The QUEERING SOUND visual art exhibit runs 01-28 June and is open during all events or email info@rhizomedc.org to schedule your visit.

Opening Reception Saturday June 6, 2-4pm
Join QUEERING SOUND 2026 visual artists, volunters, and curators for the opening reception of IDENTITY!
(Beverages + vegan/vegetarian lite fare offered.)
+ Special mobile audio disruption from THE CONSTRUCTIVIST BROTHERHOOD - The continued electro-acoustic antics of Hugo Ball + Emmanuel Radnitzky dressed as a pantomime horse, alongside Carl Jung looking rather dapper in a sporty pork pie hat but now minus Mies van der Rohe disguised as a small radioactive radish.

EUNBI HINA / AVA BAGLEY / MEI MEI CHANG / PAINT BRAINS + 27UNIHTED / KAETI HINCK / FREDERICK NUNLEY / RUTH TREVARRO / JULIE PEREZ / DILIP SHETH / KEITH STANLEY / RITA ELSNER / MICHAEL MiGLIORI / JS ADAMS / TODD FRANSON / JOANNA AXTMANN / SANTIAGO FLORES-CHARNECO

Tuesday June 23 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $10-20 / NOTAFLOF * TICKETS

Grace A. Keller - DC-based singer/songwriter, 1/4 of hotel sewing kit

Jem Wilde - DC/Baltimore

Devin Shaffer's new album, Patience, mirrors life's highs and lows on the search for spiritual meaning, purpose, and connection. Patience updates the hushed intimacy of songwriters like Vashti Bunyan, Sibylle Baier, and Linda Perhacs for the twenty-first century. Shaffer challenges both herself and the listener to find peace in the unknowing and comfort in the surrender.

Solo performance by Ella G of Lud Roes

Wednesday June 24 * doors at 7, show at 7:30 * $10-20 * TICKETS

Mike Andre plays deconstructed punk rock in the band Sensor Ghost. Tonight he will be performing deconstructed folk music under his own name.

Emi Kawashima (she/they) is a mover, grower, and maker based in DC. They explore movement and other mediums with a constantly changing body and mind. Inspired by nature, relationships, mental health, and everyday situations, she has been experimenting with plant dyed shibori fiber in their work. Emi gets their hands dirty as a garden manager at the Washington Youth Garden while finding ways to share space and collaborate with other creative folks.

As a creative artist, George Karosintegrates written poetry with sparse acoustic music performances. For over three decades, he's performed in bands and as a solo folk singer. He has six published poetry books - and been published in over 60 worldwide literary publications.

Thursday June 25 * 7:30pm * $10-20 * TICKETS

Mick Barr - special classical guitar set - Guitarist and composer Mick Barr has released countless recordings under the names Ocrilim, Orthrelm, and Octis, and has worked with Krallice, The Flying Luttenbachers, Zach Hill, Weasel Walter, and Sam Hillmer of Zs. His lightning fast guitar style and singular approach to the instrument goes unrivaled among his contemporaries.

Vaelastraz is a dark ambient project from Virginia. Formed in 2016 by musician Min Naing, Vaelastrasz conjures melancholic and epic atmospheres with loop-based melodies.

Friday June 26 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $20-35 * TICKETS

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser FRED FRITH has been making noise of one kind or another for more than 50 years, starting with the rock collective Henry Cow, which he co-founded with Tim Hodgkinson in 1968. Fred is best known as a pioneering electric guitarist and improviser, song-writer, and composer for film, dance and theater. Through bands like Art Bears, Massacre, Skeleton Crew, the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, Cosa Brava, and the FF Trio he has stayed close to his roots in rock and folk music while branching out in many other directions. 

CHAO TIAN is a boundary-breaking Chinese dulcimer virtuoso, improviser, and sonic thinker whose music unfolds across tradition, experimentation, and diasporic imagination. Trained in the classical lineage of the Chinese dulcimer since the age of five, she now bends that legacy into new shapes—treating the instrument not as a symbol, but as a living, questioning voice. 

