The Kennedy Center

08/31/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Featuring the music of composers both from Africa and the diaspora, this show highlights the dynamism and originality present within this tradition. As the music that not only forms the foundation of modern jazz, but continues to inform its trajectory, African and Afro-diasporic music will take center stage in this program. Listen as Joshua Jenkins and his ensemble perform works by Lionel Loueke (Benin), Joshua Uzoigwe (Nigeria), Sakésho (French Caribbean), and others, in order to honor the beautiful wellspring of expression that is African music.

Personnel:

Joshua Jenkins - piano

Eliot Seppa - bass

Angel Bethea - drums

Domenic Lewis - steelpan

08/30/2024

08/29/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Ebban and Ephraim Dorsey are 20- and 21-year-old saxophonists, composers, bandleaders, and rising stars in the contemporary jazz scene. The multi-talented siblings have been playing together since they were nine and 10. Both have been members of Carnegie Hall’s NYO Jazz, Herbie Hancock Institute’s National Peer-to-Peer All-Star Jazz, JAZZ HOUSE KiDS, and Peabody Jazz Ensembles between 2020–2024.

Ebban Dorsey’s improvisational prowess is also featured extensively on José James’ album On & On, a jazz tribute to Erykah Badu, which resulted in Ebban Dorsey being invited on her first international tour in 2023. Ephraim Dorsey was also cast to play a young Kamasi Washington in his short film As told to G/D thyself, which was nominated for awards at the Sundance and La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festivals.

Destined for greatness, the Dorseys continue to blaze a trail forward with their trademark humility, melodic invention, and forward-thinking musical concepts. Their performances can be described as two different voices coming together to create a healing, ethereal, and emotional experience for listeners as well as themselves.

In collaboration with DC Jazz Festival

08/29/2024

C-A-S-T. Cast. Meet your cast for Broadway Center Stage: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, buzzing its way into the Kennedy Center Oct. 11–20! ✍️🐝

Six spellers enter, but only one can be named winner. With Beanie Feldstein, Kevin McHale, Noah Galvin, Taran Killam, Nina White, Alex Grayson, Philippe Arroyo, Bonnie Milligan, and Anna Zavelson, this Tony Award-winning musical is sure to be a D-E-L-I-G-H-T.

Click the to grab your tickets. 🎫

08/28/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Eliot Seppa is well known as one the most sought-after bassists in the D.C. area in jazz, R&B, gospel, musical theater, and more. Through years of experience in so many diverse musical situations, he has developed a band sound that is eclectic and uniquely his own. In his compositions and arrangements, Eliot embraces rich harmonies, infectious rhythms, and organic interplay between band members.

In collaboration with DC Jazz Festival

08/28/2024

Mamma mia! Spend a Sunday brunching in the Roof Terrace restaurant with some of D.C.'s most fabulous drag performers, from 2024 Capital Pride Honoree Tula to Queen of Comedy Regina, on Sep. 15.🎊

Don't miss this bottomless mimosa brunch and glittering celebration of disco hits with a few surprises thrown in.😉🥂 Click the to reserve your spot!

08/24/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: “At the heart of Tarbox’s music is his guitar, as raw as it is charismatic. It creates an electricity that courses through every song.”
—Twangville

Michael Tarbox writes songs anchored in rock ‘n’ roll, backwater blues, and hillbilly music. They’re rough-hewn and immediate, and they convey a sense of hard-won perspective. The Chicago Reader calls Tarbox’s singing “ageless.” His gospel-tinged electric guitar playing, tough as Texas barbed wire, brings it all together.

Tarbox grew up in a mill town just west of Boston. He credits a cool babysitter with introducing him to the music that led him to become a musician. “She was the older sister I never had,” says Tarbox, “She and her art-room friends would come over to my folks’ house and play these incredible rock ‘n’ roll records. They were also listening to Leadbelly and Robert Johnson. It was a window into another world, and it changed everything for me.”

Tarbox began his career with The Tarbox Ramblers, a hard-hitting quartet that released well-received albums on Rounder and played countless shows throughout the U.S. and Canada. The group featured both Tarbox’s own songs and his unusual arrangements of old blues and string-band music. The Washington Post called The Tarbox Ramblers “a force of nature.” Robert Plant saw the band play and recruited them, on the spot, to open a string of concert dates.

