Upcoming at Rhizome (click on event for more details):
Exhibit runs August 1-28
Opening reception with live music by Zottoh & cannibal boom: Saturday August 1, 4-6pm
Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view
Zottoh is the solo project of Santiago Soto, focused on sound works built through electric guitar feedback and spatial amplification systems, where the surrounding environment becomes part of the instrument itself.
In this configuration, a guitar is suspended within a metal frame, held in place by tensioned steel cables. The surrounding structure functions as an environment that both supports and stresses it. Transducers fed by external sources as well as by the guitar’s own signal excite the entire structure, setting both frame and instrument into vibration. Sound, captured through the guitar’s own pickups, is reintroduced into the space through speakers and transducers, activating a continuous loop of airborne and structural feedback. In this way, sound appears both self-inflicted and as a response to its environment.
Conceived as a self-portrait, the piece does not represent appearance but condition. The suspended guitar becomes a surrogate body—held together by the same forces that strain to pull it apart. During the opening, the work is performed using synthesizers and external processing; during the exhibition period, it remains open to visitor interaction through a simplified interface that excites the structure directly, without amplification.
Exhibit runs August 1-28
Opening reception with live music by cannibal boom & Zottoh: Saturday August 1, 4-6pm
Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view
what is the sound of the tears of a clown?
reishin norberto gómez jr (born 1983, Alice, Texas, USA) is an artist, writer, publisher, curator, and educator based in Washington, D.C. Their work engages the interstices and chasms of death, spirituality, and technology, along with aesthetics, horror, media studies, and popular culture. They are the co-founder and editor of Sybil Press (est. 2013), an independent publisher of zines, art books, and experimental print media. Sybil Press has participated in print, art book, and zine fairs across the U.S. and internationally, including Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair, Boston Art Book Fair, Tokyo Art Book Fair, and Vancouver Art Book Fair.
Tuesday August 4 * doors at 7, music at 8 * $10-12 * TICKETS
BLASTER
Iowa weird hardcore punk
https://blaster3.bandcamp.com/
GORF
DCHC
https://www.instagram.com/gorf.band/
BRAIN SURGERY
Maryland grinding noise punk
https://www.instagram.com/brainxsurgeryxpunk/
GIFTS UNGIVEN
DC metalcore
https://giftsungiven.bandcamp.com/
Wednesday August 5 * doors at 7pm, music at 7:30pm * $15-25 * TICKETS
Bark Culture is a trio led by vibraphonist Victor Vieira-Branco featuring drummer Joey Sullivan and bassist John Moran. With over four years of immersive collaboration, the trio is known for their strong ensemble identity, high-energy live performances and extensive touring. Their record “Warm Wisdom” was cited as the Debut Release of 2024 by New York Times Jazz Critic Hank Shteamer, and listed as Best Jazz on Bandcamp September 2024. More recently, the trio was enlisted by Rob Mazurek to perform on the soundtrack of Kelly Reichardt’s new film The Mastermind which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. For the group’s second album THE GIANT IS AWKWARD, the trio is joined by pianist and composer Sam Yulsman.
Born from a meeting of musical minds at the 2026 Washington Women in Jazz Festival, We All Witness is an avant-garde collective that brings together some of the Washington, D.C. area's most adventurous instrumentalists, featuring Amy K. Bormet, Sarah Marie Hughes, Christine Paluch, and Keith Butler Jr. The project serves as a dedicated platform for exploring the fusion of horror music and jazz.
Thursday August 6 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Helen Hill was an experimental animator, filmmaker, educator, artist, writer and social activist who lived her last years in New Orleans, Louisiana. Featuring puppets, hand-drawn animation, found footage and hand-processing techniques, Hill's short films—including Bohemian Town (2004), Madame Winger Makes a Film: A Survival Guide for the 21st Century (2001) and Mouseholes (1999)—have been screened at festivals all over the world. She is also the author of a lavishly illustrated and self-published book called Recipes for Disaster which compiles techniques for hand-processing film.
Tragically, Helen Hill was murdered by a random intruder in her New Orleans home in the early morning of January 4, 2007, one of six murders in New Orleans in a single twenty-four-hour period. In an extraordinary and in many ways model collaboration between Helen’s family, the Harvard Film Archive, New York University’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program, Colorlab, the Orphan Film Symposium, the University of South Carolina and countless individuals, Helen Hill’s films—including shorts, animation and home movies, as well as her papers—were organized and donated by Paul Gailiunas to the Harvard Film Archive that same year. Shortly thereafter, guided by the coordination efforts of Dan Streible, ten of her films were preserved by Harvard and Colorlab.