Saturday June 27 * 1pm * $35 * REGISTER

This 2 hour workshop will begin with a flowing yoga practice to bring us into a present state of awareness. Then we’ll sit and explore the foundational basics of tarot cards. With prompts and exercises, we’ll pull tarot cards and explore our observations, feelings, and reactions to them. After the workshop, participants will have a better understanding of how yoga and tarot can foster a deep inner connection and build mindfulness and intuition.

Workshop materials -

Yoga mat (required)

Deck of tarot cards (optional)

Journal and writing utensil (optional)

Any other desired yoga props such as a blanket or blocks (optional)

Saturday June 27 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS

Spark Isle is an experimental rock trio based in the DMV. The group's instrumental compositions touch on jazz, funk, punk and styles in between. Visually, Spark Isle presents projections to accompany each song that often feature footage of collaborations with artists from other mediums (painters, dancers, etc.).

Sur Cósmico is a Spanish psychedelic rock project by Bolivian artist Jardiel Ruiz, delivering immersive and atmospheric live performances.

My Mandy - All is breathing the astral dust. Stripping it down to the moment, My Mandy is the music project by Malynne Petoia, seeking to capture our shared inner & outer worlds, echoed into lyrical melodies.

L☆LY is a human In this invented world Where concrete is the soil And money is the soul. L☆LY is a star as Citlally translates Of nahualt origin And death as the fate.

Sir Cie - If you like indie and alternative music with folk, pop rock, and classic rock influences, congratulations, j’suis ta copine.

Sunday June 28 & bi-weekly * 11am * $5-10 suggested * REGISTER

How do different traditions across history and geography think about how we should live our lives? Join this community for a casual, biweekly discussion group dedicated to exploring the practical philosophies and lived wisdom of the world’s major spiritual traditions. Over the first 12 weeks, we’ll look at foundational ideas from Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Taoism, Stoicism, Shinto, Yoruba, Animism, Christianity, Islam, and some modern faiths.

This is less of a learning seminar and more of a conversational space. There are no right or wrong answers, and you don’t need any background in religious studies to participate. Come as you are, ready to chat about the ideas that jump out at you, what resonates with your own perspective, and how these philosophies might map onto our lives.

Check out the working syllabus and readings: tinyurl.com/explorefaiths

Sunday June 28 * 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 28 * doors at 7pm, music at 7:30 * $10-20 * TICKETS

Sarah Hughes is a performing and visual artist. She has 26 years of experience playing the alto saxophone and also doubles on the soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Her music is intuitive and genre-liberated while displaying an unquestionable command of her instrument and musical vocabulary.

Corey Thuro is a musician based in Baltimore, MD.

Nate Scheible has performed and recorded in a variety of bands and ensembles spanning multiple genres over the past 25 years. Collaborators in recent years include Sarah Hughes, Nik Francis, Erik Ruin, the Bureau of Sensory Affairs with Alma Laprida, and the band Drawn. His background is largely based in improvisation on drums, electronics, and analog tape. His work is featured prominently on releases by the labels Warm Winters Ltd., Outside Time, Unifactor, Feeding Tube, and Never Anything.

Monday June 29 * doors at 6, show at 7 * $10 * TICKETS

Presenting the debut of two local bands— Pain Response (hardcore) and Peel Off Your Skin (punk), hosted by ShivLaughLove. There will also be some clowning and juggling performed! Come support local DC night life workers on their day off.

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

Secret Planet presents... Chicago pianist Josh Harlow and Detroit percussionist Jonathan Barahal founded Teiku around the concept of using their respective families’ unique Passover melodies as conduits for new forms of spontaneous musical expression. Their self-titled 2024 debut was a meditation on their shared history and a tribute to the ancestral melodies that they grew up singing. Sophomore album Klang expands on this reinterpretation of traditional sounds by drawing source material from the wider community, rare manuscripts, voice recordings, and memories of late-night ritualistic chants. Five of Klang’s six tracks represent the same Passover song/liturgical text, with each becoming a completely distinctive and unique melody when filtered through regional and family variations. 

