Exhibit runs June 1-22 * Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view

Opening reception: Sunday June 1 from 2-4pm

JOANNA AXTMANN
DIEGLO
TOM HILL
SONDRA ARKIN
DILIP SHETH
EUNBI HINA
FREDERICK NUNLEY
RUTH TREVARROW
MICHAEL CROSSETT
RITA ELSNER
JS ADAMS
TODD FRANSON
MEI MEI CHANG
JOHN PARADISO
JULIE PAEZ
MICHAEL MIGLIORI
KEITH STANLEY
LUCKY WEATHERS

Monday June 2 * 7pm * $15-20 * TICKETS

Bellighting (gbr/us) - This transatlantic collaboration between JS Adams (THAT CLOUD), Katie English (Isnaj Dui), and Mark Kluzek (The Doomed Bird of Providence) will provide incidental music sequences and a music video for QUEERING SOUND 25.

kelly king is an interdisciplinary artist and educator working in performance, film, and non-fiction. King has been instrumental in using dance as protest over arts funding cuts and censorship, firstly at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and most recently on The National Mall.

p cain, solo electronics

Eyerolls is the experimental and genre-defying project of Mx. Zoe!, an artist who pushes the boundaries of what is possible in music. Eyerolls creates music that spans various styles including ambient, drone, electronic, harsh noise, industrial, plunderphonics, and psychedelic sound.

Philadelphia-based drummer and percussionist Max Glazier aims to build a constantly expanding world of sounds, using a range of percussion instruments and found items to cycle through contrasting sonic palettes.

New to the DC music scene, Zach Dixon is a saxophonist, composer, improviser, and aspiring wizard. Drawing inspiration from musical storytellers like Sun Ra and Ryuichi Sakamoto, they create musical spaces that invite the mind to wander. Zach invites you to close your eyes and visualize the story hidden within the music.

the constructivist brothƎrhood - What is the euphemism for separating dust from mist? A ‘Broken Music’ euphonium duet from Mies van der Rohe as a small radioactive radish and opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli as a newly reanimated WPA Theatre Project marionette.

Tuesday June 3 * doors at 7, show at 7:30 * $20 / sliding scale * TICKETS

Griefcat and Sex Monster combine forces for an evening that can only be described as...Grief Sex. Faeries Fucking meets Fairy Boyfriend in the cross-over episode you didn't know you needed. Will there be a mash-up? You'll just have to come and find out for yourself.

Griefcat (aka, Louisa Hall & Annie Nardolilli) is a musical comedy duo known for their harmonies, hilarity, viral videos, and engaging live performances. They’ve garnered over 50M views on their social media content over the last year, and have been featured by NBC (America’s Got Talent), ABC (Good Morning Washington), NPR, the Washington Post, and more. Hailed as “local favorites” by Washington City Paper in their hometown of DC, they are often referred to as “Tenacious Double D’s” due to their musicality and hilarious lyrics, their sequin studded shows has even Questlove admitting he "feels seen."

Sex Monster is what happens when a theater artist (Jenna Murphy) and a jazz musician (Amy K Bormet) bond over the romantasy novels in their Kindle history while waiting for the Metro. Musical genres are blended and mythical characters are reinvented in the titillating cabaret audiences refer to as "rabidly feminine" and "Lilith Fair for perverts." If you've ever seduced a ghost, or would like to give it a try, this show is for you. This act contains mature content, and is not appropriate for children or pearl-clutchers.

Wednesday June 4 * 7pm * $15 * LOCATION: TAKOMA SPARK (7112 Willow Ave) * TICKETS

Ella Gallogly spent decades honing her guitar, drum, and vocal skills, eagerly dives into life's darker moments, turning them into searing light through soul-searching tunes.

All Her Muses, featuring Rachel B., Aura Grey, Kate Meuser, and Natalie E. Illum, is inspired by the unexpected breakups, the depression cycles, and a few bad decisions. Their debut album "Not Speaking in Metaphor" earned a Best Pop Album nomination at the 2023 Wammie Awards.

mysteryband - Lisa Moscatiello, Anita Burkam, and Bev Stanton are award-winning singer-songwriters and musicians from the Washington, DC area. Their new band is a culmination of their shared love of music. Lisa Moscatiello, who plays guitar as well as sings for the mysteryband, has been hailed as "one of the best voices in the business" by Philadelphia's legendary folk DJ Gene Shay (WXPN).

Thursday June 5 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS

Liz Downing: Shadow Mother is psychotherapy by way of Toy Theater with voice, banjo, and puppetry. The setting is the dark, infinite land of the Id. One puppet is "Self" who speaks and the other is “Shadow Mother,” who sings. 

Alicia Puglionesi and Carrie Fucile: Circles In Absolute Night is the story of descending into a cave with spoken word, live sound, and projected video. Why do we put faith in false promises and what is it like to be a rock? We will shed light on these questions.

Erik Ruin: All That Is Solid is an audio-visual environment that layers/juxtaposes quietly transcendentalist video observations of everyday life alongside hand-drawn animations and cut paper projections. A series of reckonings with the state of the state, the self, society, the environment, the interpenetration and complicity of them/us all. Live musical accompaniment by Jamal Moore, Nate Scheible, & Jeff Barsky.