Thanks to the Harvard Film Archive for making the screening possible.
Friday August 7 * doors at 7pm * $15-25 * TICKETS
Centigrade 2 is an electro-industrial commentary on climate change utilizing superfluous samples, haptic synths, and excessive effects.
Karacell has been performing electronic music in the southeast Virginia and Richmond area since 2009. Previously exploring a plunderphonic psych pop approach, her current music is inspired by melodic techno, acid, and shoegaze. Her performances are hardware based, featuring the live manipulation of synthesizers, samplers, and drum machines.
Syncretist - the solo project from Robert Salsbury – makes instrumental electronic music, blending melody with kosmische rhythms, hip hop beats, electro, and 90s IDM. The live set, based on the LP “Oscillated Incidents”, is propulsive and danceable with plenty of twists and turns along the way.
Diner Hours returning back home to the DMV after 19 months in Nebraska, Diner Hours (Amanda and Drew) return with oboe tinged ambient suitable for corner booths.
Secret Wilderness (DJ / live electronics set) - Jake Reid has been a long time DC area musician most known for shoegaze bands Alcian Blue and Screen Vinyl Image. Jake will provide a mix of DJing and live synths to keep music flowing between setups for the night. Expect a heady mix of ambient and techno.
Saturday August 8 * 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/
Saturday August 8 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Ammonite
Ammonite is a band from Maryland/D.C. offering dynamic live shows, fierce genre bending, eloquent songwriting, and ethereal harmonies. Queer AF.
Blackout Transmission (Santa Fe)
Blackout Transmission is a band formed in Los Angeles, CA now residing in the Mountain West that compose and play neo-psychedelic rock music with UK shoegaze and darkwave influences.
Grace A. Keller
DC-based singer/songwriter,
1/4 of hotel sewing kit
Sunday August 9 & 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 August 9 * noon-4pm * Free / donations
HOW IT WORKS:
1. Bring your gently used physical media
2. Sort it out on the corresponding table
3. Take whatever you want! Leave whatever you don’t!
WHAT TO BRING:
VHS tapes
Cassette tapes
CDs
Records
DVDs
Zines
Stickers + Badges
Your defunct band’s unsold merch
Etc …..
FREE event! Bring a reusable bag! Be respectful! Death to streaming!
Sunday August 9 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS
An evening of gorenoise, noisecore, and stomach churning industrial at Rhizome.
Degloved (RVA)
Abortion Breath (RVA)
Numbing Agent (DC)
Monday August 10 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $20-$30 * TICKETS
Transparent Productions presents:
An evening of music from this amazing trio of musicians from Chicago: Will Greene, Ishmael Ali, and Lily Finnegan.
WILL GREENE plays guitar and saxophone and currently resides in Chicago, after spending many years as an active member of various Brooklyn, NY music communities. His musical practice explores time-bending, pitch excursions, and interactive notions.
ISHMAEL ALI is a dynamic cellist, guitarist, improviser, and composer based out of Chicago. His work centers on exploring sound through improvisation, experimentation, composition, and collaboration, focusing on a wide array of idiomatic approaches in an ever-changing, always-growing list of projects informed by diverse influences.
LILY FINNGAN is a Chicago-based drummer, composer, improviser, and organizer. In 2026 she became a Next Jazz Legacy awardee. She was spotlighted by The Chicago Reader as a “Chicagoan of Note” and included in The Chicago Sun Times “Next Generation of Jazz Musicians.” She leads her own quartet, Heat On, which released their debut album on Cuneiform Records.
Wednesday August 12 * 7pm * $12 * TICKETS
Sore Eyelids & Fazed Out presents …
My House Walkthrough
Abriction
Bile
Naomi 10 Million
Thursday August 13 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $10-15 * TICKETS
Housie (Richmond Punk)
supported by the Andy Appletree mega marathon
Saafewaay (DC Punk)
Powerband (DC RnR)
Deen Gray (DC, it's exactly what it sounds like)
Qiiiiiiik (DC Punk shortest set of all time)
Friday August 14 * doors at 7:30, music at 8 * $15-25 *TICKETS
María Grand is a saxophonist, composer, educator, and vocalist. She played and/or recorded with creative music luminaries such as Joel Ross, Mary Halvorson, Antoine Roney, Nicole Mitchell, and more. Vijay Iyer says she is “a fantastic young saxophonist, virtuosic, conceptually daring, with a lush tone, a powerful vision, and a deepening emotional resonance.”
