Upcoming at Rhizome (click on event for more details):
April 21 - May 11 * Exhibit open during all events or by appointment
Please come out to see this collection of community artworks in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
Curated from an open call conceived of by a group of current and former area university students, “Our Blood is Palestinian” will raise funds for Gaza and create space for artists and community members alike to come together in solidarity to enjoy art and fight for a free Palestine!
The exhibition will run thru mid-May.
Funds raised via merch sales and donations at the exhibit will go to American Friends Service Committee's Gaza Emergency Relief.
Friday May 10 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Pain Generator - Industrial Terror Noise Machine from Richmond.
Industrial Grade Acid - Our sonic onslaughts range from mechanical percussion and howling analog synths to ethereal effects, digital distortion, tape manipulation, feedback loops, and ambient droning.
PAS Musique - Pas Musique started in 1995 out of Brooklyn, NY, USA, driven by the creative talents of Robert L. Pepper working in the mediums of sound and video. Members include Jon “Vomit” Worthley, Michael Durek, and Robert Pepper.
Bodied - NoVA hc/screamo/skramz
Ron Anderson is a self-taught rock composer who starting experimenting with new rock concepts, noise, free improvisation while in high school in the mid 1970’s. In 1980 he was one of the founding members of Rat At Rat R in Philadelphia. Ayako Kanda is an improviser and performance artist whose medium is her voice. Currently based in Tokyo, Ayako's work moves between total improvisation and standard jazz, quick sketches and impressionist painting, creating rules and then breaking them as she roams freely between linguistic and alinguistic facets of expression. Adam Arritola is an improviser who is best known for his often bizarre and unexpected performances and as the curator for Miami Psych Fest and Rochester Experimental Week.
Saturday May 11 * 10am - noon * Free
Join Takoma Families for Ceasefire for Story Time for Palestine.
Saturday May 11 * 4pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Listening From Darkness is a program of two 30 minute works: From Darkness We Awaken by Michael Malis, and Listening for Bells by Harriet Steinke. Both pieces rely heavily on improvisation, empathy, and deep listening, striking different but complementary tones. Steinke’s Listening for Bells explores recursive textures through improvisation, leaving much up to the performers. This program features the cellist taking several solo improvised moments while being supported by the ensemble.
Virago is a new voice in classical music. Marked by intense chemistry and resistance to creative norms, Virago melds free improvisation and contemporary chamber music into a contagious headspace of out-of-the box expression. This unusually instrumented quartet improvises through collaborations with composers, audience members, visual artists, and musicians across genres, marking the path for the future of chamber music.
Saturday May 11 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is an African American writer, poet, artist, and educator who works at the intersection of computation, AI, race, and gender. They are the author of Travesty Generator(Noemi Press), a book of computational poetry that received the Poetry Society of America’s 2020 Anna Rabinowitz prize for interdisciplinary work and longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for Poetry. They are the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship. Their other poetry books include How Narrow My Escapes (DIAGRAM/New Michigan), Personal Science(Tupelo Press), a slice from the cake made of air (Red Hen Press), and But a Storm is Blowing From Paradise (Red Hen Press). Their fifth book, Negative Money, is available now. They direct the MFA in creative writing program at the University of Maryland. Their new chapbook, written with AI, is called A Black Story May Contain Sensitive Content and won the 2023 Diagram/New Michigan chapbook contest.
Rainer Diana Hamilton is the author of God Was Right (Ugly Duckling Presse 2018) and The Awful Truth (Golias Books 2017). They write, broadly, about the forms that dreams, art, and love have taken.
Sunday May 12 * 1-3pm * Free / donations * RSVP
Palestine and Puerto Rico share a profound history of colonial occupation, economic exploitation, and cultural resistance, despite their geographical distance and unique cultural identities. Join this teach-in to gain a deeper understanding of the historical connections and parallels between the Palestinian and Puerto Rican freedom struggles. Learn how to support initiatives fighting for the liberation of the land and people in both regions.
Presented by the Diaspora Pa'lante Collective - Our goals are to support our people in the liberation of our country and to create relationships in solidarity with all oppressed peoples - in the struggle for liberation that is here, now, globally.
Sunday May 12th * 8-10pm * TICKETS
Jam nights are an opportunity for people to show up and create art together. Bring a guitar, sticks, sketch pad, didgeridoo, or your dancing shoes and come vibe. Amps, speakers, drum set, and microphones are provided. Featured artist: Ira Golthi @fuzzycherryzine
Monday May 13 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Battalion of Cloudships (Madison, WI) uses samples and stomp boxes to create a deep listening experience, layers of drones revealing what’s hidden beneath. Alternately, they also have one hell of a stand-up tight five.
