Photos | Review: Melanie C Makes “SWEAT” Spectacular in Long-Awaited DC Debut

Melanie C at 9:30 Club — Melanie C plays the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, during the SWEAT World Tour on Friday, September 11th.

Sur Back at 9:30 Club (Photo by Elizabeth Owens)

Melanie C at 9:30 Club (Photo by Elizabeth Owens)

Who: SWEAT World Tour: Melanie C, Sur Back
Where: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
When: September 11, 2026

Over the past three decades, Melanie Chisholm has become quite the multi-hyphenate. Most notably, she has carried the mantle of “Sporty Spice” for 30 years, making her songwriting and pop performance debut as a fifth of the world’s most successful girl group, the Spice Girls, in 1996. As time has gone on, Melanie C has also become a successful solo artist with nine studio albums, an Olivier-nominated stage actress, a marathon runner, a philanthropist, a mental health advocate, and, most recently, a DJ!

Amidst all of this, even with a global following, Melanie has mainly kept her solo work in both the studio and on-stage inside club venues exclusively within the UK and Europe. Outside of a handful of one-off solo concerts in New York and Los Angeles at the turn of the millennium for her debut album, Northern Star, as well as a couple more in those same cities (and a run in Canada) between dates of the Spice Girls 2007–08 reunion tour, the Sporty soloist never played a full tour on her own in the US. As a result, most American fans began to accept that, in order to experience the vocal powerhouse and vibrant performance energy of THE legendary Melanie C in-person, they would have to buy a plane ticket and book a stay in London.

That all changed in March of 2026. At long last, Melanie announced she was embarking on her first North American solo tour in honor of her brand-new studio album, SWEAT! Lifelong Spice and solo fans from the DMV were more than ready to fill the 9:30 Club and experience an unforgettable night they thought would never come.

Sur Back

To start the proceedings, Sur Back (pop singer, songwriter, producer, and collaborator on SWEAT’s closing track, “Flick of the Wrist”) stepped on stage for an intimate opening set. Armed with nothing but her tender vocals and experimental beats, the artist from Florida (real name: Caroline Sans) mesmerized the room.

Highlights from Sur Back’s chill dance-pop set included the distorted “Trophy Daughter,” from her debut 2018 EP Kitsch, as well as the clear standout from her upcoming release, “The Only Thing that Turns Me On Is Forever.” The latter was so intoxicating and dreamlike that Sur Back appropriately sold cheeky sets of matching panties, camisoles, briefs, and boxers clad with the title lyric at the merch booth!

Melanie C

Finally, the moment the entire sold-out room had been dreaming of arrived! At the city-curfew-conscious time of 7:30pm, Melanie C made a fighter’s entrance to “Undefeated Champion.” Clad in a blue silk boxer’s robe with the song’s title embroidered across her back, the singer strolled to the front of the stage and got everyone into the groove of her synth-funk opening anthem!

With a contagiously energetic spirit and soaring, powerful vocals, the Sporty one set the mood for an exhilarating evening. Supported by her touring band on the keyboards and drums, Melanie mesmerized the entire room with the entirety of the invigorating, high-energy tracks from her tour’s namesake album!

Just after performing the warm, delicate love song, “Cashmere,” she took a moment to reflect:

“I have to say, I feel really emotional right now because I haven’t been in this city [of Washington, DC] for such a long time, and the only times I have been in this city is with the Spice Girls.

So, to have such a beautiful turnout of people, at half [past] seven on a Friday night — which is the weirdest gig time that I’ve ever had, but I’m here for it — it’s just so beautiful. It’s so overwhelming to me!”

No matter her worries, DC showed up for Melanie C. Multiple generations of fans sang along to every word of the new album, with some kids as young as their parents were back when the Spices first played the city!

Sporty, Stripped-Back

Changing the pace, Melanie slowed things down halfway in for an acoustic segment. Beginning with a stripped-down version of “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?,” she then made time for two nostalgic classics!

In a close Instagram Story poll where Melanie gave DC three options to choose from for just that night, she declared the winner was the title track of the aforementioned “Northern Star” from 1999! After asking the audience to light up their “torches” on their phones, the 9:30 Club burst into a galaxy of lights. With extreme ease, Melanie conducted the galaxy to sway and sing along to each chorus. (More than half the room even knew the tradition to shout — in response to the lyric “Who’s gonna steal your crown?” — “MEL C!”)

Last in the segment, Melanie brought up a pre-selected fan to join her on “Never Be the Same Again (feat. Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes).” After asking for locals to submit their own rendition of the late rapper’s verse to her DMs the day before, the singer chose her winner: Nicole De Las Alas. Nicole delivered a solid, smooth tribute to the TLC legend, even sneaking some harmonies with Melanie in the final chorus!

DJ, Spice, and Everything Spliced

Ramping up the tempo once again, the Liverpudlian singer raised the heart rate of the 9:30 Club with rave-ready tracks. “Sweat,” “Touch Me,” and “Flick of the Wrist” — complete with clack fans clacking to the rhythm — showcased her dramatic flair. Naturally, such heart-thumping numbers perfectly transitioned into Melanie’s next segment: a mini DJ set!

Heading to her stage-right deck, Melanie put on her headphones and got to work. Those with a keen ear immediately shrieked with excitement when, at the beginning of “Pump Up the Jam,” a sound clip of a few familiar voices saying “a big old house” rose to the surface, with each word set to the beat. Was Melanie really stitching an obscure Spice World movie quote featuring herself, Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, and Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton into her own DJ set? She sure was, and it played hilariously well into the mix!

In no time, Melanie got everyone into the groove with mashups of vintage dance bangers like “The Power” and “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)” with rock hits “Seven Nation Army” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

While Kurt Cobain’s signature riffs played on, suddenly, some spicy horn section stings and disco beats played! Swiftly, Melanie exchanged her headphones for her microphone to announce the arrival of Sporty. With her band back at their instruments, she performed new arrangements of two Spice favorites: “Who Do You Think You Are” and “Spice Up Your Life.” The 9:30 Club was suddenly twice as loud as it had been all night, city noise ordinances be damned! Followed by SWEAT’s latest single, the high-impact “Drum Machine,” Melanie left the room with bated breath for the encore!

A Sweaty Encore

Wrapping up the sweaty evening, the singer returned for her encore with two final bops. Giving the US its live debut of the unreleased track called “A Place Where We Belong” first, she then followed with her signature finale. No Melanie C gig ends without her playing her biggest solo dance-pop hit, “I Turn to You,” and that tradition was not about to end in DC!

Dancing over every inch of the stage, Melanie gave a promise to return to the city for another “magical” evening. From all of the cheers in the audience, it seemed that DC was already signing up for round two!

Follow Melanie C on social media and music streaming platforms:

Website l Facebook l Twitter/X l Instagram

YouTube l Spotify l Apple Music l TikTok

Follow Sur Back:

Facebook l Bandcamp l Instagram l TikTok

YouTube l Spotify l Apple Music

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Post by Elizabeth Owens

Where did you see Melanie C on the SWEAT World Tour? Where would you like her to play next? Comment below!