Shakoor Hakeem is a percussionist and improviser whose work expands the role of rhythm in contemporary jazz and creative music. Rooted in Afro-diasporic traditions yet shaped by experimental practice, Hakeem approaches percussion as a tool for texture, space, and collective ritual rather than strict timekeeping. His playing emphasizes tone, restraint, and deep listening, often transforming the ensemble into a living, breathing sound environment.
Bashi Rose, founder of Konjur Collective, is a multidisciplinary artist based in Baltimore City. As a drummer/composer/poet/playwright/ and videographer, he engages in traditions of Black liberation, experimentation, and improvisation. His practice is primarily collaborative, allowing collective channeling of dangerous ideas, love and spirit.
Saturday 9:30-5:00 & Sunday 9:30-2:00 August 15 & 16 * $110 - $210 (scholarships available) * REGISTER (or email us to register without paying large processing fees)
(option to register for one day only - email us)
Calling all writers who need time and space and no distractions! Whether you are just starting a project, thick in the middle of it, or needing to finish it, come spend one and a half days with other writers at Rhizome DC. You will have your own table and space to throw papers and books on the floor, and lots of quiet. Space will be shared but not tight (if you’ve been to Rhizome, imagine two people in each room, each with their own table). Coffee, tea, snacks, and vegetarian lunch provided. Phones will be squirreled away by Rhizome’s own squirrels. For an extra fee, we won’t give you the wifi password. (Just kidding; we won’t give it to you for free.)
Featuring:
-an inspiring space (old house, big windows, beautiful art) - tables outside if weather is nice!
-delicious vittles you don’t have to plan yourself
-supportive sharing and strategizing as desired
-one and a half days of focused work
The Rhizome Writers Collective knows how hard it is to enter that writerly trance/get sh*t done. We’re here to facilitate the magic!
We have space for 8 people.
Saturday August 15 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS
Pearie Sol "Mere moments after the singer and keyboard player began squawking his strange ballads into the microphone...audience members began squirming toward the exit" - Washington Post. "A frantic train terrorizing its patrons" - Austin Town Hall. "Jarring sound" - City Paper. "This guy sounds like he was raised by Bozo the Clown, Daniel Johnston, and a pack of wild dogs" - Bedford and Bowery.
That This, of DC, is a new-ish band from former members of Priests and Ex Hex.
Jackie 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.
Sunday August 16 * 3pm * 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 August 16 * 6-9pm (timed entry) * $5 suggested * REGISTER
DC Zine Fest BYOClothes Bleach & Tie-Dye Party
PLUS ZINE-MAKING & SWAP
Timed entry at 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm
Tuesday August 18 * doors at 7pm, music at 7:30 * $10-20 * TICKETS
Iron Joy is the self determined duo project of Indira Edwards and John Pablo Rojas, with the collective experience across various contemporary styles informing their sonic practice.
Dan is a DMV based artist and educator making installations and live performances that combine sound and furniture. Their recent research explores the intimacies of the Monobloc chair, the most manufactured and distributed chair in industrial history.
Wednesday August 19 * 7pm * Free/Donations * RSVP
Did you know there’s an amateur astronomy scene in DC? DC is an incredible place to observe the heavens and get a sense for how vast and beautiful our universe really is. Get ready to nerd out about space for a few hours – we’re going to discuss observing our own Moon, planets, nebulas, double/triple/quadruple star systems, dead stars, galaxies, and other deep sky objects you can see right from the middle of our city. We’ll talk about the vibrant amateur astronomy community in DC that builds homemade telescopes and does sidewalk astronomy in DC neighborhoods. This is an informal, practical discussion informed by my own personal amateur astronomy journey in DC since 2020 – yes, I got into this because there really is only so much TV you can watch during COVID lockdown.