Resumer/Uniter (Chicago, IL) - A new trio (members of Galaxxu, Pet Peeves, Sex Funeral) that marries free improvisation with repetitive drone textures.
Tangent Universes (DC) - Using field recordings, modular synths, a DIY Lyra-8, and guitar drones, Carolyn (Zaldivar) Snow creates immersive compositions and sound installations from her Mid-Atlantic context. Carolyn contributes to labels Mystery Circles (Las Vegas) and Hyle Tapes (Paris) performing as Tangent Universes.
rrrunningdoggg (DC) - A solo drone euphonium project from Joshua David Hoffman.
Tuesday May 14 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS
somesurprises is a dynamic four-piece live band lead by Seattle-based songwriter and guitarist Natasha El-Sergany. Motorik beats, reverb-drenched vocals, washes of fingerpicked guitars, and hazy synths expand El-Sergany’s delicate and blissful songwriting.
TALsounds (Natalie Chami) is a Canadian-born Lebanese American musician and educator. Known for her work in drone, ambient, and improvisational music, she has cultivated a distinguished solo career over the past 14 years, crafting a distinctive blend of personal and transporting music.
John Karvonen is a Palestinian-American electronic artist based in DC. He started exploring synthesis and music production in 2020. In 2022 he began studying the piano and music theory with Natalie Chami (TALsounds) as his teacher.
May 15 - 31 * Free + Open to the Public during all events + by appointment
Artists Reception : Saturday 25 May, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Sabina Troncone / Mary O’Brien / Frederick Nunley / Mei Mei Chang / Joanna Axtmann / Kate Childs Graham a.k.a. kcg / AnaMarie King / dieglo / Dilip Sheth / Julie Paez / John Paradiso / Tom Hill / Rita Elsner / Jenny Wallace / Todd Franson / JS Adams
QUEERING SOUND is a volunteer-driven, multifaceted arts festival of LGBTQIA+ artists and allies held annually in Washington DC and features visual art, spoken word, video/new media, and a wide variety of musical styles. Since 1999, QUEERING SOUND has presented over 100+ local, national, and international artists at nine local venues and online; showcasing artists who push against and create their work outside the socially-mainstreamed boundaries of sound and vision.
Wednesday * May 15 * 7pm * $10-15 * TICKETS
The Electric Nature is a psychedelic, experimental improv group from Athens, GA. They have a recent LP on Feeding Tube Records, as well as recent cassette releases on Eiderdown Records, We, Here, & Now! Recordings, and Null Zone Tapes.
Tarotplane is P.J. Dorsey from Baltimore MD. He has released a number of albums on labels such as 12th Isle, Patience/Impatience & Constellation Tatsu. Working mostly with the guitar, his work has been described as “new school kosmiche”.
AM Howard was born in DC and came of age in the New Mexico plains and West Texas Bars. His solo guitar work falls somewhere between modern American primitive fingerpicking, looping/loping ambient country, and Motorik-inspired drives into the middle distance.
Thursday May 16 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS
Recognized in the New Yorker for his “characteristic magnanimity” and his “invaluable contributions to New York’s new-music community," bassist/composer/improviser James Ilgenfritz presents "Almostness" and other new creations for solo contrabass in Just Intonation scordatura with Autonomous Mechanical Instrument Array, from his new album Stay Logged In On This Trusted Device.
Blurring the limits between speed and slowness, guitarists Meg Duffy and Greg Uhlmann communicate in velocities, underwriting each other’s peaks and flurries as they ache toward a mutual horizon. These one-take improvisations, recorded in Uhlmann’s brothers’ house on a borrowed tape recorder, unfold like a game of truth or dare.
Inverse Square Trio is Shelly Purdy and co - Baltimore - "seeks to demonstrate and illuminate acoustic properties and aural illusions."
Friday May 17 * 7pm * $12-15 * TICKETS
Psyop & Null/Void Presents
Totally Slow: Greensboro, NC punk outfit Totally Slow makes razor sharp, no-frills melodic hardcore, with angry lyrics that show how the personal is inseparable from the political when the country is on the brink of chaos.
https://totallyslow.bandcamp.com
NIGHT!NIGHT!: Sleazy Post-Hardcore from Chapel Hill NC
https://nightnightnc.bandcamp.com/
The Mostly Dead: Hardcore punk from Washington DC Est 2008
https://themostlydead.bandcamp.com/
Palladists: Gothy punk from DC
https://palladistsdc.bandcamp.com/
Saturday May 18th * 7:00PM * $25 * TICKETS
“Recognized as an iconoclast, and one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, William knows no genre bounds and ceaselessly searches for new forms of music, always with the intent to inspire.” - THE WIRE
William Hooker (drummer, composer and poet) has created works that range from jazz and "new" music to experimental genres. He has released over 80 CDs as a leader. Accompanying musicians have included Billy Bang, David Ware, William Parker, Thurston Moore, David Soldier, Roy Campbell, DJ Spooky, Steven Bernstein, Zeena Parkins, Lee Ranaldo, Jason Hwang, Sabir Mateen, Elliot Sharpe, David Murray, Ted Daniel, JD Parren and many more.
