Hear our worlds! During the late afternoons and evenings, we invite visitors to the Festival Main Stage (located on the northern side of the National Mall near Twelfth Street and Madison Drive) to enjoy concerts performed by young musicians, poets, and dancers.
All concerts are free and open to the public. ASL interpretation and live, real-time captioning are provided. This schedule is subject to change due to weather and other factors.
* Concerts marked with an asterisk will be livestreamed worldwide on our YouTube channel.
Thursday, July 3
5:30–8 p.m. | Homegrown Futures: The Sound of D.C. *
Washington, D.C., boasts a deep repertoire of homegrown music and spoken word. Through after-school and cultural programs, local artists are training the next generation of performers from go-go to spoken word to jazz. This concert celebrates some of D.C.’s own young artists and their teachers with performances by DCPS Let’s Go-Go Band, the UDC JAZZtet, and spoken-word artists from Words Beats & Life.
Let’s Go-Go Band
The Let’s Go-Go Band is a program of DC Public Schools, now in its second year of providing sixth- to twelfth-grade students with an immersive experience in the vibrant cultural heritage of go-go music. By participating in a rehearsing band with teaching-artists in residence, students engage in hands-on learning, exploring the local genre’s history, musical elements, and cultural significance. This program is made possible in partnership with Washington Performing Arts, the Innovative School for Performing Arts, and Monumental Sports.
UDC JAZZtet
Under the direction of Allyn Johnson, the Jazz Studies program at the University of the District of Columbia produces premier ensembles that are recognized throughout the Washington, D.C., community. While audiences are most familiar with the university’s big band, the UDC Jazz Ensemble, the Small Jazz Ensembles form an integral part of the program. The Festival will showcase the UDC JAZZtet featuring Johnson (keyboard), Elijah J. Easton (tenor saxophone), Herman Burney (bass), Ynomrah Hicks (drums), and Dejeria Briggmon (vocals).
Friday, July 4
4–7 p.m. | Roots and Voices: Americana Reimagined *
Americana is the music of community and history, living at the sonic intersection of our collective past, present, and future. This concert is an American soundtrack offered by three award-winning ensembles from across the United States.
From Southern California, Mariachi Tesoro de San Fernando performs a spectacular global repertoire with Mexican roots. Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo, hailing from the Kea‘au, Hawai‘i, shares dance and chant grounded in traditional knowledge and Native Hawaiian language. From Burlington, Vermont, Sugar in the Pan represents contradance music and other local folk traditions for which New England region is known.
Saturday, July 5
5:30–8 p.m. | Prom in the Park *
For over 100 years, American teenagers have participated in the cultural rite of prom. This summer, the Festival hosts its own Prom in the Park in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary American Teenagers. Whether you want to relive your prom days from an earlier decade or you missed your prom, Prom in the Park has something for you.
Bands include the legendary Stax Music Academy playing soul classics from the ’70s and ’80s and Orquesta Manplesa, a local Latin music band. We will also feature DJs DJ SoTek from Louisville, Kentucky, and Znorthy from D.C., playing the latest hits. (Don’t forget your gowns and suits!)
Orquesta Manplesa
Orquesta Manplesa may be Washington, D.C.’s youngest Latin music band, but their musicianship runs deep, with members holding music degrees from Berklee College of Music, the Conservatorio Nacional de Música (Dominican Republic), Towson University, and Kenyon College. Their electrifying performances bridge eras and regions, blending timeless classics with contemporary hits. Guided by one simple rule—“keep them dancing”—Orquesta Manplesa is more than a band; it’s a movement, a heartbeat, and a living tribute to the spirit of D.C., where music, culture, and community come together on the dance floor.
DJ SoTek
Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Aaron Ziegler (aka DJ SoTek) is a DJ who enjoys mixing a wide range of music, from pop to techno. When he is not DJing, he enjoys listening to music, skateboarding, and practicing graphic design.
Znorthy
Znorthy is a DJ from Washington, D.C. In high school, they became engaged with D.C.’s hip-hop scene and started DJing at local art shows, mixing hip-hop and future club. While in college in New York, they DJed with collectives like Fwb_dc, Xunt, and GhettoWitchez. Now, Znorthy is back in D.C., playing and organizing parties around town.
Sunday, July 6
5:30–7:30 p.m. | On Key: Next-Gen Music Ensembles *
Schools are where many American youth encounter classical music for the first time. Outside of the classroom, nonprofits and after-school programs provide mentorship to young people to support their creative and personal growth.
This includes mariachi education programs such as the Mariachi Master Apprenticeship Program (MMAP) based in Los Angeles County and their performance ensemble, Mariachi Tesoro de San Fernando; the Alliance of Black Orchestral Percussionists, a nonprofit organization that mentors the next generation of young African American percussionists; and the DC Youth Orchestra Program, a PreK–12 after-school ensemble celebrating sixty-five years of music education in Washington, D.C.
DC Youth Orchestra Program
The DC Youth Orchestra Program has been an integral part of the local community since its founding in 1960. The first youth orchestra to perform at the Kennedy Center, DCYOP has toured twenty-four countries, played for U.S. presidents and diplomats, and worked with esteemed musicians such as Aaron Copland, Lorin Maazel, Mstislav Rostropovich, Marvin Hamlisch, Gustavo Dudamel, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gianandrea Noseda. The program has received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award and the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Arts Education.
7–9 p.m. | Community Contradance
Join us for a special contradance on the National Mall with calling by Adina Gordon, a nationally acclaimed caller based in Vermont. Music will be provided by Sugar in the Pan, a six-piece youth band that grew out Vermont Folklife’s Young Tradition Vermont Touring Group. No experience or partner needed—just bring your energy and willingness to have fun!
*Note to dancers: The skateboarding area of the Streetwise tent will be reset with a wooden dance floor bordered by a packed gravel walkway, so plan your footwear accordingly.
Adina Gordon
Adina Gordon finds an outlet for her loves of travel, music, dance, and silliness by calling dances throughout the United States and Canada, facilitating joy and minor chaos wherever she goes. With a wide repertoire of dances both old and new, she calls dances that cause spontaneous eruptions of joy on dance floors coast to coast. Gordon has been calling dances for over twenty years and takes particular pleasure in introducing new dancers to contra, square, and English country dancing. When not at dances, she works as a hospice nursing aide, a church administrator, and a farmhand.