Thursday August 20 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $15 * TICKETS
Merc (NC Powerviolence)
https://merc-pv-hc.bandcamp.com/
Orca (FL Hardcore Punk)
https://orcafl.bandcamp.com/
Drivel (DC Noisy Rock Shit)
https://drivelpunks.bandcamp.com
Form & Void (DC Synth Punk Death Industrial)
Friday August 21 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $15-25 * TICKETS
Renowned vocalist Laura Ann Singh leads an all-star ensemble across a repertoire that fuses poetry, free jazz, and avant-garde energy in an evening of captivating soundscapes. Mean Reds (OOYH 038), the debut album by Richmond-based vocalist and composer Laura Ann Singh, was conceived after she first heard Asha Puthli’s incredible contributions to Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction in 2023. She has long admired free and avant garde jazz, but knew that her contribution to the genre would not be sound-based or heavily dependent on extended techniques like many modern singers. Her compositional approach, less common in the avant jazz world, is rooted in song. The Fracas Quintet consists of OOYH’s Scott Clark on drums and Adam Hopkins on bass, Bob Miller on trumpet, and John Lilley on reeds.
Mowder Oyal is a collective of musicians and multidisciplinary artists that make hardcore punk and free jazz at the same time. With musician and arts lawyer Adam Holofcener on guitar, Konjur Collective’s Bashi Rose on percussion and vocals, Mind On Fire's James Young on bassoon, and performance artist Sun Lynn Hunter on vocals, Mowder Oyal (phonetic Baldamore-ese for “motor oil”) is a sonic supergroup that Baltimore Magazine called “the Most Baltimore Band to Ever Baltimore.”
Saturday August 22 * 6pm * Free * RSVP
Mt Plantry is coming back to Rhizome to release their second zine ! The zine, handprinted in DC with a risograph printer, documents our collective's second year. This year took all of the processes and experimentation from year one and made it BIGGER. We moved our events from our humble plantry to breweries, mills, and artspaces. The pages of this zine show the photographs and results from these events and other endeavors from our past year, as well as some instructions on how you can recreate that Mt Plantry magic at home.
The zine, along with last year's zine and others by the collective's members, will be available for purchase. Demos teaching methods from the zine will occur throughout the night, all utilizing a 11'' by 14'' plywood pinhole camera.
Sunday August 23 & 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 August 23 * 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.
Wednesday August 26 * 7pm * $10-15 * TICKETS
Jon Moritsugu (Mod Fuck Explosion, Fame Whore, Terminal USA, Scumrock), The Godfather of Punk Cinema, has completed his first new movie in a decade, Numbskull Revolution. Feature number eight, a collaboration with his ex-wife, Amy Davis, marks the COMEBACK of this Grammy-nominated Oscar Contender who is arguably one of the world’s most uncompromising and extreme cinematic outliers. Zoom Q&A with the Director after the film.
A Punk Rock Blade Runner for Artists!!!
Numbskull Revolutiontook nine years to complete and witnessed the end of the 29-year marriage and creative partnership of Moritsugu and Davis. This grand finale is their most epic and fully-realized motion picture. Ostensibly a riff on the absurdity of art, warfare of people, material control/secular terror, addictions of every genre, and self-actualization thru internal Jungian conflict, the movie - at its most base level - is a full-on and mega-entertaining cinematic odyssey tinged with ludicrous sci-fi, raw poignancy, and utter brutalism.
Saturday August 29 * 6:30pm * Free * RSVP
Sixteen artists. Four disciplines. One creative conversation.
What if every work of art became the beginning of another?
Join us for Graftings, a one-night-only interdisciplinary exhibition featuring four poets, four visual artists, four filmmakers, and four designers in one extraordinary creative conversation.
The project began with a single poem. A visual artist responded to it. Another poet then wrote a new poem inspired by that artwork, followed by another visual artist, and so on, creating a chain of inspiration that unfolded across poetry and visual art. At each stage, a filmmaker transformed the paired poem and artwork into a short video poem, while designers created original poster designs celebrating each of the four poems. On Saturday, experience the entire conversation in one space. Explore the poems and artwork, watch the video poems, and discover how creativity evolves when artists listen deeply and respond to one another.
Whether you love poetry, film, visual art, design—or you're simply curious about the creative process—we'd love to have you join us.
