“Hamilton” arrives at the Kennedy Center this week. (Photo by Joan Marcus)
Well, well, well. Look who’s back and ready to show you a good time. It’s us, your friends from DCist! We’re coming in hot with our weekly list of things for you to do when you’re not stuck on the Metro. This week’s lineup includes the annual DC Jazz Festival, free films, and a party with your faves (us). We missed you, too.
MONDAY, JUNE 11
JAZZ FEST: The DC Jazz Festival is back for another year. You can start your week with free jazz at The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage or UDC, or buy tickets to see go-go band The Jogo Project at Ivy City Smokehouse, vocalist Ola Onabulé at Blues Alley, or saxophonist Tia Fuller at City Winery DC. Check out our full guide to the festival here. (Various Locations, Various Times, FREE-$36)
RY COODER: Spend more than you typically might on a Monday to see the man Rolling Stone and Gibson named one of the top 100 guitarists of all time. American roots-rock musician and composer Ry Cooder is known for his slide guitar work. The six-time Grammy Award winner just released his first solo album in several years, and we don’t hate it. Hear songs from The Prodigal Son performed live in Alexandria. (Birchmere, 7:30 p.m., $110)
DRINKS & DRAMA: You could stay in and meal prep on a Monday night, but that sounds pretty boring. Warm up your vocal chords with an adult beverage and belt out your favorite songs at theatreWashington’s monthly showTunes & Cocktails, featuring Maestro Glenn Pearson and Guest Artist Andre Hinds. Hinds is currently performing in Signature Theatre’s The Scottsboro Boys, one of four local productions that you could win tickets to at this event. (Beacon Bar & Grill, 7-10 p.m. Pay What You Can)
COMEDY: You’d think “LIT Fest” is for book lovers, but you’d be wrong. Because this city would be lost without its acronyms, you can check out the LIT—or Laugh Index Theatre—Festival this week. End your Monday laughing with routines by comics Katie McKelvie and Nicole Berckes, comedy ensemble Hot & Sweaty, and musical improv team Wonderball. Check out the LIT Festival schedule for the full list of performances. (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 8 p.m., $15)
MORE: Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks – Director’s Cut (Regal Cinemas Gallery Place 14, 7-10 p.m., $13.22), Intermediate Bachata Class (Ferocity Dance Company, 7-8 p.m., $17)
Fans cheer on the Caps outside Capital One Arena on June 7. (Photo by Tyrone Turner/WAMU)
TUESDAY, JUNE 12
#ALLCAPS: The Stanley Cup is coming to Washington, and if there’s one thing this city knows how to do, it’s throw a parade. The victory parade is Tuesday morning, so plan ahead and start sniffling around the office on Monday. Be sure to mention that you “just really aren’t feeling 100 percent today.” Grab a Capitals shirt, give your boss this sick note from D.C. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Kevin Donahue, and get ready to celebrate our champions. A rally, inspiring speeches included, will follow the parade. Please “Rock the Red” responsibly. That includes not climbing any poles, ya animals. This isn’t Philly. (Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, 11 a.m., FREE)
FOOD, FILM, & OTHER ‘TINGS: June is Caribbean Heritage Month. You can mark the occasion this week at the 18th Annual DC Caribbean FilmFest. Work up your appetite for history and food at Tuesday’s screening of the 2017 Haitian-American documentary Liberty in a Soup. It explores the Haitian Independence Day tradition of eating joumou soup, a centuries-old recipe made from pumpkins. Ask Director Dudley Alexis your questions, sample some of the soup, and get a signed copy of The Art & Soul of Haitian Cooking at the post-screening reception. (AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 7:10 p.m., $13)
YES, YOU KIAI-CAN: Shaolin Jazz and the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) present Can I Kick It?, a kung-fu meets hip-hop series. Every Tuesday this month, you can catch an outdoor screening of a martial arts film set to a hip-hop and soul soundtrack mixed by DJ 2-Tone Jones. This Tuesday’s offering is Rumble in the Bronx, the 1995 action-comedy starring Jackie Chan and Anita Mui. (Freedom Plaza, 8:30 p.m., FREE)
HAMILTON: In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Tony Award-winning musical and massive hit Hamilton arrives in Washington on this night. The first batch of tickets went quickly, and opening night is sold out (of course), but tickets are still available for upcoming performances, including a few this week. The only problem is they’ll cost you many, many, many Hamiltons, and you’ll probably have to sit solo. But! If you’re scrappy and hungry, you might be able to snag a ticket for $10 as part of the #HAM4HAM lottery. Good luck. (The Kennedy Center, June 12-Sept. 16, $10-625)
FRENCH FILM: French film star Jeanne Moreau died one year ago this July. In a four-part series, the Embassy of France will pay homage to the woman Orson Welles called “the greatest actress in the world.” Decide for yourself if he was right at tonight’s screening of Louise Malle’s 1957 film Elevator to the Gallows/Ascenseur pour l’échafaud. It features a score by jazz giant Miles Davis, a love affair turned violent, and a case of really bad luck. (Embassy of France, 7 p.m., FREE)
MORE: Go the F*ck to Sleep: Stories about Parenting and Parents (Town Danceboutique, 8 p.m. $19.50), MEET US at Shop Made in D.C.’s Meet the Maker: DCist Edition!