Friday June 6 * doors at 6:30pm * $15 * TICKETS

Pet Mosquito (IL)

https://petmosquito.bandcamp.com/

Jordan & the Switchblades (MD)

https://jrdnandtheswitchblades.bandcamp.com/

Powerband (DC)

https://powerband.bandcamp.com/album/2020-demos

Chill Parents (DC)

https://chillparents.bandcamp.com/track/the-raid

Saturday June 7 * 12-2pm * Free / donations * RSVP

DC Youthquake!
Distributing issue #1...

Looking for likeminded women, artists, activists.
Open meeting/call to action
Come meet friends…

Talk Music!
Talk Art!
Talk Change!

Calling all femme + queer people in DC And surrounding areas

Help us make our scene ours

BRING A FRIEND!
BRING A FRIEND'S FRIEND!!

Want to get involved?

Saturday June 7 * 7pm * $15-20 * TICKETS

BUSHMEAT SOUND - Thomas Stanley (a/k/a Bushmeat Sound) is an artist, author, and activist deeply committed to audio culture in the service of personal growth and noetic (r)evolution. In the musical practice of Black improvisation, Stanley has found ways of engaging historical epochs that we have yet to fully enter.

RAVEN BAUER DURHAM + JAMES LAWRENCE WOLF - Raven Bauer Durham is an experimental guitar-based performer from Virginia, incorporating electric and acoustic ambient textures, voice, and song layers. James Wolf is a DC-area composer and musician. He plays violin, guitar, and keyboards, using elements of noise, ambient, modern classical, song, and improvisation.

JA$$IE - Jassie Rios is interested in energy and applying scientific methods in a sound art practice. Their work is a process of questioning the relationship between nature, language and technology via interdisciplinary and conceptual drawing strategies.

THAT CLOUD - The members of DC-based noise/damaged art ensemble THAT CLOUD along with sympathetic co-conspirators present EUREKA! THE PURSUIT OF REPOSSESSION, an ominous reconstruction of “Warehouse” by The Work, 1992. “So many worthless things in the warehouse…Especially in these desperate times.”

KELSEY WILSON is a drummer and composer living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. As a composer, Kelsey primarily employs tape loops of both performed musical motifs and intentional field recordings of outside environments both near and far.

JOE BELKNAP WALL makes strange landscapes out of found sound. He refined his technique over the years, branching out into modular synthesis and modern digital sampling, always working on a balance between telling stories with words and building pictures out of pure sound.

every other Sunday * 10am-noon * Free / donations * REGISTER

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 June 8 * 12:30-5pm * $15 * TICKETS

Goodz 4 Gaza is a Mutual Aid fundraiser for families in Palestine. We are a community of folks from different backgrounds coming together to support our brothers and sisters in need! We are excited to have you join us for a beautiful day together rooted in the power of solidarity! Enjoy great music, arts, games and much more! 

Goodz 4 Gaza Starts at 12:30pm-5pm

FIFA Tournament starts at 1:00pm

Sunday June 8 * 7pm * $15-20 * TICKETS

Novparolo create cinematic scores for films which haven’t even been made yet, but which just through their sonic grace conjure a thousand images. Images of wind-swept vistas, dream-like worlds, nighttime city streets, ancient landscapes and far-flung regions of space. Winston Psmith on guitar and Bev Stanton on keyboard and groovebox.

Depression Cherry - Loops. Lots of them. Adding a new layer each time the Loop comes around. Making it soft and pillowy. This is the soundtrack to the Queer resistance when it needs a nap.

PraxisCat is the experimental electronic solo project from Christine Paluch. Christine is a DC-based composer using synthesizers, code, and other musical instruments to explore the relationship between synesthesia and urban spaces.

Outboard is a guitar drone duo of Christopher Mathews-Larson (Grave Nature, Youth in Government THAT CLOUD) and Greg Mercer who play a blend of ambient, space rock, shoegaze, and noise. The fewer the chords, the better.

Baltimore rock and roll supergroup 50’♀ & the Worms stars Rahne Alexander (Santa Librada, The Degenerettes) and Yuri Zietz (Bali Lamas, Candy Smokes, Monster Museum) making fun, furious music for a fucked-up time.

Monday June 9 7pm $5 suggested * TICKETS

MOMO MULLINGS (she/they) is a Georgia-raised, Baltimore-based Afro-Caribbean writer, artist, archivist, and Capricorn. They’ve done some things and been published some places. They hope to publish a chapbook soon, so if you like their poems, you should help them do that. Currently, they're in a fist fight with AI and the Baltimore gas and electric company.

Sara Mae Henke (they/them) is a genderqueer writer raised on the Chesapeake Bay. Their work appears in or is forthcoming from the Georgia Review, POETRY, The Offing, and elsewhere. Their first chapbook, Priestess of Tankinis, is out via Game Over Books. Their second chapbook, Phantasmagossip, won the Vinyl45 chapbook competition and is forthcoming from YesYes Books in 2025.

Zofia Provizer (they/he) is a trans writer residing in Boston, MA. Their work appears in Discount Guillotine, Stone of Madness Press, Peach Mag, A Velvet Giant, elsewhere. They have a forthcoming publication in Gnashing Teeth Press’ 2025 anthology, “__figuration: an anthology of trans writers”. Zofia is a collaborator with the T4T Reading Series, writes from the gut, yearns for a good swim, and basks in desire.

performing sound art under name S&M, this duo reflects the body as an instrument to sound and nature. movement and melody fields across poetic landscape, to anchor fantasy, prayer, and dreams of a new world.