Sunday August 30 * 4pm * $25 / scholarships available * REGISTER
This is an in-person workshop on the basics of vocal feminization: raising your pitch, shifting your resonance, and sustaining your trained voice. It'll be interactive, so come prepared to try the exercises in a judgment-free setting. Instructor: Jessica Austin
Scholarships available - please email info@rhizomedc.org
To find out more about me or schedule private lessons, visit my website: https://thetransjessicaaustin.com/
Recent events:
Monday August 3 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $15 * TICKETS
SH!TOMATO - A cacophony of noise rock, psych, trip-hop and jazz, SH!TOMATO defies easy categorization, pulling listeners into a swirling soundscape of controlled chaos and hypnotic rhythms. The record thrives on unpredictability, shifting effortlessly between distorted walls of sound, eerie downtempo beats, and moments of improvisational brilliance. At its core is one half of long-time AD mainstays Comfort Food, bringing a raw, exploratory energy, blurring the lines between structure and spontaneity.
The Peopling - The solo project of NYC to PNW transplant Ronnie Gonzalez, longtime Already Dead cohort and one half of legendary duo Video Daughters
Simmone Wrath - Baltimore experimental and digital hardcore.
Inter Not Milan - Alternative Hip Hop ex Pain Directive
Sunday August 2 * 6pm * $10-15 * TICKETS
Green Fields, Grine Felder
1h 37m, 1937
"Ulmer's soulful, open-air adaptation of Peretz Hirshbein's classic play heralded the Golden Age of Yiddish cinema. When an ascetic young scholar ventures into the countryside, searching for the city of "true Jews," he learns some unexpected lessons from the Jewish peasants who take him in as a tutor for their children."
Hosted by the DMV Jewish Labor Bund
Potluck beforehand
No Yiddish skills necessary!
Discussion afterwards
Movie is subtitled in English.
Sundays August 2 and September 6 * $20 suggested * REGISTER
Learning crochet and don't know what to make next? Join us for a two-part class exploring how to crochet granny squares, a versatile crochet shape that can be repeated and assembled into a useful tote bag. All supplies provided. No experience necessary.
In part 1, we will learn how to make a granny square in one or multiple colors, and we will begin our granny square bag.
In part 2, we will troubleshoot challenges with making granny squares, and we will learn how to assemble the squares into a tote bag.
Part 1: Sunday August 2nd, 11 AM - 12:30 PM
Part 2: Sunday September 6th 11 AM - 12:30 PM
Price: Pay what you like, recommended $20
Questions? Email swamp.rose.studio@proton.me
Saturday August 1 * 7pm * OFFSITE at Tonal Park * $15-30 * TICKETS
At Tonal Park Studios. Tonal Park is at 7014-C Westmoreland Ave, Takoma Park, MD. Enter through the WOWD entrance at 7014-B. Any questions, email info@rhizomedc.org; please don’t contact Tonal Park.
Keith Fullerton Whitman is a Composer & Performer of Live Electronic Music currently living in Brooklyn.
Guitarist Bill Nace’s experimental improvisations and compositions extend the boundaries of electric guitar technique, using bows, metal, wood, glass bowls, and other implements. His distinctive musical vocabulary references folk, rock, and punk traditions as he works to make a ubiquitous instrument sound new.
Deli Philosophers is a new duo of Brian Weitz (Geologist, Animal Collective) and Michael R. Bernstein (Double Leopards, Religious Knives). They'll be premiering their new group at this performance.
Saturday August 1 * 7pm * $10/15 advance, $20 at the door * TICKETS
BIG CITY PRESENTS
CITY SPOTLIGHT: ECHOES OF DOUBT
SHY RASHEEN
OPEN MIC
ARTIST SHOWCASE
CITY CYPHER
LIVE PERFORMANCES
VENDORS
ARTIST SHOWCASE (LIMITED SLOTS) 1ST COME 1ST SERVED
PROOF OF LIFE
Saturday August 1 * 1pm * $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, August 1 from 1-3 pm we're playing Monumental Consequence by Mary Beth Looney, where 9-40 players become villagers in the occupied town of La Ville who face an impossible choice: destroy their centuries-old church to save lives, or risk everything to preserve the art within. This game was developed by Central Michigan University Press and can be used for fun (like we will be doing) and as an educational tool in classrooms! If you are an educator intrigued by this premise, I encourage you to come see it in action.
