On “Trenchtown Rock,” Bob Marley sang, “One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.” Saturday’s first-ever Down in the Reeds festival takes the message behind those lyrics one step further, aiming to promote music’s profound ability to heal.

“Every single community approaches the idea of healing through music in its own way,” says Chris Naoum, who co-founded the festival and runs the D.C. music initiative Listen Local First. Down in the Reeds will explore that notion through an afternoon of live performances and workshops at the under-construction mixed-use development The Parks at Walter Reed in Northwest, at the former site of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The lineup includes D.C.-based musicians and performers who will share how they use music as a tool to heal, as well as some acts that fit under the umbrella more loosely—for writing lyrics about healing, for example, or for their ability to bring people together.

Naoum says an early inspiration for this festival’s theme came from a series of conversations he had with Michael and Tanya Trotter, the husband-and-wife Americana duo better known as The War and Treaty. Musician Dom Flemons, a D.C.-based evangelist for old-timey string music, also helped Naoum and his co-organizers shape the kind of acts they booked.

“They really got me thinking about the importance of the healing power of music,” Naoum says of Flemons and the Trotters. “And how music can change people and can heal different communities of people in different ways.”

It’s also not lost on Naoum—who co-founded D.C.’s Funk Parade, books the Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival, and works on the Wammies—that the festival’s location dovetails perfectly with the mission of Down in the Reeds. “It’s an old Army hospital and what better scene for this event—to build around the idea of healing through music,” he says.

The festival, which Naoum expects to draw 2,000-3,000 people, is free, but a $10 donation to help fund this year’s—and future years’— programming is suggested. The mainstage (in a natural amphitheater) will host musical performances from noon to 6:30 p.m.; a second stage will feature workshops, talks, and open jams. A musical healing tent will allow attendees to try out a sound bath and learn more about the ways music can bring healing. There will also be the requisite arts and crafts activities for kids and families, an Atlas Brew Works beer garden, food trucks, lawn games sponsored by DC Fray, local crafts vendors, and live art demonstrations.

Here’s more on four artists who will be appearing at Down in the Reeds, each of whom explore the festival’s ethos in their own way.

Imka
Workshop stage, 12:40-1 p.m.

D.C.’s Imka runs the record label Evidence of Yesterday and does graphic design for the Eaton hotel. He released an EP, Manyara, last month that he describes as a “plant-based instrumental album.” Using actual plants from Shaw’s Rewild, Imka “translated plant bio data into music,” Naoum says, creating ethereal, abstract electronic music that also pays tribute to his late mother, who was a botanist. During this workshop, Imka will play some music and explain how he used plants to compose.

Stream this: The 9-minute “Calathea,” from Manyara, is an ambient soundscape that will make you wonder how Imka turned a plant into a song.

Yasmin Williams
Main stage, 2:50-3:20 p.m.

Northern Virginia native Yasmin Williams picked up the guitar after playing Guitar Hero 2 as a kid. Eventually, she settled into an instrumental, finger-picked acoustic guitar style that’s become her trademark. Last year, she collected her compositions into an album, Unwind, that’s full of hypnotic, meditative songs, often played solo in the lap guitar style. “She was never formally trained and started playing guitar in this weird way and has made it her own,” Naoum says. (She even sells guitar tabs on her website so you can learn how to mimic her unorthodox approach.)

Stream this: Her latest single, “Take That Step,” was released to streaming services in August and features vocals from New York-based jazz singer Jason Bembry, showing how Williams’ music is still evolving.

Uasuf Gueye
Workshop stage, 3:10-3:40 p.m. 

D.C. native Uasuf Gueye comes from a family of oral historians and musicians and is a former Strathmore artist-in-residence. “He talks about all of these traditional African instruments and their styles and how they’re actually all designed for specific spiritual healing purposes,” Naoum says, adding that each instrument “operates on a certain vibration that is supposed to heal.” Gueye, who considers himself an ambassador for African music, will use his Down in the Reeds workshop to play a set that doubles as an educational lecture, involving the audience in call-and-response.

Stream this: “My Story,” the lone studio track from his 2018 EP New Origins, combines traditional African music with hip-hop influences.

Aaron Abernathy
Main stage, 4:30-5:15 p.m.

In January, Howard University alum Aaron Abernathy released Epilogue, the third in a trio of albums that began with his debut, 2016’s soul throwback record Monologue, and continued with 2017’s Dialogue, an introspective record that explores race in America. “Epilogue is about seeking healing and resolution with yourself after heartbreak,” Abernathy said in a release for the album. On it, the singer-pianist, who often tours in the backing band for rapper Black Milk, shares confessional lyrics over a mix of modern soul, funk, hip-hop and old-school R&B.

Stream this: Epilogue’s “Sucka 4 U // Facts Only” finds Abernathy at his most Prince-y—both in sound and ambition.

Doors open for Down in the Reeds on Saturday at 11 a.m. FREE but a $10 donation is suggested.