“My inspirations are musicians from a world that’s vanished. I let them guide me, but my goal is to create something new,” says Tarbox. “At the risk of sounding cliché, music saved my life. It kept me going when I was a kid and it looked like drugs and booze might tear my family apart. More than a few times, it provided an island of sanity when chaos seemed like the only alternative. I met my wife and most of my good friends playing music. I can’t imagine where I’d be today if I hadn’t picked up a guitar when I was fourteen.”

08/23/2024

In a live moderated conversation, Social Impact Senior Director Victoria Murray Baatin will host a discussion with the Peter Marks (former Washington Post theater critic) and Naveen Kumar (the newly appointed Washington Post theater critic).

The event will explore the current landscape and the future direction of theater criticism on a national scale, as well as the specific dynamics within the Washington, D.C. theater community. This conversation aims to shed light on the evolving role of theater critics in shaping public opinion and supporting the arts. The discussion will delve into the challenges and opportunities facing theater critics today, examining how their work impacts both the industry and its audiences. With insights from Peter Marks, the dialogue promises to provide a comprehensive look at the critical discourse surrounding theater and its development in the nation’s capital.

Can't make it in person? Catch the live stream of this special panel conversation on the Kennedy Center's web page, YouTube, and Facebook!

08/23/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Q***R. LATINX. TEXAN.

Gina Chavez is a wife, philanthropist, and an award-winning independent musician. She is a 2020 Latin Grammy® nominee for Best Pop/Rock Album, and a 12-time Austin Music Award winner, including 2019 Best Female Vocals and 2015 Austin Musician of the Year. Her NPR Tiny Desk concert has more than 1.3 million views, and her hour-long PBS special is available nationwide.

Gina’s music is deeply personal. Her passionate collection of bilingual songs takes audiences on a journey to discover her Latin roots through music as she shares her story of life in Texas as a married, q***r Catholic.

Gina tours internationally as a cultural ambassador with the U.S. State Department and runs Niñas Arriba, a college fund she co-founded with her wife for young women in the gang-dominated El Salvador. She is featured alongside Oprah, Beyonce, Mahalia Jackson, Dolly Parton, and many more in Southern Living’s new book celebrating “100 extraordinary women who have left their indelible mark on the South and beyond.”

08/23/2024

On sale now! Celebrate Machel Montano's 50th birthday at the Kennedy Center with a black-tie concert affair. 🎂🕴️

The "King of Soca" brings his boundary-breaking catalogue to the Concert Hall for one night only on Nov. 25. Click the and grab your tickets before they're gone!🎫

08/23/2024

08/22/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Holographic Principle is an exceptional all-star band of inventive musicians put together by drummer and composer Ronnie Burrage.

Burrage grew up in St. Louis and moved to New York in the late 1970s. He became a founding member of Defunkt, a downtown band fusing improvisation with free jazz, funk, and rock. Burrage left Defunkt to join McCoy Tyner’s band when he was 20s. In the same period, he founded The Burrage Ensemble whose members were Kenny Kirkland, Marcus Miller, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, his uncle Rasul Siddik, Joe Ford, Avery Sharpe, and Wallace Roney. Since then, Burrage has been part of a myriad of projects. He served as a drummer in groups led by Sonny Fortune, Jackie McLean Woody Shaw, Sir Roland Hanna, Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Chico Freeman, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, Stanley Cowell, Archie Shepp Bobby Hutcherson, Hamiet Bluiett and others. He has been a leader of his own ensembles up to the present day.

Holographic Principle’s music is steeped in tradition and reflects the spirit of Miles Davis and Weather Report, creating new sounds within music. Burrage’s band members have achieved strong recognition on the international jazz scene and shared the stage with a diversity of artists going from Henry Threadgill to Dizzy Gillespie, Victor Bailey, and Joel Ross. Together with Burrage they celebrate the many styles and eras that have shaped their musical vocabulary and inspired their boundlessly creative output.

Holographic Principle features compositions from different band members and traverses aspects of jazz, funk, soul, fusion, straight-ahead, and world music. Their record Dance of the Great Spirit was Grammy®-nominated for 2020 Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Don’t miss this amazing musical journey in the best tradition of Black culture.