First Saturday of the month * 10am-noon * to REGISTER, please email rhizomepuppetlab@gmail.com
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.
Friday July 31 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $15-25 * TICKETS
Grex is an experimental music duo based out of Oakland, California. In biological terms, a "grex" is an entity composed of several smaller organisms. Grex (the band) explores the meeting point between surreal songcraft and the dark outer reaches of free jazz, industrial hip-hop, and art rock. The group has been called an "otherworldly experience" (Eugene Weekly) and "true genre warping music" (KFJC), recalling at turns the ecstatic energy of John Coltrane, the electronic squall of Death Grips, and the lilting songwriting of Mitski.
Lesley Mok is a New York City-based percussionist and sound artist. Their work is guided by a continual search for the connection between the mundane and the divine, the experience and manipulation of time, and a desire to capture emotional dissonance and complexity. Lesley’s ongoing explorations with composition and improvisation are most notably documented in their debut album The Living Collection(released May 2023 on American Dreams Records). The album, described as “an exquisite and stimulating work” by All About Jazz and “a singularly personal statement” by Jazz Trail Magazine, was named International Debut Album of the Year at the 2024 Deutscher Jazz Preis. As a collaborator, Lesley has shared the stage with Tomeka Reid, William Parker, Ingrid Laubrock, Marilyn Crispell, Craig Taborn, Myra Melford, Mary Halvorson, and Rafiq Bhatia among others.
Embroidered Bird blends simple acoustic based songs with analog sound experiments using mostly analog synthesizers, cassette tape loops, and thrift store instrument finds.
Thursday July 30 * doors at 7, show at 7:30 * $15-25 * TICKETS
Trace Amount is the solo project of Brooklyn-based producer, vocalist, and visual artist, Brandon Gallagher. The sound is a harsh strain of industrial music, evoking apocalyptic dread through primal rhythms, layers of synth and noise, and Gallagher's distorted moans and screams.
Pennsylvania’s own darkwave enigma, LUNACY transmits from the edge of ruin, fusing cinematic post-punk, industrial pulse, and spectral noise into a sound both ancient and futuristic. Their music explores the shadowy corners of the human psyche, echoing themes of collapse and catharsis through powerful synths and analog drum machines.
S Y Z Y G Y X has been active for several years now. Last year, she released her fourth full-length album on Cold Transmission Music. “Sinner” picks up the thread of the previous work, yet undoubtedly stands out as the most personal. Deeply human themes form the guiding principle of a sound that once again positions itself between Electro / Pop-Wave and EBM.
Serpent Hologram is an improv electro industrial duo born of the eternal transmutive autophagy of the Ouroboros.
Wednesday July 29 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS
Drew Davis - Drew Davis of Crazy Doberman plays in solo mode. He has collaborated with Zach Rowden, Rodger Stella, Tim Gick, Kyle Flanagan, John Olson and many, many more.
Ben “Baby” Copperhead is the snake-bitten moniker of NYC-based multi-instrumentalist and vocalist whose compositions, performances, and arrangements offer a unique, contemporary vision informed by an unlikely range of influences, traditions, and collaborations. Copperhead expresses his folk roots through his “otherworldly” banjo style using modal and tonal explorations, while sometimes using samplers, processed drum machines, tape loops, and handmade electronic instruments inspired by the experimentalism of Musique Concrète. Longtime collaborator, David Menestres, will be joining Copperhead on double bass.
Brick Digest presents "Fort Lincoln" - Come learn about the history of the unrealized Fort Lincoln "New Town" development in Washington, DC. The mastermind behind Brick Digest will share the story of what could have been in Northeast DC.
Tuesday July 28 * doors at 7pm, music at 7:30 * $10-15 * TICKETS
Mundy
https://www.instagram.com/mund4ye
https://soundartreality.com
Shiloh The Messenger
https://www.instagram.com/shiloh_themessenger
https://www.shilohthemessenger.com
D Skillz Harris
https://www.instagram.com/dskillzharris
Raf Almighty
https://www.instagram.com/thenewesi23/
Monday July 27 * 7pm * Free * RSVP
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this month, Rhizome DC will host “America Me: 250 years of Promise & Prejudice”, a seminar presented by activist Pelumi Olatinpo, author of the social commentary Manifest Destiny. By holding a mirror up to empire, Pelumi will examine what America has been and what it can become. The 19th-century doctrine “Manifest Destiny” will take center stage as Pelumi exposes the founding belief for what it really is: language used to justify domestic and foreign violence and oppression. Weaving in his background as an American-Nigerian immigrant, Pelumi will engage with what it means to be American in a nation also founded on the promise of equality, of unalienable rights —life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He will incorporate readings from both Manifest Destiny and his earlier work Poeta: Sonetas and Sonnets.
