Featured Concerts

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.

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.

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!)

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.

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 dance area at the Main Stage is in the grass, so plan your footwear accordingly.