Alex Lozupone (guitar) is a New York City–based jazz and rock musician and film director. As a musician, he is a member of Marc Edwards & Slipstream Time Travel, and has played with Percy Jones and Stephen Moses
Dave Sewelson has specialized in the baritone saxophone since the early seventies. He has played in many bands including the 25 O’Clock Band, Jemeel Moondoc’s Jus Grew Orchestra, Saheb Sarbib’s Multinational Big Band ,Noise R Us, Mofungo, Freedomland and Fast ‘n Bulbous. He was a founding member of the Microscopic Septet.
every other Sunday * 10am-noon * RSVP
Rhizome is pleased to announce our Youth Electronic Music Lab, for young people ages 11-18. We meet regularly to share space together while working and to give and receive feedback in a positive and encouraging environment. Our group at this point consists of some beginners and others who have experience making electronic music and are able to work independently on it. We plan to invite guest musicians periodically to share tips, talk music theory / composition, offer feedback, etc. Please bring a laptop and headphones if possible. Bring some of your own music you’re working on or would like to share.
Sunday May 19 * noon-4pm * $5-10 suggested * RSVP
The DC Modular Society is a group focused on learning, teaching, and performing electronic music with modular synths. DCMS meetups are open to all with an interest in electronic music, modular and other hardware synths, and hybrid systems for creating and performing music. We encourage and support building a diverse and inclusive community—if you’re wondering if you belong—the answer is yes! No equipment is necessary to attend meetups, but feel free to bring gear if you like. Mixer and PA system provided. We frequently do informal demos of synths and electronic music techniques.
Sunday May 19 * 7pm * $15-30 * TICKETS
claire rousay is a singular artist, known for challenging conventions in experimental and ambient music forms. rousay masterfully incorporates textural found sounds, sumptuous drones and candid field recordings into music that celebrates the beauty in life’s banalities. Her music is curatorial and granular in detail, deftly shaped into emotionally affecting pieces. sentiment is a meditation of the poignant emotional terrains of loneliness, nostalgia, sentimentality, guilt, and sex. The album’s narrative arc is guided by delicate musical gestures and artistic vulnerability, audaciously synthesizing disparate and unexpected influences. rousay crafted the songs in various homes, bedrooms, hotels, and other private places, the feeling of time and energy spent alone radiating from each passage. The album is a collection of heart-rending, incisive pop songs that explore universal feelings with subtlety and remarkable vision.
As a composer, flutist, and improviser, Rachel Beetz explores presence through sound and listening. Her works recreate physical atmospheres based on her deep listening adventures in the wild, exploring hidden worlds of nature and machines. Combining experimental field recordings and electronically modified flutes, her works examine community, environmentalism, and women’s work through sound, textiles, and lighting. Her projects have been featured in concert halls and galleries in Australia, Iceland, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. You can hear her on Orenda, Blue Griffin, iikki, Neuma, and Populist record labels. She is currently a co-director of the Wasteland Music and Populist Records.
Tuesday May 21 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Sam Weinberg is a saxophonist and improviser living in New York City. Recent focus has been material for solo saxophone, and trio music represented on Plays Quarter Notes and Other Notes (with Henry Fraser and Jason Nazary) and Implicatures (Astral Spirits, 2023) with Tom Rainey and Chris Lightcap. Sam played the very first show at Rhizome, in 2016, and we are excited to welcome him back!
Simone Baron is a polyglot pianist, accordionist, improviser and composer whose work “ego-less, genre agnostic and without expectations” (JazzTimes) engages curiously and charismatically with a broad spectrum of idioms. Educated at Oberlin and Tel Aviv University and joyfully de-educated at festivals and performances across Europe and the Americas…. In 2016 Simone founded Arco Belo, a diasporic chamber music ensemble. Simone is a Victoria Artist and plays a Poeta XB Accordion, and is a founding member of the Boulanger Initiative.
Ryan McDermott is a guitarist who works to make the instrument sound like anything other than a guitar. Like a cello. Or a sledgehammer. Or a 60-foot fall.
Wednesday May 22 * 7pm * $12 advance tickets, $15 day of * TICKETS
Red brick Presents
Pockets (Washington, DC)
https://pocketsssssss.bandcamp.com/
DC's premiere shrimp boy
People I Love (NYC)
https://peopleyelove.bandcamp.com/album/people-i-love
Solo project of Dan Poppa.
