Music City, DC: Season 2

Save when you purchase the Music City, DC: Season 2 series!

Washington, D.C., has given much to the musical world beyond its best-known exports, Duke Ellington and the punk and go-go scenes. In a new series of programs, musician, broadcaster, and historian Ken Avis uses film and anecdotes to explore more of the area’s lesser-known, remarkable, and fascinating musical avenues and why they could only have developed here.

This time around, Avis shines the spotlight on acoustic folk and blues traditions; soul, funk and go-go; and takes a look at the changing nature of music and the local scene during the 21st century. The story is interwoven with observations of how social change, technology, and business innovations shaped the sounds that emerged from D.C.—a political town with a serious music habit.

Avis is a regular presenter at Strathmore Music Center and DC Music Salon. He performs with the award-winning world-jazz band Veronneau and is a music writer and broadcaster in the Washington area.

Session Information

Sweet Soul Music: DC in the ’60s and Beyond

The rich African American popular culture of Washington took root with jazz and fed into the 1960s, taking the sound of D.C. to Motown and stepping up the funk through the ’70s and beyond. From Marvin Gaye to Roberta Flack, the Blackbyrds to Chuck Brown—and with many highlights along the way—the music train keeps on rolling.

Additional Sessions

• November 1 Acoustic DC: Folk, Blues, Protest, and Traditions
• November 29 DC Now: 21st Century Popular Music in the Nation's Capital

Patron Information

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