08/21/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Presented in collaboration with the Reed Society.

This Sufi inspired vocal group, founded in 2009 in Montreal, is led by Qari Sidi Anwar Barrada from Morocco. He is accompanied by traditional instruments that make up a takht, the classical music ensemble of Middle Eastern music —such as the qanun (zither), oud (lute), ney (reed flute), kaman (violin), and riq (drums).

08/17/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Glen David Andrews, a native son and a beloved musician of New Orleans, is a warrior for cultural preservation at a time when indigenous traditions are being threatened in the city.

His commanding voice and fierce trombone sound are a powerful, emotional, and resonant blend of smoothness and grit. Along with his disarmingly honest manner, his voice and sound provide a musical experience that never fails to meet the moment.

Glen’s music is packed with beauty, hard-earned truths, compassion, humor, anger, joy, and, most of all, hope.

08/16/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: As a resolute preservationist, storyteller, and instrumentalist, Dom Flemons has long set himself apart by finding forgotten folk songs and making them live again. His work has been recognized with a Grammy Award®, two Emmy® nominations, and 2020 U.S. Artists Fellowship. Dom Flemons is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and currently lives in the Chicago area with his family. He has branded the moniker The American Songster® since his repertoire of music covers over 100 years of early American popular music. Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, slam poet, music scholar, historian, and record collector. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife, and rhythm bones. Flemons is the host of the American Songster Radio show on Nashville’s WSM Radio. In 2022, he was awarded a degree as a Doctor of Humane Letters from his alma mater Northern Arizona University.

Available now, Traveling Wildfire is his first new album since 2018’s Black Cowboys and his second release for Smithsonian Folkways. He turns to an important, overlooked voice that he’s proudly rediscovered: his own. Asked what he hopes his audience will hear in Traveling Wildfire, Flemons replies, “I hope people will be able to hear the different phases of my life through the lyrics and feel the energy that fuels my creativity within the songs. The past few years for me have been a time of deep reflection and meditation. I hope that the album will light a fire of inspiration inside everyone who experiences it.”

08/15/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: “The real thing, people.”
—Billboard

Martin S*xton returns with what Rolling Stone calls his “soul-marinated voice,” acoustic guitar, and a suitcase full of heartfelt songs. The tour takes Martin across North America in support of his latest EP 2020 Vision—produced by three-time Grammy® nominee John Alagia (Lukas Nelson, John Mayer, Dave Matthews)—and he reinvents his own classics for these critically-acclaimed solo performances. Still fiercely independent and headlining venues from The Fillmore to Carnegie Hall, S*xton has influenced a generation of contemporary artists. His songs have appeared in television series such as Scrubs, Parenthood, Masters of S*x, Sprung, and in numerous films. However, it’s his incendiary live shows, honest lyrics, and vocal prowess that keep fans coming back for a new experience every time.

08/15/2024

Oct. 19, explore the impact of food and its uses in cultural diplomacy with Alex Prud’homme, renowned journalist, author of "Dinner with the President," and co-author of Julia Child's memoir, "My Life in France."

Grab tickets at the to this special event as part of Nourish, a monthlong series of programs throughout this October exploring the profound impact of food and artistic expression on our lives.

08/15/2024

On sale now! Featuring keyboardist and vocalist Amy K Bormet, No Trick Pony is a true D.C. jazz power-trio coming to the River Pavilion on Sep. 6. 🎹🎶

With Amy, drummer Keith Butler Jr., and tenor saxophonist Brian Settles, the group deconstructs the jazz genre to find a midpoint between composition and improvisation. Click the for tickets!

08/14/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: The Sensational Barnes Brothers are a musical blend of old and new, a real gem in the gospel/soul scene. As PopMatters states, “The brothers run through a spectrum of moods and modes in their gospel soul, often bridging the gap between, say, the Soul Stirrers and Stax, all the while keeping a local flavor.” The brothers can dive deep into their roots, creating a sound that reflects the music of their history, all the while drawing in a modern-day audience.