Fish Hunt (NYC)
https://fish2hunt.bandcamp.com/
2nd & 4th Wednesdays * online at 8pm Eastern * Free / donation * RSVP
A weekly guided dream-sharing hangout…. Welcome to the theater of your dreams—an inexhaustible source of images and stories that can provide entertainment and insight, and that requires no cable service and no subscription—just attentiveness and an open mind. Participants will share dreams, using a gentle, non-intrusive method for unlocking the metaphors that structure dreams (derived from the long-tested method of Dr. Montague Ullman). We’ll also talk about techniques for recalling and recording dreams, as needed.
Please click through for more details.
Thursday May 23 * 7pm * $15-20 * TICKETS
Pet Names is a Maryland-based folk-rock duo. Camila (guitar) and Maggie (bass) draw on their affinities for classic rock, folk, and alternative music, as well as their backgrounds in classical vocal performance (and college a cappella).
This Could Go Boom! is a nonprofit organization that supports gender diversity in music and strives for gender equity in music through record label services, professional development, community outreach, education, and performance opportunities for musicians and music industry workers whose genders have long been underrepresented, marginalized, and excluded.
Marcus Webb’s recent endeavors predominantly reside in the realms of ambient and drone music, their artistic journey began with a rich background in rock and jazz bands.
Friday May 24 * 7pm * $15-20 * TICKETS
charlee scythe (Baltimore) - From a void near you comes this hybrid, crossbreed, experimental artist.
Pearie Sol (Gauche/Teen Liver) plays lo-fi loner jams that sometimes recall the work of Half Japanese and Suicide.
An independent Hi-NRG electronic artist, Safety Bear weaves together pulsing beats and immersive atmospheres with subject matter typically alien to the dance floor.
Blood Family Reunion - Washington DC dream pop quartet.
Juels Bland - Singer, songwriter with original lyrics and music full of rich tones that have a sad + soulful yet uplifting and far-away sound.
Ari Voxx - DC’s Dreamy Pop Princess. Well-versed in many different music worlds, she focuses on writing music that is eclectic and authentically her, transcending genres.
Sea Griffin is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist writing and performing carousel punk cabaret music.
Multimedia storyteller Kerri Sheehan is currently obsessed with finding ways to use AI creative tools for good.
Saturday May 25 * 2pm * $15-20 * TICKETS
BEAU BEV DeJOE - Bev Stanton, electronics; Joe B Wall, electronics; Beau Finley, electronics
niki afsar - A nonbinary/femme, Iranian-American writer, and interdisciplinary artist, niki’s work explores ideas of fluidity and longing within language, hybrid/myriad identities, and mental health. Their art and politics are shaped by questions of identity and liberation.
Marlena Chertock (spoken word) writes about growing up with a rare skeletal dysplasia. Other common themes in her work include identity, intersectionality, queerness, chronic pain, accessibility, science fiction, and how climate change impacts disabled people.
OUTBOARD - Ambient drone + noise duo, Chris Mathews-Larsen (Grave Nature/Youth in Government) + Greg Mercer.
THAT MAJEURE - The continuing Deconstruction of Popular Classics: Promenade I-IV (Modest Mussorgsky "Pictures at an Exhibition," 1874 + orchestral adaptation by Maurice Ravel, 1922). The first performance of the Massed Narration composition, "tiny tragedies of human frustration" (Louise Bourgeois "He Disappeared into Complete Silence," 1947). JS Adams, electronics + prepared vinyl; Christopher Mathews-Larsen, guitar + euphonium; Chris Videll, electronics; CK Barlow, sampler; RA Martini, bass + violin; Josh Maxwell, bass
Saturday May 25 * 7pm * $15-20 * TICKETS
LIFE IS PRICELESS - Rotating improvisational collective from members of the DMV experimental + free music communities. Jeff Barsky / Jim Thomson / Kamyar Arsani / Ty Hussell / Nico Castleman / Rob Smith
M. Kluzek (The Doomed Bird of Providence/BEL) contributes his video interpretation of Les Sataniques/The Satanic Ones by Félicien Rops (1882).
Jassie Rios is a conceptual artist and DJ who works with sound and light as material. Her research and practice questions the relationship between humans, plants, and organisms through the lens of philosophical, scientific, interdisciplinary, technological, in-situ methodologies, using time-based media and systems of chance to engage with space.
p cain’s electronics are one-half of the DC experimental hip hop duo, model home.