Tuesday June 10 * doors at 6:30, show at 7 * $15-25 * TICKETS

Deady - Deady is a 5 piece punk band from Louisville, KY. Album out this June.

Material Objects - With a foundation of textured and rounded rhythm, dense and propulsive bass and atmospheric guitars, Material Objects exist in that sweet spot of indie rock, psychedelic and post-punk with a rich melodic edge.

Ducts

Spring Silver - Spring Silver is a loud music project based out of Maryland.

Flyer by Terence Hannum

Wednesday June 11 * 7:30pm * $12-25 * TICKETS

Valentina booking presents:

fka LAFFYYY out of Berlin, blends multi-genre soundscapes with interactive performance art, mixing video games, punk, techno and cloud rap.   

Franxx (DC based) interprets their universe through a variety of media. As a Latinx Pop musician they are heavily influenced by the soundscape of the late 90’s/00’s and a desire to create community surrounding the revolution of higher consciousness, their music is crafted on the wide architecture of experimental electronic sound - lyrically gliding on the boundary of the gender binary, awareness and subconscious, delivered with a punch of authenticity and passion, Franxx creates safe spaces where all people can be free.

Spiral Jetty is the electronic/experimental Baltimore based duo of Hayden and Lexie.

Thursday June 12 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS

Skullcap’s cellist Janel Leppin, guitarist Anthony Pirog and percussionist Mike Kuhl promise a joyful and emotional escape just when we need it most!

Snakes of Albuquerque is the debut recording from the rock and jazz, free improvising, classically informed, adventurously rhythmic, and memorably tuneful power cello trio Skullcap. Just as the bands' namesake is defined by indigenous medicine, Skullcap is an herb used to ease depression and anxiety. A kind of road movie soundtrack, it twists through wild emotions, and as the album artwork shows, the music navigates wildly different terrain from Tennessee to Monterey.

"We have something to fight for. We can’t abandon this place or the people living here for all of its conflicts and challenges.” Leppin says as she reflects on the music being a voyage across the troubled United States. "This record is a way to step into our power as we meet this serious moment full on. We’ll need to access joy and courage moving forward and the music speaks to that."

Kiyan and Teymour Saifi - Kiyan Saifi is an experimental guitarist who currently performs with DC-based bands: Red Sunflower, Opposite Tiger, Fateful Encounter, and Sense Memory. Teymour Saifi is a DC based bassist who currently performs with Red Sunflower, Opposite Tiger, Fateful Encounter, and Sense Memory.

Friday June 13 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS

Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, bass & Ben Dumbauld, percussion
Jair-Rohm Parker Wells is an American electric bassist, sound sculptor, and experimental music artist. He is a pioneering figure in the world of free jazz and improvised music, with a career spanning over four decades. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Lockwood, Feldman, Braxton, Wilson, and Cage, Jair-Rohm is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of musical expression. Ben Dumbauld is a percussionist and composer based out of Pittsburgh who runs the experimental music label Ephem-Aural.

In this musical context, Fanoplane is an improvisational project focused on projecting the infinite gifts of the Muse. Fanoplane’s performances are unscored, unrehearsed and improvised extemporaneously on the spot.

‘an observance of absence’ by Jason Pappariella is a documentary that blends interior and exterior spaces left vacant and dilapidated by the abandonment of Central & Eastern Pennsylvania's anthracite coal region, with similarly neglected interior and exterior sites in postindustrial Central & Eastern Europe. The score, composed by Adam Parks (Lightning White Bison), is comprised of manipulated field recordings from both regions of the world, layered with ambient organ & synth instrumentals.

Saturday June 14 * 1-9pm * outdoors, weather permitting * $50 / sliding scale * TICKETS

Tyondai Braxton & Ben Vida: Tyondai Braxton is an American composer and electronic musician who incorporates electronic and modern orchestral elements into his music, which ranges in scale from solo pieces to large-scale symphonic works. Ben Vida is an artist and composer. Recent solo exhibitions include \[Smile on.\]… \[Pause.\]… \[Smile off.\] at Lisa Cooley Gallery, New York, and Slipping Control (West) at 356 S. Mission Road, Los Angeles.

Wendy Eisenberg is an improviser and songwriter who uses guitar, pedals, the tenor banjo, the computer, the synthesizer and the voice. Their work spans genres, from jazz to noise to avant-rock to delicate songs.

Josh Dibb aka Deakin is an artist, producer & composer most notably a member of the band Animal Collective. He has released multiple studio & live albums, and as a film composer he has composed music for the films Crestone, The Inspection, Jetty & Obex.

Lucy Liyou synthesizes field recordings, text-to-speech readings, poetry, and elements from Korean folk opera into sonic narratives that explore the implications of Orientalism and Westernization.

The Caribbean (festival founders and co-hosts) is an American experimental project from Washington, D.C., composed of Michael Kentoff, Matthew Byars, and Dave Jones. Described as “minimalist/drone/Phillip Jeck-by-way-of-Carole King,” the band has been critically acclaimed for its deconstructionist approach to pop music, and its wry, literary lyrics.

Emily Robb is a Philadelphia based musician who has been part of the rock underground and experimental scenes for over a decade. She recently released her debut solo album, How To Moonwalk, created almost exclusively on guitar.