Kutay Sezginel - Hailing from Istanbul and based in Baltimore, Kutay bridges psychedelic rock and dark ambient territories with the microtonal melodies and odd rhythms of Anatolian folk music. On the neo-ethnic instruments of çağlama and electric cümbüş, he revives and reinvigorates old traditions in contemporary, layered explorations.

Wednesday July 1 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 $10-15 * TICKETS

CS Cleaners (NYC) deliver 11 tracks of warped, day-glow art punk that lash out at the absurdity of contemporary living. The band is influenced by NYC downtown music from CBGB’s diverse first wave through the mutations and deconstructions of no-wave. But while CS Cleaners might have a sound rooted in music that can be severe at times, they are by no means taking themselves seriously: What’s This? is dance music first and foremost, albeit a form wild enough for these extreme times.

Chill Parents (DC; last show) - punk/grunge/crust/hardcore

Gorf (DC) - hardcore

SLOT (Baltimore) is the high-energy, dance-punk project with a genre-fusing sound described as gritty but flirty pop songs with a punk, in-your-face delivery, and pumping, heavy, danceable beats.

Friday July 3 * doors at 6:30, show at 7 * $15 * TICKETS

Penanggalan
Baltimore Black Metal

Crows Foot
Baltimore Black Metal

Tartarean
MD Blackened Grind

Saturday July 4 * 12-5pm * $15+ * TICKETS &/or DONATE without attending

No To Nationalism! A community solidarity market, concert, and fundraiser. Raising funds for Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid (MSMA), Gaza Soup Kitchen, and the Jewish Voice for Peace DC Metro chapter. Hosted by JVP-DC Metro. Sliding scale $15+ tickets. 5 bands, 3 DJs, food, a big market with crafts and more.

Freedom Futures Collective (Activist Hip-Hop Collective)
Djoser (L.E.N.G. Heavy Bass Electronics)
Trash Boat and the Ambush (Anarchist Punk)
Orchester Praževica (Danube Basin Kriminal Pop)
Makeup Girl (Indie Rock Sensations)

DJs: Leon City Sounds / DJ Underdog / DJ Crown Vic

Saturday July 4 * 6pm * $20-30 * TICKETS

Noise at 6PM

J&R'S Music World
Collapsing
T3ratoma
Distorting a Woodpecker
Bleak Outlook
OVRSTMLTD (By Evilshadex.exe)
Whitey Alabastard
Deepgrave Min OG Dog
acheleg
Ashwolf

Sunday July 5 * 1pm * $15-25 * REGISTER

Itching to get creative? Come dye with me! This class will cover making and dyeing with indigo, including the basics of shibori (Japanese tie-dye). You'll learn how to:-make an indigo vat-dye with indigo for long-lasting color-tie up the cloth for a variety of beautiful patterns-care for your indigo-dyed itemsEach participant will receive 1 bandana to dye with. All other materials provided. You may bring a few additional items to dye from home. Small to medium sized items with 50% or more natural fiber content work best.. In addition, wear clothing that you don't mind getting stained. Bring an apron if you wish, and rubber gloves if you have them. Instructor: Sophie Kanter: www.thebluesti.com/

Sunday July 5 * doors at 7, show at 7:30 * $10 * TICKETS

Trepenate (DC Power Violence)

Hostile Mind (DC Hardcore)

Lay Waste (VA Grindcore)

Drugs of Faith (DC Grind-n-Roll)

Monday July 6 * doors at 6pm, screening at 7 * masks encouraged & provided * $10-15 * TICKETS

TCB - The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing (2025, 105 minutes) is a biography of the influential writer, filmmaker and cultural worker, who with humor and deep insight, inspired a generation of artists to dedicate themselves to community empowerment. The film is structured as a series of lessons on cultural organizing, gleaned from Bambara's life and shared by her friends, colleagues and students.

"On the thirtieth anniversary of her death, Louis Massiah has conjured the great Toni Cade Bambara back to life. Through archival footage and personal testimonies—most notably and eloquently by her friend, editor, and champion, Toni Morrison—this formidable writer and warrior for social justice blazes back into consciousness. There was simply nobody else like her. 