Sir E.U - “…idiosyncratic, innovative, relentless Aquarian leaning contrarian. As a multimedia artist, he has spent over half his life designing sound, specializing in rap music and performance that shapeshifts on his whim and refuses to landlock itself.” (VinylMePlease.com, 2020)
Sunday May 26 * 10am * Free * RSVP
Christine and Té invite you to join us for an experiential workshop where we will explore the
effects of sound on body and mind! Tune into the frequency of your nervous system and
discover ways to modulate it with sound. We’ll have a short discussion followed by an
immersive sound experience. Please join us!
Limited to 15 participants. Please register by emailing queeringsound@gmail.com to
reserve your space. This workshop is presented as part of Queering Sound 2024.
Sunday May 26 * 2pm * $10-15 * TICKETS
Eyerolls - No sound left unprocessed.
BLK CHRISTIAN - Deconstructed industrial turntablism … Christian Marclay vs Survival Research Laboratories. JS Adams & Jeff Carey.
Choke-Chain Collar - demeter capsalis’ newest project of violent noise + dungeon synth … transexual filth purely for the ears of the unwise.
TL0741 - Structured improvisations on analogue modular synthesizer + effects that create an alchemical multiverse.
Sunday May 26 * 7pm * $15-20 * TICKETS
Té - Was MUZAK the first “Sound Healing” of the Industrial Age? What is the connection between Muzak and Noise Music?
Sad Veiled Bride - Ukelele Weltschmerz; lo-fi + beat-heavy with a sprinkle of 80’s melancholia.
Switched on Sousa - Electronic marches + questionable facial hair.
Fibbing (Baltimore) - Fibbing is: a band. Fibbing is not: evil.
Depression Cherry - Shoegazer + ambient soundscape loops from Markus Meier + Kate Muser (All Her Muses).
Jan Swinburne’s intermedia practice overlaps images, sculpture, and experimental moving image art. Her thematic focus revolves around words, language as landscape, degenerated and regenerated images and sounds.
Kelli Frances Corrado (Chicago) is a singer, songwriter, wanderer and a witch, a quilt of memories and mysticism.
Monday May 27 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS
Radiator Greys - "can feel spacious, like cranked-up spa music, or claustrophobic, like a horror movie soundtrack. And the harder he pushes to extremes, the tighter his music seems to hold onto its ambiguity." - Chris Richards, The Washington Post
Subterranean By Design is the first collected works of St. Louis-based artist, musician, and designer Josh Levi. In this new publication, Levi curates over 20 years worth of his photos, flyers, and snapshots of the American DIY Underground scene.
Lifted Spontaneity Duo - Lifted, on recordings, is a group with many contributors and guest players, around the core of group founders Matt Papich (Mezey & Nosho, Co La) and Max D (Future Times). The pair is coming together as the 2-piece Lifted Spontaneity Duo, especially for this performance.
Religious Knives - The core duo of Michael Bernstein (guitar, synth, vox) and Maya Miller (organ, vox) began their careers together as the extreme noise act, Double Leopards. By 2005, they had left the industrial noise realm for the somewhat mellower pastures of Kraut explorations.
Tuesday May 28 * doors at 715, show at 8 * $10 * TICKETS
Honey Stomach is the recording project of singer songwriter Jessie Szegö.
Birthday Girl DC is a indie-rock band made up of Mabel Canty, Tess Kontarinis, and Isabella Mackaye based in DC.
Mannequin Fight is a 3-piece rock band based out of College Park, MD. They play the music the bugs tell them to and they do it quite loudly.
Wednesday May 29 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS
After dealing in mostly Latin tropical styles for over a decade, with the psychedelic cumbia of his band Chicha Libre in particular, Brooklyn-based Olivier Conan now leads Combo Daguerre, a group that performs original French tunes with a psychedelic edge and a mostly Latin crew. Its hybrid style is informed by boleros, cumbia, 60's rock, French chanson, Gainsbourg and 1930s surrealism.
Combo Daguerre is:
Adele Fournet – keyboards; Felipe Wurst – guitar; Andres Fonseca - drums; Neil Ochoa - percussion; Dan Martinez - bass and Olivier Conan - cuatro and vocals.
Opening set by Soroche - Mixing Cumbia, Punk, Folk, and everything in between into a danceable alchemy that crosses cultural dancefloors.
Thursday May 30 * doors at 7, show at 730 * $15-25 * TICKETS
Presented in collaboration with OTS Productions...
Setsuhi Shiraishi is a professional calligrapher, also known as shodo. She continues to pursue the beauty of the lines and spaces that influence the viewers momentarily. She views calligraphy as a comprehensive art, such as collaborating with other arts in a unique style while transmitting the world of traditional calligraphy.
Nate Scheible is a DC-based artist who has performed and recorded in a variety of bands and ensembles spanning multiple genres over the past 25 years. His background is largely based in improvisation on drums, electronics, and analog tape.