Sunday July 26 * doors at 7:30, noise at 8 sharp * $10-20 * TICKETS
Slime Queen Bingo (from Slime Planet/Tampa, FL)
The original Harsh Noise Cringe Clown / screamed instructions and manic meltdowns for a class of unruly DIY music fans
Breakdancing Ronald Reagan (from Hollywood, CA)
America’s Worst Noise Artist / the type of cringe train wreck that you can’t look away from
Death Envy (from Stanton, CA)
The Founding Father of Cringecore / Cybergrind for real MySpace heads who know that instruments are for chumps
jane.
is the noise, industrial, and performance art moniker of Cynthia Dorothy-Jane Ryan. She uses tape, vocals, sex toys, found objects, live looping, and the like to create music meant to challenge the presumption that femininity requires either pacifism or submission. Her work often highlights the fetishization of her own transsexuality to create an overwhelming clutter of both self-acceptance and internalized disdain.
Sunday July 26 * 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 July 26 & 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
Saturday July 25 * 3-10pm * $15 * TICKETS
Returning for its third year, OCCIPITAL Fashion Festival once again brings you an eclectic lineup of local bands all modeling clothes made by local fashion designers. The event serves and encourages interdisciplinary creative collaboration and community building. OCCIPITAL III will present varied music performances with customized style, crafty workshops, photoshoots, a clothing swap, a marketplace, and sustainability. Always interactive and experimental, OCCIPITAL encourages inspiration and audience engagement.
Interested in volunteering or vending? Click HERE.
Friday July 24 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $5-15 * TICKETS
Kiing
Spring Silver
Strawbalien
Young Swansii
Motel Portrait
plus art raffle
Thursday July 23 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $10-20 * TICKETS
Lin Hsiao-Feng is a Taiwanese improvising flutist, curator, and Music Director of Lin’s Culture in Taipei. His work bridges flute traditions from different cultures, free improvisation, and experimental sound, expanding the possibilities of contemporary flute performance through cross-cultural collaboration. In 2024, he was named World Flutist of the Year by the World Flute Society for his album Cadenza21 and was invited to perform at the Paris Cultural Olympiad. He has performed throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia, fostering intercultural dialogue through improvisation and flute traditions from different cultures.
Hsuan Chang Kitano is a producer, multimedia artist, and adjunct faculty member at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she teaches harpsichord, fortepiano, and seventeenth- and eighteenth-century improvisation. Together with flutist Mr. Lin, their ensemble's album CADENZA 21' received international recognition, including a nomination for the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package and multiple nominations at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, including Best Producer, Best Arrangement, and Best Cross-Genre Album.
p.cain (dc) - solo electronics
https://modelhomedc.bandcamp.com/album/p-cain-12
Wednesday July 22 * doors at 7, music at 7:45 * $15 * TICKETS
Jade Weapon is chaos music from maryland. They make beats then make them loud.
Druid Stone is the transexual b-horror music queen, est. 2011. Trans doom metal from Herndon, Virginia.
Courage Mother is a post-hardcore band from Northern Virginia, the brainchild of Salvi-American songwriter Lily Monico. Courage Mother is a project that originated from the desire to overcome. Their songs typically are very high in intensity, structurally adventurous, and lyrically address themes of trauma and growth.
Tuesday July 21 * doors at 6 * $20 * TICKETS
All proceeds to medical relief efforts in Gaza.
Plastic Toys
https://www.instagram.com/theplastictoys/
Fantazma
https://fantazma.bandcamp.com/
Ben Demase and the Instant Goblin Death Machine
https://www.instagram.com/bendemase
Corinth
Jet Hardy
https://www.instagram.com/jetkhardy
Monday July 20 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS
Pig Heart Transplant - Long-running west coast industrial noise. 1/2 of IRON LUNG.
FRKSE - Organic Death Industrial, new LP “Through The Slow Dusk” out now.