Jon Camp is a well-known-and-loved fingerstyle guitarist and composer from the Washington, DC region. He blends twang, drone, and melody into a cohesive whole that is exploratory without forsaking the hook.

Sunday June 15 * 3-5pm * RSVP

Death Cafes are opportunities for people to enjoy refreshments together and discuss the topic of death. The objective is to “increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” There are Death Cafes all over the country. What's on your mind about death and dying? Contact Death Cafe Facilitators Margaret Branch at margaret603@gmail.com or Monica Lynch at mlynch19@comcast.net.. Death Cafes are NOT therapy, grief support, or counseling sessions. Cost: Free (small donation for the space encouraged)

Sunday June 15 * 7pm * $10-25 * TICKETS

Founded in March 2023, microplastique is an innovative quartet based in Chicago, featuring multi-instrumentalists Ben Zucker, Molly Jones, Josh Harlow, and Adam Shead. Under the direction of bandleader Adam Shead, the ensemble blends diverse skills and experiences to create a dynamic and eclectic sound, drawing on a wide range of influences from the Art Ensemble of Chicago to Misha Mengelberg to Pauline Oliveros. On December 6, 2024, they released their highly anticipated debut album, Blare Blow Bloom!, which was featured on the front page of Bandcamp as a "New and Notable" release and earned a 4-star review from Lawrence Preyer of All About Jazz. With their energetic performances and bold musical approach, microplastique has quickly gained national recognition, establishing themselves as one of the most exciting and innovative groups on the contemporary music scene.

Dr. Kimia Hesabi is a D.C.-based violist, educator, composer, and the Co-Director of Learning and Engagement at the National Philharmonic. A versatile and multi-faceted artist and creator, Hesabi’s work and self-initiated projects are centered around artistic, educational, and social impact. Passionate about the music and culture of her home country, Iran, Kimia has recorded and published her debut album entitled Nemāno Gaona, featuring commissioned works for viola by composers of the Iranian Diaspora.

Monday June 16 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $20-25 * TICKETS

Transparent Productions presents: Tomeka Reid, cello; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Jason Roebke, bass; Tomas Fujiwara, drums

"...The quartet is essentially an updated string band. It’s a configuration that oozes a kind of sepia old-time charm, harking back to the early days of jazz when string bands were at their most popular. At the same time, many of Reid’s compositions have a puckish 20th century bop sensibility. “Sadie” is a sweetly swinging ditty with walking bass and sighing brushes, while “Wabash Blues” leads with a tartly melodic head that could easily be the score for a swing-era silent movie showing Model Ts trundling down the streets of black and white Chicago…. Reid reveals herself as a soloist of fierce imagination, moving from fingertip bends and scuttling pings in the freeform opening of “Aug 6” to crazed, soaring arco stridulations in “Ballad”. On “Peripatetic” the quartet even come across like King Crimson circa Larks’ Tongues In Aspic, with sombre, lumbering charts giving way to a frenzied freakout and Halvorson’s guitar crunching through overdriven ecstasies. It’s an album that is convincingly both ‘in’ and ‘out’ at the same time, straightfaced yet self undermining, serious yet playful – and always heaps of fun." – Daniel Spicer / The Wire

Tuesday June 17 * 7pm * $30-35 TICKETS

Transparent Productions presents The El’Zabar : Murray : Duo with Kahil El’Zabar (percussion) and David Murray (tenor sax and bass clarinet).

This startling, legendary duo returns yet again to Rhizome 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. Dr. El’Zabar, holds a PHD from Lake Forest College in Interdisciplinary Arts. He taught music and interdisciplinary arts at the U. Nebraska/Lincoln, and U. IL/Chicago. He was Appointed by Pres. Bill Clinton to the National Task Force for Arts representing Education. He won the International Ambassador Award from Pres. Barack Obama’s Administration. 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. Dr. Murray was awarded a PhD in the Arts from Claremont College, and is also a Guggenheim Fellow and a Fulbright Scholar. Mr. Murray has won 2 Grammys and is the recipient of the prestigious Jazz Par Award from the country of Denmark.

Wednesday June 18 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $12-15 * TICKETS

Null/Void Presents…

Edging tend a joyful garden of chaos amid the decaying concrete of Chicago. Self-described "landscaper punks", their music is a ravenous jungle of saxophone blasts, punked-up disco drums, and alley-cat howls, calling fans to a party paradise with the allure of a bizarro Eden. 

Bushfire - anti-everything-but-love rock & roll from San Francisco

Sad Roach - dc's infamous rocking duo and finest purveyors of goofy goobercore

Courage Mother - dc adjacent cheat codes for yr heart

Friday June 20 * 7:30pm * $15 * TICKETS

THE ARMORS (DC ROCK N ROLL)

DESERT SHARKS (NYC GLOOM PUNK)

JAMES BONDAGE (BALTIMORE JAZZTRONAUTS)

Saturday June 21 * 11am * $15-35 * REGISTER

Join us for an afternoon of kinky model drawing, guided by painter and art teacher: Dom. We’ll have models & expert artistic guidance. Meet your fellow Washington DC creatives. After a set amount of time we’ll open up the floor for people to make use of the space and create whatever images they wish. This workshop aims to celebrate body positivity and diversity while fostering a supportive, judgment-free environment for creative exploration.