Amber Lucia Chabus is a DC-based artist who finds joy moving her body in spaces with other creatives. Amber graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2018 with degrees in Dance and Kinesiology. Amber was part of the inaugural Dance Metro DC Performance-in-Progress cohort and has had choreography shown at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Atlas Performing Arts Center, and Dance Place (Washington, DC) and at Island Grown Dance and the Built on Stilts Festival (Martha’s Vineyard).
Friday May 31 * doors at 7, music at 730 * $10-20 * TICKETS
Gwenifer Raymond hails from Wales and currently resides in Brighton, England. Gwenifer began playing guitar at the age of eight shortly after having been first exposed to punk and grunge. After years of playing around the Welsh valleys in various punk outfits she began listening more to pre-war blues musicians as well as Appalachian folk players, eventually leading into the guitar players of the American Primitive genre.
Max Ochs came up through the ranks starting in Annapolis before studying at University of Maryland College Park. He frequented the early DC folk scene eventually sharing stages and record labels with other guitar luminaries from the DMV like John Fahey and Robbie Basho. Max Ochs has performed at Rhizome many times over the years and is excited to share the stage with Gwenifer Raymond again; both Max and Gwenifer were on the bill for Takoma Park’s primitive guitar festival, the Thousand Incarnations of the Rose in 2018.
Saturday June 1 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Matriarch - "...Dense low end, shimmering oscillations, rattle and hum." Philadelphia, PA.
Weapons Envelope - Solo noise/power electronics workings by Emily Haugh.
Struggle - Struggle is the solo project of Kifah Foutah.
Creation In Vein - abstract percussive terror.
Numbing Agent is an analog + digital noise performer/ recorder that focuses on manipulating and sequencing recordings and live sound.
Farrowing - noise.
Monday June 3rd * 7pm * $30 admission in advance/$40 at the door. Student/low-income tickets: $20-25 sliding scale in advance * TICKETS
This classic inspiring duo returns to Rhizome. Join us for an evening of great music.
Sir Kahil El’Zabar was Knighted by the Council General of France for his Global contributions to the Arts. El’Zabar, Has recorded over 100 acclaimed projects, and founded and leads the legendary Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and Ritual Trio.
David Murray is considered to be the most influential tenor saxophonist of his generation. He has recorded more than 300 acclaimed projects. He is co-founder of the World Saxophone Quartet, and leads the famed David Murray Quartet, David Murray Octet, and the David Murray Big Band.
Wednesday June 5 * 7pm * $20-25 * TICKETS
Marisa Anderson channels the history of the guitar and stretches the boundaries of tradition. Her deeply original work applies elements of minimalism, electronic music, drone, and 20th century classical music to compositions based on blues, jazz, gospel and country music, re-imagining the landscape of American music. Classically trained, Anderson honed her skills playing in country, jazz and circus bands. and currently tours extensively throughout Europe and North America.
Kajwan Ziaoddini started performing Santour in 1998. He earned his master’s degree in Iranian classical music at the University of Tehran. As a musician, he has collaborated with several Iranian ensembles such as Eghbal, Ravian, and Hamnavazan, and has contributed to five albums: From the Saba’s Rose Garden, Hashtrud, Delkesh, Goshayesh, and Nowbang.
Thursday June 6, * 7pm * $20-25 * TICKETS
Bill MacKay celebrates the release of his new record Locust Land. MacKay is a guitarist, composer, singer and improviser based in Chicago. A renowned solo artist and accomplished collaborator with projects that include solo albums and recordings with cellist Katinka Kleijn, Nathan Bowles, and Ryley Walker, all released on Drag City Records, MacKay has pursued his musical investigations with obsessive rigor.
Tenor and soprano saxophonist, improviser and composer Catherine Sikora has devoted her life to researching the magic of that sound with her saxophones, particularly in her solo work, which forms the main backbone of her creative output.
David Menestres is a bassist, composer, and writer currently living in Richmond, VA. David's collaborations include the Polyorchard ensemble, OS, and Tamarisk. And he's the host/producer of Tone Science, a weekly two-hour radio show since 2010.
Dave Heumann is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer based in Baltimore, MD. Known for his work as a founding member of Arbouretum, Human Bell, and many other projects, he has been active for over two decades as a bandleader and collaborator, writing, recording, and performing music in North America and Europe.