The Sensational Barnes Brothers are featured on vocalist Don Bryant’s Grammy®-nominated album Don’t Give Up on Love, and you can also hear them on several tracks from the album XOPA by Latin Grammy®–nominated Making Movies. The band has also recorded with the lead singer of The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach.

These talented brothers made their mark with their first album—Nobody’s Fault But My Own—under Bible and Tire Recording Co. Fat Possum. Inspired by their shared past, fueled by harmonies that resonate with both their blood and their kindred souls, The Sensational Barnes Brothers are here to stay, singing, playing, and dancing for a long, long time. Their new album of all originals will be released in fall 2024.

08/14/2024

Our digital learning team is running to present at SXSW EDU in partnership with NaliniKIDS in 2025 and they need YOUR help to get to the big stage!

Click the to vote for the Kennedy Center by Aug. 18. This opportunity will allow our team to present how we can integrate mindfulness, movement, and the arts into educational practices. 🧘‍♀️

08/10/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Latin Grammy® Award winner Juan Diego Villalobos is a versatile vibraphone/percussion player and producer. He has excelled in different styles of music like jazz, classical, and Afro-Venezuelan music, making him one of the most sought-after musicians in New York. In 2011, Villalobos became part of “El Sistema” by joining the Teresa Carreño Youth Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, where he performed across Europe, Asia, and the U.S. as a classical percussionist, sharing the stage with Christian Vazquez, Makoto Ozone, and the acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel. He’s also appeared at distinguished venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Harlem Stage, Smalls Jazz Club, and Birdland. As a bandleader and sideman, he’s performed alongside Paquito D’Rivera, Ben Wendel, Arturo O’Farrill, Dayna Stephens, Jeremy Pelt, Peter Erskine, Jon Faddis, Andy Narell, and John Beasley, among others. Villalobos has also been recognized for his contributions to the music industry by winning a Latin Grammy® for his participation on the album Identidad by Venezuelan cuatro player Miguel Siso.

08/09/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Sam Nelson is the frontman and founding member of the multi-platinum and Grammy Award®–winning band X Ambassadors, who have dominated the alternative charts over the last decade. A self-proclaimed “townie” from the small rural college town of Ithaca, NY, Sam started X Ambassadors with his brother Casey while the pair were still in high school. The two were eventually joined by drummer Adam Levin when they moved to Brooklyn, NY to pursue the band full time.

Since then, Sam has played the world’s biggest music festivals, headlined countless nationwide and world tours, celebrated a #1 song at Alternative radio and multiple songs in the Top 10, and collaborated with artists such as Eminem, Jay-Z, Jacob Banks, K.Flay, grandson, The Knocks, Kygo, Illenium, Machine Gun Kelly, and more. Nelson has also had an eclectic career as a songwriter and producer for not only his band X Ambassadors, but also for artists such as Rihanna, Lizzo, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, SZA, and Marren Morris.

After over a decade in his band, Nelson is set to release his first-ever solo material, introducing a new level of vulnerability through his solo songwriting and production style. Gifted with a disarmingly soulful voice, Nelson’s songs paint heartbreaking, sensitive portrayals of relationships—in love, family, and friendship. His production is intentionally raw, intimate, and messy, in stark contrast to his tight pop song structure and melodies. The album is a reference to Sam’s philosophy on life: “We’re all just stumbling through this world pretending we know what we’re doing. But no one knows what they’re doing. I’m no exception. I find that extremely comforting.”

08/08/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: The Afghan Youth Orchestra returns to the Kennedy Center more than a decade after its groundbreaking U.S. debut in 2013. This group of brave young musicians were forced to leave their homes in 2021 after the Taliban’s return to power. Today their performances are a symbol of defiance against the Taliban’s enforced silencing of Afghanistan’s rich musical heritage. The orchestra works tirelessly to defend musical rights, women’s rights, and gender equality in their native land through performance of Afghan traditional songs and classical works played on both Western and Afghan instruments.

In collaboration with Tuti Media.

08/08/2024

Tomorrow's film screening of "Rear Window" has been moved indoors to the Justice Forum in the REACH due to weather conditions. 🌧️🍿🎞️

Learn more about Friday's film ➡️ https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/millennium-stage/2024/08-august/rear-window/

Seating for the film is first-come, first-served and capacity is limited to 140. The Justice Forum will open at 7:30 p.m. and the film will begin once the venue reaches capacity. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early. A limited number of seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis for our guests with disabilities.