Community expectations:
-absolutely no photography, phones should be tucked away during drawing

-the live model(s) have consented to being drawn, however, they must not be touched, photographed or talked about inappropriately in any way that could be interpreted as disrespectful

-keep conversations to a minimum, no judgment or shaming, this is a safe space for self expression

-avoid physical contact with other attendees

-if you witness someone breaking the rules all we ask is that you feel comfortable enough to go to the facilitator and explain the situation

-we reserve the right to remove anyone from the space

-no refunds

Sunday June 22 * 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 June 22 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS

In their debut album, Lily Finnegan (drums) and gabby fluke-mogul (violin and vocals) give their respects to the queer punk rock & avant jazz musicians of the expansive continuum past, present, future. A prayer, a scream, a steadfast commitment - Finnegan and fluke-mogul weave improvised song, solo, and laughter in this music, recorded in the depths of July 2023 in Chicago.

Lily Glick Finnegan is a Chicago born and based drummer, composer, improviser and organizer. She currently plays in her own self led quartet along with Ken Vandermark’s Edition Redux and punk band Cucuy. This is her second year curating the Experimental Sound Studio Option Series and Catalytic Sound Festival.

gabby fluke-mogul is a New York-based violinist, improviser, composer, educator, organizer and doula. Weaving within the threads of avant and free jazz, with deep roots in improvised and experimental music, their music has been described as “embodied, visceral and virtuosic” and “the most striking sound in improvised music in years”. 

Ollie Becker is a guitarist/vocalist/composer/improvisor based out of Boston. Current projects include: solo guitar, noise rock band Rong, experimental grind band Obsolescence Technician, ensemble Premium Velvet Headache Pillow, and composition for chamber groups. Their solo guitar combines their self-taught background with more recent studies in composition, with influences ranging from “American primitive” guitar to experimental metal, free improvisation, impressionism, and brutalism. Approaching solo guitar like a piano reduction of a larger score, each piece regularly shifts in meter, tempo, harmony, and texture – a review of their acoustic trio album minis said that it “hits like freak-lounge jazz, acoustic metal and hardcore riffing off art pop ... each influence in style and tone holds its place within each song” (Post-Trash, 2021).

4CASSETTES:1DRUM is a surround sound performance piece written and performed by experimental musician Will Hicks. This piece is written for 4 tape players and one floor tom. It takes you on a confusing journey from experimental electronics to a wall of noise to a heartfelt string arrangement that appears to circle the audience while Hicks plays a repetitive pattern on the drum positioned in the center of the room. A classically trained musician and accomplished experimental percussionist, Will Hicks continues to push boundaries through experimental and noise-driven performance. 

Monday June 23 * 7pm * $10-30 * TICKETS

The music of Høly River carries the message of humanity’s need for reconnection with the earth. Mystically political and wholeheartedly grassroots this DIY band finds themselves playing on large festival stages as well as backyard fire pits of intentional communities around the world.

Høly River is a musical duo known for their ethereal pop soundscapes, transcendent melodies, and environmental activism. Rooted in themes of nature, spirituality, and human connection, their music weaves together elements of indie folk, world, and ambient genres. The duo's performances create an immersive experience that transcends the boundaries of a traditional concert, offering audiences moments of reflection, introspection and inspiration.

In addition to their music, Laney and Jameson are passionate advocates for environmental stewardship and community building. They are the founders of Fonticello Food Forest, a thriving urban food forest in Richmond, VA dedicated to nature connection, education and community access to fresh and rescued food.

Valeska Populoh is an artist and performer, educator and cultural organizer living in Baltimore, on the un-ceded land of the Piscataway Conoy and other Chesapeake First Families. Embracing a wide array of tactics, from puppetry to participatory performance, Valeska's work is motivated by an interest in healing and repair, in our relationships to each other and to the natural world. Using the magic lantern of decommissioned overhead projectors, Valeska and fellow puppeteer Peter Redgrave conjure a landscape of transforming shadows in "Groundswell Spell/Who Are We but If Not of Each Other," an incantation to our hoofed and antlered selves.

Talk to Your Neighbor is a band from the DMV playing experimental, genre-bending music that combines rock, pop, folk, electronics, futuristic production, and an array of complex textures. Reviewers have described the band's single 'Knock' as “haunting folk minimalism” with “jazz-touched rhythmic intensity” and the track "Pyro" as having “rich moody textures and sublime keys underpinned by alluring melodic runs.” The song "Half Moon" explores textures as diverse as spaghetti western and hyperpop, which listeners say  “manage[s] to fuse elements of trip-hop, classical, folk and about a million other styles into a haunting curveball.” The band consists of Ana Ruess (lead vocals) and Lukas Keel (guitar, bass guitar, production) both of the duo Help Yourself to the Citrus; Jeremy Padow (guitar) and Andrew Carlson (percussion), both formerly of the band Dope Francis; and Kevin Huang (keys) who collaborates with Be Steadwell and other DC-based artists.

Tuesday June 24 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $15-25 * TICKETS

Secret Planet presents...