Saturday June 8 * Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm * $12 * TICKETS
Superbitch (Tampa)
Warm Frames (Orlando)
Scramble (Baltimore)
Sad Roach
Monday June 6 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS
Zig-Zag (FL)
Fried Reality (VA)
Useless Info (Chi)
Cryin' Hand (DC) - Tape Release
Tuesday June 11th * 7pm * $20-$25 * TICKETS
Transparent Productions presents Silvervest, the Montrael-based duo of vocalist Kim Zombik and contrabassist Nicolas Caloia. Intimacy is at the heart of SILVERVEST’s vibrant and melodic music, toggling between swagger and sweetness, caressing and careening. The music remains unset and generous, and intuitively explores the nuts and bolts of humanity’s mortal coil while remaining open to all possibilities.
Kim Zombik roots her original compositions and performance style deep in her own rich life experience. She performs regularly in Montreal and has released 12 recordings, 3 on Sony/Village Records. Two of those releases reached the top ten in Japan’s SWING Journal.
Nicolas Caloia is a Montreal based bassist, composer, and bandleader. He works at creating a living music by using rigorously composed material to channel collective improvisation.
Thursday June 13 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
The electro-acoustic sound collages created by S*Glass combine tape music, electronic processing, voice, found sound, and chance operations. Every show uses a different batch of curated audio, mixed live, while the self-produced studio albums are more refined assemblages. The playing of non-musical objects is sometimes incorporated (anything from dental floss to aluminum foil, wind-up toys or metal lunch box to cabbage). Self-shot video is screened during sets, which is mostly textures made with multiple layers that slowly wobble out of sync, jump cuts, and a smattering of primitive animation. The overall effect is one of surreal disorientation.
Lara Allen’s solo work under the name Sailor Beware combines sound collage, spoken word, and vaudeville in a kaleidoscopic portrayal of her experiences in Cincinnati public schools, a troubled teen industry cult, and children’s mental hospital.
Comfort Link - Comfort Link is the solo tape music project of Tim Wisniewski, proprietor and co-founder of the Spleencoffin label in Baltimore. Utilizing a battery of temperamental reel to reel tape machines and a distinctly magnetic palette of crumbling hiss, feedback, and cozy saturation, Comfort Link pulls the fragmentary implements and audio detritus of mid-century living room hi-fi culture through the dim tunnel of post-industrial audio slime.
Levogyre - Found and transmitted sound from DC.
Saturday June 15 * 1-9pm * outside, weather allowing * $25 * TICKETS
Seventh Stanine Festival - A music festival put on by DC band The Caribbean and NPR-distributed show Essential Tremors.
Featuring:
Water Damage
Geologist
Tongue Depressor
Susan Alcorn
The Caribbean
Small Sur
Turner Williams
Jon Camp
DJs: Chad Clark, PJ Brownlee, Paul Vodra, Ryan Boddy
Beer: City-State
Sunday June 16 * 1pm * MASKS REQUIRED * $30-45 (scholarships available) * REGISTER
Dye sessions act as an interactive introduction to natural dye. Every dye session is uniquely tailored to each group and may change seasonally due to the availability of natural dye materials. Each participant will work with cotton bandanas to learn and practice a variety of dye techniques.1
Fatima Janneh is a Gambian American fiber and textiles artist. Based in DC, she works primarily with natural dye and is an avid knitter. Currently teaching dye workshops and selling at markets around the city.
Saturday June 22th * 7pm * $25 * TICKETS
Transparent Productions presents a special solo performance by violinist/violist/composer Jason Kao Hwang.
Jason Kao Hwang has been a frequent guest of Transparent Productions over the years and has performed at Rhizome many times. He has drawn inspiration from playing in this space on Maple Avenue and is dedicating this performance to Rhizome and its future at its new home. Jason will be playing music from his new recording “Soliloquies, Unaccompanied Pizzicato Solo Improvisations” which will be released in September.
The music of Jason Kao Hwang explores the vibrations of his history. Raised during the “melting pot” era of assimilation, Mr. Hwang did not learn Chinese from his immigrant parents, only English. When his parents spoke in Chinese to each other, he would listen intently to glean meaning from the inflection, pitch, rhythm, and timbre of their phrases. Mr. Hwang imagines this musical experience of the Chinese language as the foundation of his creative instincts.
Friday June 28 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS
Double record release! Both groups will be celebrating the release of new records on Cuneiform Records.
Janel and Anthony: Both musicians, together and separately, have long been an important and active part of Washington D.C.’s new-music scene. Anthony Pirog, an omnivorous, multi-faceted guitarist who studied jazz at Berklee and has performed country, fingerstyle, rock and surf music and Janel Leppin, a conservatory trained cellist steeped in North Indian and Persian classical music, who also plays electric bass in rock bands, have created a lavishly detailed musical journey, by turns ravishing and harrowing. Janel and Anthony alternately charm and challenge, with music that draws from classical, experimental, jazz, rock and electronic traditions but that ultimately is simply theirs.