08/07/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Bringing together elements of psychedelic music and modern jazz, Lucas Ashby’s Brain Trust features deep grooves, complex harmony, and adventurous improvisation. Brazilian-American multi-instrumentalist and composer Lucas Ashby brings to his projects a background in rhythms and melodies from South America, West Africa, India, Eastern Europe, American jazz, and hip hop. This percussion-driven program of music features a powerhouse lineup of John Lee (guitar), Alex Hamburger (flute), Jose Luiz Martins (piano), and Ian Ashby (bass).

08/06/2024

"NINE is undeniably a sight to behold." –Washington Post

Only 7 more performances left of : NINE! Grab tickets before they're gone!

🎟️ https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/theater/2023-2024/bcs-nine/?promocode=563867&utm_campaign=24tt_bcsnine&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

This Tony Award-winning Best Musical features “a superb cast... Broadway enthusiasts simply cannot afford to miss." (Maryland Theatre Guide)

08/05/2024

We can't wait for you to see Wild Side Media's fantastic interview with Back to the Future Broadway cast member Zan Berube! 🙌😉

Tickets and more info ➡️ https://bit.ly/46OcBxv

Wild Side Media went 88 miles per hour for a behind-the-scenes look at “Back to the Future: The Musical” at The Kennedy Center ⚡️🕰️

Stay tuned for Monica Alford's on-camera interview with Zan Berube, who plays iconic hot mom Lorraine Baines, while hanging out in a fully retrofitted DeLorean on the plaza right in front of the Kennedy Center.

Nab tix to this classic at kennedy-center.org, in D.C. through Sunday, August 11.

videography: // @4421.co
photography: Van Fleet Photography
social capture: Sarah Po***ck

08/03/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: What once began as a collective of musicians gathering on the Lower East Side of post-9/11 New York City now enters 2024 a supergroup. Glenn Patscha (Bonnie Raitt), Byron Isaacs (The Lumineers), Tony Leone (Little Feat), Fiona McBain (The Nine Seas), and Amy Helm (solo artist) reunite to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first album. Their music is joyful and exhilarating, and has earned them the respect of fellow musicians: T Bone Burnett signed them to his own imprint on Sony; Richard Thompson booked them for Britain’s Meltdown Festival; Elvis Costello, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Allison Krauss, Larry Campbell, and Levon Helm (who was the spiritual godfather of Ollabelle) all took turns sitting in with them. Come hear how they take early American gospel, folk, and mountain music and drag them into the future with the utmost respect and abandon.

08/03/2024

Great Scott–talk about a blast from the past! 😱💥

The DeLorean hit the D.C. streets this week with Back to the Future Broadway cast member Zan Berube (Lorraine Baines) to stop by the top sights in town.

If our calculations are correct, "Back to the Future" is in D.C. through August 11. So, buckle up, synchronize your watches, and get tickets for this classic turned musical today! ⚡🎶📅🚀👨‍🔬 ➡️ https://bit.ly/46OcBxv

🚗 Philly Time Machine Rentals

08/02/2024

Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Calling all musical lovers! Buckle up for a magical journey through the dazzling world of Broadway. The Magic of Broadway—Our Way! is a showstopping production for all ages.

This summer, get ready to be wowed by a talented cast of young performers from the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program. These rising stars have teamed up with the renowned Joy of Motion Dance Center and its incubator program, Arts Haven School of Dance and Music, to present a spectacular showcase. Arts Haven students from their year-round program are also featured.

The Magic of Broadway—Our Way! is a dazzling sequel to last summer’s hit, bringing the magic back with a fresh twist. This unique production blends legendary classics with today’s hottest musicals, offering a vibrant tapestry of song and dance. But wait, there’s more! The talented youth participants not only perform but also came up with the concept and script, making this a truly remarkable feat.

So if you’ re a Broadway buff or love a great show, don’t miss this opportunity to witness the next generation of performers bring the magic to life. The Magic of Broadway—Our Way! promises an unforgettable evening filled with laughter, music, and the power of youthful creativity.