The 12 piece Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp has scoured the stages of Europe to demonstrate that the formula "the more the merrier" has never been more true than on stage. Whether in prestigious festivals (Paléo Festival de Nyon, Fusion Festival, Incubate, Womad, Bad Bonn Kilbi, Jazz à la Vilette) or on the four albums released since its launch, the group shows an incredible fluidity. The Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp (a mischievous title in homage to traditional African groups -- Orchestre Tout Puissant Konono n°1, Orchestre Tout Puissant Polyrytmo etc... -- and to one of the greatest dynamizers of 20th century art) embraces the forms of its musicians while pushing them to their limits. The result is a powerful, experimental, unstable and terribly alive, organic sound. Mixing free jazz, post punk, high life, brass band, symphonic mixtures and kraut rock, their sound only goes beyond the limits of genre. Transcendental, almost ritualistic, the music is coupled with powerful lyrics, declaimed in rage against a world that is falling apart.

Throwaway is acclaimed guitarist Kirsten Carey's post-punk band that acrobatically leaps around virtuosic riffs and unexpected rhythms. Throwaway’s electric energy is “absolutely brilliant” (Soundsphere), with “aerodynamic rock-grit flavors of the likes of Primus or Deerhoof” (eCurrent). In 2019, Throwaway released their debut album, WHAT?, to widespread acclaim, snagging spots on international year-end lists from the likes of Ghettoblaster Magazine, Tinnitist, and Organ Thing. Their follow-up EP, Hand That Takes, was released in 2022 by FPE Records, which It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine celebrated as "a pissed-off, burnt-out, and checked-out soundtrack to the Great Resignation."

Wednesday June 25 * 7:30pm * Free / donations * RSVP

THE SWORD AND THE NECK: A poetry night for Palestine

In memory of Ghassan Kanfani

Thursday June 26 * 7pm * $20-25 * TICKETS

Transparent Presents Gian Pérez (solo guitar) plus Fateful Encounter (Antonyraj/Saifi/Saifi)

Gían Pérez is a multi-disciplinary artist, improviser, and composer from Puerto Rico, based in Brooklyn, NY, whose work focuses on the elucidation, fermentation, and subversion of form. Recently, Pérez has worked with artists like Brandon Lopez, gabby fluke-mogul, Elliott Sharp, Brandon Seabrook, Marc Edwards, among others. He’s performed at venues like The Stone, Downtown Music Gallery, and Joe’s Pub. By extending the guitar to its extremes as a physical material, Pérez denatures the electric guitar beyond its ascribed historical identity, envisioning a language that was never conquered and had been left to govern itself. His debut solo guitar record, bambú, was released on zOaR Records. Ñ, his most recent solo record, is available everywhere now.

Fateful Encounter is a DC based free improvisation trio that centers collective liberation. The trio features saxophonist Lavender Antonyraj, bassist Teymour Saifi, and guitarist Kiyan Saifi. Kiyan Saifi is an experimental guitarist who currently performs with DC-based bands: Red Sunflower, Opposite Tiger, Fateful Encounter, and Sense Memory. Teymour Saifi is a DC based bassist who currently performs with Red Sunflower, Opposite Tiger, Fateful Encounter, and Sense Memory. Lavender Antonyraj is an experimental musician operating in DC. Her practice is grounded in green spaces with natural sounds to uncover methods outside of traditional practice. She brings these methods into improvised performance to genuinely connect and express to fellow musicians and audiences. Her practice has been aligned with grassroots spaces featuring trans and Queer musicians throughout the city.

Friday June 27 * doors at 6:30, music at 7:30 * $15 * TICKETS

B.A.D.G.E (NYC)

https://badgenyc.bandcamp.com/album/whats-not-to-love

Grudge (Baltimore)

https://grudge.bandcamp.com/

Saafewaay (DC)

https://saafewaay.bandcamp.com/album/thank-u-4-shopping

Glycine (DC)

https://glycine.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2025

Saturday June 28 * doors at 7, show at 7:30 * $10-20 * TICKETS

Jacky Cougar & The Vampires from Africa is the electro punk project from Jack Abok ( Foul Swoops, Des Demonas, Sex Faces). Melding his love of the delta blues, hip hop, post punk and Krautrock. 

That This - former members of PRIESTS & EX HEX

Club USA

Sunday June 29 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS

Shane Parish is a guitarist, composer, improviser and interpreter. He is the leader of the avant-rock band Ahleuchatistas, a member of the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet, and a renowned acoustic soloist. Parish’s 2024 album, “REPERTOIRE” (Palilalia Records), is a collection of solo acoustic fingerstyle arrangements of works by musical giants like Alice Coltrane, John Cage, Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, and more. Parish first gained widespread attention as a solo guitarist upon the release of his 2016 album, Undertaker Please Drive Slow, on Tzadik Records. 

Regan Bowering’s solo work explores the rhythmic and percussive potential at the intersections of improvisation, sound art and experimental composition. Her performance practice incorporates various combinations of drums, objects, amplification, microphones and feedback. She released her debut album in on Bezirk tapes in 2023, Solos for _ _ _ _ Spaces, which was described as “a play of contrasts, contradicting voluminous expressions with confined phrases, taming resounding feedback with faint percussive flutters, but one that feels driven by the desire to craft electrifying drama rather than pure autotelic dissonance.” (The Quietus). She is one third of a collaborative project with Li Song and Conal Blake, with two releases: “2 Movements” (Feedback Moves, 2024) and "Music for Snare Drums and Portable Speakers" (Infant Tree, 2023). Regan is currently a visiting scholar at Columbia University in NYC, as part of her ongoing practice-based PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Heather Stebbins is a DC-based composer and multi-instrumentalist whose work explores porous boundary between memory and emotion. She foregrounds cello, synthesizer, and an array of other electronics, creating music that is imbued with patience, unfolding slowly over the course of multi-movement suites. Her most recent album, On Separation, was released by Outside Time in May.