TCB - The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing offers a tonic for today’s woes and a lesson in joyousness for today’s challenges. With its propulsive jazz soundtrack and knowledge of history, Massiah’s film feeds a bone-deep hunger for inspiration."

Tuesday July 7 * doors at 6:30pm, music at 7 * $10-15 * TICKETS

Hatchetface
hatchetface-dc.bandcamp.com/

Eleagnus
eleagnus.bandcamp.com/album/baptized-contaminated

NEON GRLZ
neongrlz.bandcamp.com/

Wednesday July 8 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $10-20 * TICKETS

New Orleans-based improviser/guitarist/composer Chris Alford utilizes a spherical approach in his artistry. In one hemisphere is the deep tradition of jazz and blues languages of the past and in the other is avant-garde, unconventional, creative syntax. Warping the old with the new, Alford keeps his feet rooted in the ground all the while looking beyond the horizon. He is just as likely to galvanize an audience with peculiar, angular, sharp flourishes as he is to allure with luscious, atmospheric harmony and melodies. An openness to sound and collaboration allows Alford to shape and guide the music in an organic flow. Collaborators include Cassandra Wilson, Ra Kalam Bob Moses, Luke Stewart, Tim Berne, Jeb Bishop, Mino Cinelu, Jack Wright, and many others across the jazz and creative music spectrum.

Rahul Nair - improvised percussion.

The Hyde and Zook ensemble (HAZE) is a new improvisational duo comprised of Sarah Paz Hyde and Ted Zook. Hyde performs on handpan, violin, and ngoni, and sings. She is a leading proponent of the handpan and leads handpan workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada. Ted Zook is the co-founder of the Fanoplane improvisational ensemble, He will be performing on basscello at this performance.

Exhibit runs July 10-26
Opening reception / live music: Friday July 10, 7-10pm - TICKETS ($10-20 sliding scale)
Closing reception: Sunday July 26, 5-7pm
Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view

Vessel: an art & music exhibition 

Featuring: 
Emily Alff • Virginia Boyles • Sam Contrino • Deirdre Darden • Elsie Dwyer • Ella Gallogly • Charlotte Hodgeson • Fiona Kohrman • Diane Krauthamer • Jaxyn Lethe • Genevieve Ludwig • Katie Macyshyn • Sarah Ozment • Emilie Toler • Kelly Xio • Brit Whited 

Curated by Fiona Kohrman, Deirdre Darden, and Sam Contrino

Saturday July 11 * 3pm * $5 suggested * REGISTER

Live Action Role Play is a combination of improv, theater, physical movement, crafts, and just about any genre of story you can think of! All are welcome to these 2-hour LARPs hosted at Rhizome DC, whether you're completely new to the artform or a seasoned veteran.

On Saturday, July 11 from 1-3 pm we're playing Heroic Measures by Daniel Eison and Sam Zeitlin, a game about illness, death, and making end-of-life medical decisions for a member of your fantasy adventuring party. Expect a fairly serious and sober tone from this game, but just as in real life there is plenty of potential for joy and laughter in remembering the life of a loved one.

Saturday July 11 * doors at 6:30, show at 7pm * $20 * TICKETS

Magic Tuber Stringband, hailing from North Carolina, probes the undercurrents of the landscapes around them. Highly skilled players and writers, the trio are leaders within the burgeoning avant composition world utilizing folk instrumentation. Their music appears to weave in and out of the fabric of their surroundings, reflecting their time spent living across the Southeast and studying its regional folk traditions and natural histories.

Tacoma Park is a North Carolina-based duo. Brian Howe of IndyWeek described them as playing "abstract impulses in a style you might call homespun monumental, with heavily processed guitars and richly textured synths combining into a Southeastern American take on a certain German tradition of droning, pulsating, landscape-traveling electronic music.

Jon Camp Band: Jon Camp is a fingerstyle guitarist and composer based out of the DC region. Jon blends melody, twang, and drone into a cohesive whole that is exploratory without forsaking the hook. 

