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.

Saturday July 11 * 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, 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 * 3pm * $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/

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 & 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 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 * 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.

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”.

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

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.

Friday July 24 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $5-15 * TICKETS

Kiing

Spring Silver

Strawbalien

Young Swansii

Motel Portrait

plus art raffle

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.

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 * 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.

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/

Fly G
https://www.instagram.com/flygmusik/

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.

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.

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.

Sunday 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

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

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.

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

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/

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!

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 FINNEGAN is a Chicago-based drummer, composer, improviser, and organizer. 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.

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)

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)

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.

Bccording

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.

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)

Sunday September 6 * 1pm * in the backyard * $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/

2nd & 4th Wednesdays * online at 8pm Eastern * Free / donations appreciated * RSVP

A weekly guided dream-sharing hangout…. Welcome to the theater of your dreams—an inexhaustible source of images and stories that can provide entertainment and insight, and that requires no cable service and no subscription—just attentiveness and an open mind. Participants will share dreams, using a gentle, non-intrusive method for unlocking the metaphors that structure dreams (derived from the long-tested method of Dr. Montague Ullman). We’ll also talk about techniques for recalling and recording dreams, as needed.

Please click through for more details.

Thursday September 10 * doors at 6:30, music at 7:00 * $20-$30 * TICKETS

Transparent Productions Presents: 

An evening of music with two amazing ensembles led by trumpeters Michael Sarian and Dave Ballou. 

MICHAEL SARIAN’S ESQUINA draws inspiration from Miles Davis’s groundbreaking work with electronics and extended improvisation. Described by Bandcamp Daily as “taking the lessons of Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew and hauling them into the 21st century,” this innovative project features Sarian’s loosely structured compositions and graphic scores, seamlessly integrating themes and sounds from his Armenian heritage and Argentine upbringing.

The “for-tet” is a quartet of musicians from Baltimore, MD and, more recently, Richmond, VA. Members include Dave Ballou (trumpet), John Dieker (bass clarinet), Adam Hopkins (bass), and Mike Kuhl (drums). In the words of trumpeter and instigator DAVE BALLOU: “The “for-tet” is an ensemble of improvisers assembled for a performance on July 3, 2024, at Rhizome in Washington, DC. Although we had performed together before, I wanted to see what we could do with these compositions. But the intention was to perform these pieces with no rehearsal or discussion of the structure. This performance was so memorable because of the group interactions and musical decisions. We understood right away that each piece provides the context, and we create the structure.“

Saturday September 12 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $20-$30  * TICKETS

Transparent Production presents: 

A return of Critical Response to Rhizome DC with Jessica Ackerley opening.

The music of JASON KAO HWANG (composer/violin/viola) explores the vibrations and language of his history. His compositions are often narrative landscapes through which sonic beings embark upon extemporaneous, transformational journeys.

ANDERS NILSSON is a New York-based guitarist, composer, improviser. He plays electric guitars, 11-string alto guitar and baĝlama.

MICHAEL T.A. THOMPSON (drums) is an anomaly. T.A.'s palate encompasses an abundance of sound colors. He hears everything and plays with it in a way that's ever inventive and perceptively responsive. Thompson plays as he breathes. You'll always find him in the moment, inspired as well as inspiring.

JESSICA ACKERLEY is a Canadian guitarist, improviser, composer and visual artist based in Honolulu. Ackerley continually develops a hybrid musical language drawing on the influences of Black American Music and avant-garde improvisers, as well as the culture of the thriving New York City rock and noise scenes.

Wednesday September 30 * doors at 6:30, music at 7:00 * $20-$30 * TICKETS

Transparent Production presents: 

An evening of improvisations with two NYC-based musicians, Gían Pérez and Selendis S. A. Johnson, in performance with (from the DMV) the duo of Nelson Dougherty and Zach Dixon.

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. 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. 

SELENDIS SEBASTIAN ALEXANDER JOHNSON is a vibraphonist and trombonist. Johnson works with a variety of musical styles, and plays and organizes performances of Black-American improvisation based music.

NELSON DOUGHERTY is a Washington, DC-based jazz guitarist, composer, and educator with a career spanning over 20 years. Known for his unique ability to blend diverse musical genres, Nelson often uses guitar pedals to create expansive soundscapes.

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...or fall asleep, they're bound to do something that'll wake you up at some point.

Wednesday November 4 * doors at 7, show at 7:30 * $20 advance / $25 day of show * TICKETS

Ak’chamel - “For 15 years the trio of Ak’chamel has built a solid reputation as a compelling stage project. Wearing nightmarish costumes and engaging in hallucinatory “rituals”, their singular sound comprising desert-scorched psychedelia, post-apocalyptic shamanism, and lo-fi ritual-folk is as unique as the physical theater of their live performances.”

Ecology Homestones - A/V noise project from Philadelphia.

Sunday August 1 * 6pm * $10/15 advance, $20 at the door * TICKETS

BIG CITY PRESENTS
CITY SPOTLIGHT: ECHOES OF DOUBT

GO EZKO

OPEN MIC
ARTIST SHOWCASE
CITY CYPHER
LIVE PERFORMANCES
VENDORS

ARTIST SHOWCASE (LIMITED SLOTS) 1ST COME 1ST SERVED

THE COST OF BECOMING