Monday June 30 * 7pm * Free * RSVP

WWPH Literary Salon: PRIDE edition hosted by Washington Writers' Publishing House co-editors Jona Colson and Caroline Bock and featuring award-winning poet and scholar Dr. Tonee Mae Moll (You Cannot Save Here, WWPH), Kim Roberts, and more!

Free creative writing mini-workshops, reading, open mic discussion, snacks & treats reception & more! Free. All invited. Space limited.

Tuesday July 1 * $15-25 * 7pm * TICKETS

Folk Music

Nate Wooley – trumpet/amplifier

Chris Corsano – percussion/half-clarinet/electronics

Ches Smith – percussion/sampler/electronics

After a decade of conceptually-minded bands such as Mutual Aid Music and knknighgh, trumpeter Nate Wooley put together the trio Folk Music to reconnect with pure improvisation. Asking two of his favorite collaborators, the percussionists Chris Corsano and Ches Smith, to join him with the only rules being flexibility and spontaneity. The result has become an improvising trio capable of whispering sensitivity and huge monoliths of sound. 

Nate Wooley (b.1974) was born in Clatskanie, Oregon and began playing trumpet professionally with his father, a big band saxophonist, at the age of thirteen. Considered one of the leading lights of the American movement to redefine the physical boundaries of the horn, Wooley has been gathering international acclaim for his idiosyncratic trumpet language.

Chris Corsano (b. 1975, USA) is a New York-based drummer who has been active at the intersections of collective improvisation, free jazz, avant-rock, and experimental music since the late 1990's.

Originally from Sacramento, California, Ches Smith is a drummer, percussionist, and composer based in New York.

Weed Tree - Amanda Huron and Layne Garrett have been improvising together for 15 years and counting on drums, prepared guitar, and etc.

Monday July 7 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $12-25 * TICKETS

Anastasia Coope is also a painter when she’s not singing, playing, and communing with the disembodied, and that is pertinent to her style of recording, where voices are spread across the canvas unevenly, often with little regard for the mess that creates. Coope doesn’t appear to be overly concerned about cleaning things up, and that all adds to the ramshackle charm… while [Darning Woman] sounds like an old-world afternoon tea dance, you suspect some snifters may have been imbibed and that the night is still young and stretching out before us. – The Quietus

Also known for being a lead contributor to the band Chanel Beads as a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist - Maya McGrory’s solo-artist project under “Colle” was initially an experiment in electronic music production, and became her defining sonic identity with the self-release of her first EP “For Now” in 2021 -- the heartfelt work of Colle soundtracks emotional landscapes with expansive glacial synths, strings and driving beats, all enriched by her sincere and alluring vocal expression.

Thursday July 10 * 7pm * Free / donations * RSVP

Please join us for a special performance to celebrate the release of Fargo Tbakhi's TERROR COUNTER. This hourlong performance will be supported by Francesco Leandri, and books will be available for sale after the performance courtesy of People's Book.

TERROR COUNTER is a debut collection of poems which acts against the many languages—interpersonal, legal, literary, rhetorical—constricting the lives and meanings of Palestinians. It moves through sections of varying experimentalism, from an invented visual form (the Gazan Tunnel) to all-caps queer ecstatic, attempting to carve out a space for the negotiation of an alternative subjecthood. The voices in this collection are driven by despair, futility, utopia, vulnerability and the spirit of a collective liberation; they move in search of a lyrical voice which can inhabit both the paranoid preservationist mode that facilitates Palestinian survival, and the imaginative possibilities that might make possible Palestinian life. TERROR COUNTER asks: where and how might a Palestinian subject escape the public consumption of American letters? And, ultimately, how can we continue to love each other amidst the endless terror of the colonial world?

Sunday July 13 * 11am * MASKS REQUIRED * $35-45 * 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.

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.

Scholarships are available - please reach out via email to info@rhizomedc.org

Monday July 14 * 6-10pm * $10-20 * RSVP

Come celebrate the release of Mt Plantry Zine Volume 1 at Mt Plantry-fest on Monday, July 14! This science-fair style event will feature multiple interactive stations where you can learn how to:

-Make pinhole cameras and take photographs using them

-Develop film and prints using coffee and wine

-Develop motion picture film with sustainable developer made using local invasive plants

-Create chemograms (photographic prints without a camera)

All methods are featured in Mt Plantry Zine Volume 1, available for purchase at the festival. Art from the zine and from collective members will also be on display.

No experience in photography or film development is necessary!

Festivities start at 6pm and run until 10pm. Come for a bit or come for the whole night! We’ll end the night with a movie screening of Super 8 film processed in plants at the event! It will be an homage to the original Rhizome event where this collective first formed.

Entry is $10-20 sliding scale, with any proceeds over $10 going to DC Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid.