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13
BEYOND THE BINARY: Hump day is a great opportunity to break up your week by breaking down the gender binary system. Changing positions during sex is par for the course, but in Switch, straight couple Leila and Doug magically swap bodies. Sex, gender, and sexuality get shaken up in this comedy produced by The Welders. Heads up: people will be nekkid. (Logan Fringe Arts Space, 8 p.m. $25)
TAKE A BREAK: You’ve worked hard all week, and there are still two days left until the weekend. Take some time for yourself and check out opening night of the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs’ Asian-themed summer film series. The series begins with the second most-viewed film in South Korean movie history, Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds. The action-fantasy movie centers on a recently-deceased firefighter, who needs to pass seven tests before he can pass on and be reincarnated. Bring your own blanket and chairs. The Mayor’s Office will supply the entertainment, popcorn, and popsicles. (Chinatown Park, 8-10:30 p.m. FREE)
BLUES BLOCK PARTY: The 10th Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival is this Saturday, but you don’t have to wait until the weekend for free entertainment. There will be nightly performances all week in Downtown Silver Spring. Grab some comfy shoes and dance the night away at tonight’s Blues Week Blues Jam. (Veterans Plaza, 7-9 p.m. FREE)
MORE: Los 3 de La Habana (Enrique Iglesias Conference Center, 7-8 p.m., FREE)
THURSDAY, JUNE 14
YEAH-YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH: Who hasn’t felt a little inspired by a nice tushie? WPGC 95.5 celebrates three decades of doin’ the butt this Thursday with Birthday Bash, a party honoring the 30th anniversary of Spike Lee’s School Daze. The film put the song “Da Butt,” and D.C. go-go band E.U., on da map. Thursday’s shindig also celebrates the big 3-0 for Big Daddy Kane’s, Kid ‘N Play’s, and Biz Markie’s first albums. Those cats are all on the lineup, along with E.U. and frontman Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliot. (9:30 Club, Doors at 6 p.m., $30)
PARTY WITH DCIST: It’s our party, and we’ll cry with joy if we want to. DCIST IS BACK, BABY! is this Thursday, and WE. ARE. READY. Come meet your favorite writers, snarky characters from the comment section (missed you guys), public radio heroes from WAMU, and readers who’ve supported the re-launch. You can still be one of them, by the way. Back our Kickstarter to keep the local news coverage and fun features you love coming, and get some sweet gifts for your trouble. We appreciate you, and are as confident as D.C. squirrels that you’ll come through for us. As for that party, DJ Beauty and the Beatz will get us dancing, and when you work up a sweat and an appetite, you can cool down with a cocktail and grab a snack from one of the food trucks. Soul & Ink will also be on-site, sending you home with handcrafted, custom screen-printed posters. (Blind Whino, 6:30-11 p.m., $20)
EXPLORE: The National Geographic Explorers Festival started Monday, but with three days of invitation-only trainings and workshops, let’s just call tonight’s National Geographic Awards the big kick-off. There will be musical performances by Melissa Etheridge, Ben Harper, and Amber Riley, fancy schmancy outfits, and some very impressive nerds who are doing their darndest to change the world. Awardees include a photographer who’s saving species, a protector of oceans, an environmentalist fighting pollution in China, and more. Celebrate them all, and make a weekend of it with the $100 festival pass. Or just check out tonight’s anchoring event. (Lisner Auditorium, 7:30-9:30 p.m., $25)
STITCH N’ B…BE CULTURED: Want to learn a few new tricks to impress your knitting circle with? The Embassy of the Philippines and the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery present The Art of Embroidery: Textiles from the Philippines. During this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn from expert embroiderers about piña-seda, the Phillipine textile made from pineapple fibers and silk. (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 6-8 p.m., FREE)