Sunday July 12 * 3pm * $10-25 / email us for scholarships * TICKETS

Join renowned trombonist and educator Dan Blacksberg (Anthony Braxton, The Body, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, klezmer music) for an afternoon meeting all about committing and recommitting to freedom in our music. Dan will lead participants in group playing, large and small, and in group discussion to explore the opportunities and responsibilities that come with committing ourselves to freedom. Playing music, especially free improvisation, is fully recognized when we connect with other people, even when playing solo or practicing. Over the course of this workshop, we will model/practice/fake-it-til-you-make different ways of being in the Free Music community. We'll take cues from the whole history and present of creative music - with the clear understanding of its roots in Black music - and aim to bring out our own free creativity - something we all had as children. Join us and take the chance to go deep into ourselves, each other, and into the brilliant experimental musical world.

Sunday July 12 * 7pm * $10-25 * TICKETS

People's Music Supply and Rhizome are proud to present the sixth installment of our cutting-edge series showcasing improvisational interplay between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. — two vanguard's of today's experimental music scene. This evening performances will follow an afternoon workshop from Dan Blacksberg.

First up is a group let by Brian Settles, a saxophonist, composer, and improviser whose work moves fluidly between jazz, experimental music, and contemporary creative practice. Known for a deeply expressive tone and a thoughtful, exploratory approach to form, Settles has collaborated with artists including Mary Halvorson, Jason Moran, and Luke Stewart, and appears on numerous recordings spanning a wide range of creative music contexts. His work reflects a long-standing commitment to improvisation as both a personal language and a collaborative art form.

Second will be a distinctly different performance from Philadelphia, Pa.: Dan Blacksberg, a leading voice in Philadelphia's music community and a living master of klezmer trombone. Through performance, composition, and improvisation, Blacksberg creates new territories to explore inside and across genres, forging new pathways between tradition and innovation. As a teacher and community music leader, he builds up all generations of musicians to become empowered and joyous rabble-rousers.

And in a clarifying ad-hoc group: Simone Baron (accordion) and Keith Butler, Jr. (percussion) will represent D.C. and join forces with Philadelphian Samantha Xiao Cody (violin). The group comes together to discover the nuanced edges of cultural meaning.

Monday July 13 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS

Murena - Mark Moreno is a sound artist born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. As an avid walker, he collects sounds on his walks and compiles them in a way that transports the audience to the locations of his walks. Most of his local sets are site specific, collecting sounds from near the venues he plays at around Providence.

Thumbsucker26 - Intimate and lonely ambient noise.

Guillermo Pizarro - uses field recordings, tapes, harsh noise, synths and ambient textures to achieve his cinematic storytelling through sound. He also runs Flag Day Recordings, a US label focused on promoting experimental music, harsh noise, ambient and soundtracks.

Wednesday July 15 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * All Ages * $18 * TICKETS

Mind Sculptor Productions presents

Kicked in the Head by a Horse (PA Chaotic Hardcore)
https://kickedintheheadbyahorse.bandcamp.com/

Underneath (PA Metallic Hardcore)
https://underneathpa.bandcamp.com/

Letterstoyou (MD Screamo)
https://letterstoyouscreamo.bandcamp.com/

Saltuponwounds (VA Emo)
https://saltuponwounds.bandcamp.com/

Expiration Date (MD Straight Edge Screamo)
https://strangeviewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/my-choice-best-wishes

Rhizome will host a puppet slam on July 18, 2026. If you are interested in participating, please submit example(s) of your show (or at least your artistry) to Rachel Gates at rhizomepuppetlab@gmail.com. All selected artists will receive a small stipend.

Sunday July 19 * 11am-2pm * $0-10 sliding scale * REGISTER

Study Hall is a series of salons for people to discuss anything they’d have talked about in the cafeteria (and if you’re someone who really did study, time to share what you learned). Topics can be anything you would’ve talked about during your free time in between classes, including things you would’ve said in the school cafeteria but not to the dean. Everyone is encouraged to present something at a Study Hall.

At the beginning of the event, you will sign up to present a topic. (You can also add yourself to the agenda before the event HERE.) Presentations do not have a specified time limit, and can go on until other attendees begin raising questions and transition into a Q&A format. You do not need to be an expert, and you do not need to have all the answers, proposing an interesting question and prompt for discussion is also encouraged!