Sunday July 20 * 7pm * $10-$15 * TICKETS

Light Beams is a dance-punk band from Washington, D.C.
https://lightbeams.bandcamp.com

Time Room is a a Rock and Roll Music Group from Minneapolis
https://timeroom.bandcamp.com

Oddbodi is a DIY punk rock trio based in DC, known for their raw energy and introspective lyricism. Their 2024 EP, “ordinary / people” captures the bands gritty sound through four tracks that blend garage rock with post-punk influences. The lineup features thadMc on vocals and guitar, Ben Schultz on bass, and Antonio Peluso on drums and percussion.
https://oddbodimoe.bandcamp.com

Thursday, July 24 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS

Potosí (NoVA screamo bilingüe)

https://potosiherndon.bandcamp.com/album/fujimori-is-dead

Sunshower (screamo from winston-salem, NC)

Muhnday (DC post-hardcore)

https://muhnday.bandcamp.com/track/gone-again

Cuni (DC emotional music)

https://cuni.bandcamp.com/album/prescribed-burn

Friday July 25 * 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS

CHEER-ACCIDENT

Hailing from the singularly vibrant musical hotbed known as Chicago, CHEER-ACCIDENT has been a creative, vital force in rock music for over 30 years. They constantly strive to surprise their audiences and themselves through relentless reinvention. From dreamy pop to angular art-rock, CHEER-ACCIDENT strikes a powerful balance between personalized and unique studio wizardry and the visceral excitement of a well-honed, explosive live rock band.

https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vacate-2

Sunday July 27 * 4:30pm * $20-25 * TICKETS

Transparent Productions presents Jen Chapin (vocals, guitar), Stephan Crump (bass), and Jamie Fox (guitar).

Jen Chapin, accompanied by GRAMMY© nominated bassist Stephan Crump and “impeccable melodist” (New York Times) Jamie Fox on electric guitar, will debut a new cabaret-style performance of her urban folk songs entitled Anything Goes, and How Did We Get Here? The two-set show weaves historically-informed, jazz-inspired questions and answers about our current and rapidly-changing political moment around old and new selections from Jen’s critically-acclaimed urban folk catalog.

"With songs delivered in a style that ranges from tender fragility to unexpected steeliness, Chapin brings a jazzy edge to the folk form. Sometimes she explores a fleeting emotion, sometimes she weaves a solid narrative—not at all surprising from the daughter of Harry Chapin, a master musical storyteller.” - The New Yorker

Jen Chapin has been celebrated for writing “brilliant soulfully poetic urban folk music” (NPR) for three decades. Nurtured in and around NYC by a large family of artists, writers, and musicians, Jen's “observant, lyrically deft, politically aware and emotionally intuitive” (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) songwriting features both her "extraordinary voice” (De krenten uit de pop, The Netherlands) and “astonishing jazz band” (popmatters). As much as an artistic legacy, the roots of Jen's upbringing have inspired her "potent, jazzy, layered folk" (Newsday) songs and a lifetime of passionate activism, through ongoing work with WhyHunger (founded by her late father Harry Chapin), and teaching high school global history in Brooklyn. Since 2023, she has led the J. Chapes Jazz Band, playing spontaneous traditional arrangements from the classic American songbook.

Saturday August 23 * doors at 1, show at 1:30 * $10-15 * TICKETS

Gooma Productions 1 Year Anniversary

Metalcore Blast Matinee Cookout

Out to Destroy (DC)

Balisong (DC)

Denouement (MD)

HardTruth (New DC Metalcore!)

Thursday August 28 * 7pm * $25-30 * TICKETS

Transparent Productions and the DC Jazz Festival presents Marty Ehrlich Trio Exaltation with Marty Ehrlich (reeds), John Hebert (bass), and Nasheet Waits (drums).

My new recording by Trio Exaltation extends my decade long meetings with bassist John Hebert and drummer Nasheet Waits into a new chapter. The trio context is a place where much has started in my music, and a place to which I return. My first recording, The Welcome (1984) was with bassist Anthony Cox and drummer Pheeroan akLaff. In 1978 I recorded Relativity with Michael Formanek and Peter Erskine, and C/D/E in 2000 with Mark Dresser and Andrew Cyrille, both collective ensembles. John, Nasheet, and I first played together in the Andrew Hill Sextet for a good number of years. John’s hornlike conception on the bass, and Nasheet’s open- ended drum choir rhythms inspired me nightly, within the nexus of Andrew’s compositions. A few years later, I wanted to return to the immediacy of the trio and thought right away of John and Nasheet. Our first recording Trio Exaltation came out in 2018. THIS TIME (2025) on Sunny Side Records is the next stop in this search.

Monday September 8 * doors at 7pm * $20 * TICKETS

A collective turned trio, Tara Clerkin craft free-flowing psychedelia with heavy dub drums amidst woozy washes of harpsichord and synths. Influenced by the natural landscape and their West Country hometown, their 2023 EP On the Turning Ground is a mesmerising sophomore release. Their sound lies somewhere between the avant-jazz of Moondog, the sun-tinged psych-folk of These Trails, and something else entirely. Tara Clerkin Trio embody an extraordinary otherness that should be witnessed by all.

“Drifting from dubby minimalism to smudged acid jazz, Tara’s stark and tuneful voice acts as the vehicle for her concise poetic lyricism. The group coalesce disparate influences into a cohesive sound, reflecting a romantic view of a familiar world.” - The Wire

The Caribbean - "They're taking Brill Building songs and writing them in invisible ink, turning jazz standards into Twilight Zone episodes, turning folk songs into clouds of fog." - PopMatters