Ensemble Volcanic Ash: "Janel Leppin is a picture of versatility. Not only has she been a pillar of Washington, D.C.’s creative music community for the last 20 years, but the cellist, composer, arranger, and singer has made significant marks in other scenes as well. She’s contributed cello arrangements to the Messthetics, played with punk outfit Priests, and records art-pop under the Mellow Diamond moniker. Ensemble Volcanic Ash, comprising Leppin, bassist Luke Stewart, harpist Kim Sator, guitarist Anthony Pirog, alto saxophonist Sarah Hughes, tenor saxophonist Brian Settles, and drummer Larry Ferguson, exquisitely captures strings-driven melody, harmony, and noise at a furious clip. They both tug at the heartstrings and bust ears. " - Jazz Times
Saturday June 29th * 7pm * $25 * TICKETS
Transparent Productions presents Sam Newsome (soprano saxophone, horn preparations, toys) and Max Johnson (double bass). Combining their musically diverse backgrounds, these two master improvisers weave a sonic landscape that traverses from beautiful singing melodies to electronic-like drones, psychedelic blasts to the quiet rustling of leaves, all with the sounds of a soprano saxophone and double bass.
Sam Newsome, a versatile soprano saxophonist, music professor, and writer, recently showcased his talents through two notable 2023 duo recordings: Soprano-Logues with Dave Liebman and Cosmic Unconsciousness Unplugged with Jean-Michel Pilc.
Described as “an intrepid composer, architect of sound and beast of the bass...” (Brad Cohan, NYC Jazz Record) composer-bassist Max Johnson creates complex worlds of sound, challenging his listeners to engage deeply and be rewarded with an experience always crafted with love, care, and clarity.
Sunday June 30th * 8-10pm * $5-10 * TICKETS
Jam nights are an opportunity for people to show up and create art together. Bring a guitar, sticks, sketch pad, didgeridoo, or your dancing shoes and come vibe. Amps, speakers, drum set, and microphones are provided. Featured artist: Benjamin Burch
Tuesday July 2 * 7pm * $10-25 * TICKETS
Outside Time presents...
Lia Kohl and Whitney Johnson began improvising together in Chicago in 2018. What started with free exploration has coalesced in a set of sounds, approaches, and open compositions that take form on an upcoming record on Drag City, set to be released in November 2024.
Natalie Chami (TALsounds) is a Canadian-born Lebanese American musician and educator. Known for her work in drone, ambient, and improvisational music, she has cultivated a distinguished solo career over the past 15 years, crafting a distinctive blend of personal and transporting music.
Naoco Wowsugi is a community-engaged artist who blurs the lines between being an artist and an engaged citizen. As a first-generation immigrant living and working in Washington, DC, Wowsugi's cross-disciplinary projects explore the nature of belonging and inclusive community building. Naoco will present a solo gong performance.
Friday July 5 * 7 PM * $10-20 * TICKETS
Dog Scream are a noise/heavy electronics duo from rural Virginia, creating thrift store grand guignol spectacle at bracing volumes.
Earwig Deluxe is a glam-rock crooner mummified in pluff mud about 40 miles northeast of the Morgan Island rhesus monkey colony.
Glowhazel is the solo project of Arlington-based mountain dulcimer player Thiel Secrist, in an attempt to queer the boundaries between traditional music and experimental soundscapes.
Collapsing is the experimental noise project of Paul Keily. Collapsing started in 2014 as a sample and VST mangling side endeavor and coalesced into his main project by 2018.
Friday July 12 * 6pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Presented by Saltare in Elementis Dance Collective (SIEDC)
Elemental Arts Festival will begin at 6:00 pm with a film showcase, presenting short-films from local Maryland filmmakers and featuring SIEDC's latest film series Roots: Maryland's Nature to Nurture.
After the films, attendees can peruse and shop through a local vendor craft fair, socialize, and enjoy refreshments.
SIEDC is an arts company that uses dynamic movement, innovative filmmaking, and storytelling to motivate social change. With dance at the center, SIEDC uses art to facilitate powerful conversations.
Recent events:
2nd Saturday of the month * online at 1130am Eastern * REGISTER
Rhizome Puppet Lab is committed to the performance side of puppetry. It supports the development of works in progress. You can present work for feedback or direct others in the lab to improvise or puzzle out specific scenes. You may use the group to figure out how your show might work. Anyone may lead a lab about any aspect of performance.
Puppet Lab’s purpose is to be a hub for all those interested in puppet theater who would benefit from: boosting creative power; honing puppet-manipulation skills; cross-pollinating ideas; receiving feedback about works in progress; building puppet community. Types of labs have included shadows, Laban, suspense, metaphor, music, voice, Clown, character development, props, table top, humanette, hand puppets, and much more. Open to all levels of experience.