music has been a really important thing. The opportunity to go out and play music is a real gift and we’re certainly making the most of it.” 

Phillips is back in writing mode and he anticipates another Toad’s album will be released in 2024. And he’s thrilled that younger people are starting to find the band’s music.

“There’s been something of a generation shift; the kids today are into the 90s stuff now, which is cool by me,” he said. “People who came in via the live streams are coming to the shows, so it’s always wonderful when that happens.” 

For more information on the show, visit www.capitalonehall.com