DC Soul Sounds Presents: The Soul of the City – Washington, DC

For countless generations, if you wanted to find some of the best music in the world, you could find it safely hidden in the many soulful corners of Washington, DC. You might have heard Duke Ellington and his band at Bohemian Caverns, crossed U street to see Chuck Brown at the Masonic Temple, or strolled down Florida Avenue to hear Marvin Gaye at the Howard Theatre. Perhaps you went to Eighteenth Street Lounge to catch a legendary set from Sam “The Man” Burns, or maybe you ventured to the completely undeveloped Navy Yard neighborhood to attend Buzz at Nation, or check out the DJs at Tracks. Or maybe you went late-night salsa dancing at Habana Village, or day-partied in the parade at the Caribbean Carnival Festival on Georgia Avenue. DC’s musical legacy has always been characterized by a spirit of diversity and culture that rivals anywhere else in the world.

And now it’s 2024: our city HAS grown and changed, but our music is still the greatest on the globe. However, our little soulful corners have become even more compartmentalized and separated, and our city has become more divided than ever.

BUT WHAT IF WE, THE MUSIC LOVERS, SHARED OUR MUSIC TOGETHER ON THE DANCEFLOOR? What if DC’s rich legacy of Jazz, Soul, House, Funk, Latin, and Carribbean music collided to show that our musical culture can be the best weapon against dividing us?

THE SOUL OF THE CITY will showcase three of the city’s greatest DJs each paired with one of DC’s most accomplished live musicians, all of them representing different musical communities in Washington. Pedro Night (whose amazing ADOBO parties are known as DC’s “Flagship Multicultural Experience”) will showcase the saxophone of BJ Simmons. Farid Azouri (whose Thursday People parties at Flash were legendary before he became a staple in the house music scene) will be featuring Debórah Bond on vocals. And Miss H.E.R. (whose soulful sound earned her a feature at the Kennedy Center) will have The Bearded Drummer joining her on live drums. In addition to their own sets, the three DJs will close the evening with a Back2Back2Back collaboration, where they will take turns playing off each other’s style and sound.

Thanks to a generous grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the entire evening will be presented by DC Soul Sounds for FREE on Thursday, September 26th at Culture in Ivy City, NE DC. All you need to do is RSVP, and show up at 9pm prepared to join your musical brothers and sisters on the dance floor with open ears, full hearts, and comfortable shoes.