HSFB - Head Separating From Body is a pseudonym of artist and musician Max Hamel.
Vasterian - “Variable-speed mind fucking”.
Sunday July 19 * doors at 6, music at 7 * $15-20 * TICKETS
Vesuvian is a group of punks playing classic rock. Their new album Vesuvian came out in May 2026 out via Worry Bead Records.
Sexfaces ain’t here to play nice. Jacky Cougar (Des Demonas, Thee Lolitas) pounds the drums like they owe him money, while Sal Go (Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb, The NVs) saws through the noise with guitar that’s equal parts bratty and brutal. Hana Racecar (Tadzio, Coven Tree) layers in viola with a sneering elegance, and Neil Cobra (Teen Cobra) slings basslines that punch and swerve. Together, they churn out a sound that drags the droney madness of the Velvet Underground through the gutter, filters it through The Fall’s acerbic wit, and ties it all together with the punk attack of The Damned and the scuzzy swagger of Royal Trux.
Teen Cobra is a Venezuelan lo-fi punk duo by way of Washington, D.C., formed in 2018 by Neil (guitar, vocals) and Veronica (drums, vocals). Their minimalist one-two punch of punk draws equally from ’60s garage rock, the late-’70s CBGB frenzy, British post-punk sensibilities, and who-knows-what-the-fuck since then. They have released two 7-inch records, a live cassette, and a full-length LP. With a shitty guitar, a snare, and a floor tom, Teen Cobra shine a light on the majesty of the DIY music ethos.
The Armors are a rock ’n’ roll band blending hard-hitting classic rock swagger with mid-’70s glam. Nodding to proto-punk and DC’s Revolution Summer, their sound is equal parts danceable and snarky. They’re carving their way through the DC scene in dive bars, record shops, and underground event spaces.
Sunday July 19 * 3pm * 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 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!
Saturday July 18 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Please join us to be inspired by puppetry shorts and musical interludes.
Puppeteers: Sheila Gaskins / Sam Grossman / Paul Greggs / Merry Carver / Mary Nagler / Eli & Aiden Leizerov
Musicians: Maya Renfro & Stephen Wist
Supported by a grant from The Puppet Slam Network.
Exhibit runs July 18 - August 2
Reception: Sunday July 26, 5-7pm
Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view
Smatters - A 35mm photography exhibition by Eleanor Olson featuring a collection of candid images shot between December 2025 - June 2026.
Friday July 17 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $10-25 * TICKETS
Isaac Sherman is a musician, composer and filmmaker living in Los Angeles, California. Engaging with a variety of analog and digital synthesizers, samplers, guitar and voice, Isaac explores sonic curiosities through improvisation, composition and collaboration. His current musical practice focuses on the physical elements of analog synthesis and its ability to emulate wind, string and other acoustic instruments.
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.
Alma Laprida is a musician and multi-disciplinary artist whose creative pursuits encompass composition, improvisation, performance, installation, instrument building and radiophonic pieces. She’s known for her work with the tromba marina, a rare string instrument mostly used between the Middle Ages and the Baroque eras in Europa.
Michael R. Bernstein presents Blue Tape Human Liberation Orchestra - For as long as Minimalist music has existed, one weakness has persisted — the need for human involvement. The BTHLO imagines a future where the purity and pleasure of music can exist without the petty and profane need for human intervention. With its twin slogans of “Save Humans from Music” and “Save Music From Humans,” the BTHLO interrogates the infinite possibilities of this perfect future.
Thursday July 16 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $10-20 * TICKETS
Red Sunflower is a DC-based instrumental trio formed by brothers Kiyan Saifi (guitar) and Teymour Saifi (bass), with Jaden Shahin on drums. The band explores noise, textural improvisation, and experimental rock. Drawing on the energy of punk and free music, Red Sunflower favors intensity and unpredictability over convention.
Ahn is a three piece no wave/free improv group out of Cleveland.
The music of teaming in chess is the project of Arlington high-schooler Tiago Woodyard. Combining interests in Jazz, harDCore, and 20th century composition (among other things), his most recent record ventures through a poly-stylistic maze. The live set will consist of Woodyard and friends performing a few selections from the album abstracted into a free-improvisation territory.
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
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.
2nd Saturday of the month * online at 1130am Eastern * to REGISTER, please email rhizomepuppetlab@gmail.com
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.