NEXTfest, a two-day music and arts festival that explores D.C. culture through the lens of music that grew out of the city’s Black community, is back at Malcolm X Park this fall with an expanded program and a focus on D.C. statehood for its second year.
The event, to be held on September 24-25, is co-produced by three local organizations: CapitalBop, Long Live GoGo, and Washington Parks & People.
Last year’s inaugural NEXTfest took place on single day at the same location and drew over four thousand attendees, according to its organizers. That program showed how elements of D.C.’s jazz scene evolved into what would become go-go.
“One thing about last year’s festival, it really continues to prove how big live music is in the city in terms of the fanfare, the culture, the demographic of the people the festival drew and garnered,” says Justin “Yaddiya” Johnson, Long Live GoGo’s founder and creative director. “It proves that D.C. truly appreciates live music and is home to some of the best live musicians.”
This year’s NEXTfest production is even more ambitious, presenting a full day of free musical performances on Saturday and then a series of panel discussions, educational events, and cultural conversations the following day, all built around the D.C. statehood cause.
“Everybody that is part of the event is aware of the theme of the event, but this is also a celebration of black music in D.C. and D.C. itself, its culture, politics, and people,” says Jeanette Berry, CapitalBop’s executive director. “Politics are part of the culture and people are part of the music.”
This will mark the first event for CapitalBop, a decade-old nonprofit organization that organizes jazz shows around D.C., since Berry was named the group’s first-ever executive director in July. The native New Yorker is an experienced vocalist, educator, and organizer.
“I’ve always felt a love, not an attachment, but a call from D.C.,” Berry explains. “I want to make sure this organization makes itself and builds itself to be a home for jazz in D.C. by doing the work to continue putting the shows on and make the history, but also share the history.”
The festival’s music portion will have two stages, one named after go-go legend Little Benny and the other after jazz great Billy Taylor, with alternating performances. Attendees will have the opportunity to walk into Malcolm X Park, spend some time listening to music, and then gather information and inspiration from the tables and artists who will set up throughout the park.
Performers include UCB, known for the classic go-go anthem “Sexy Lady,” TOB Band & Show, who appeared at NEXTfest 2021, and New Impressionz, a younger group that embraces the bounce beat take on go-go, as opposed to the traditional pocket beat. Hearing these bands will take the listener through go-go’s history as it developed through the years.
On the jazz side of things, the lineup features Cecily, a local vocalist whose reputation is stretching beyond the D.C. region, and multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay. Festival organizers say will announce additional performers in the coming days and weeks.
“NEXTfest gives me the same essence the Harlem Cultural Festival,” says Johnson, referring to the summer 1969 event series captured in last year’s Oscar-winning documentary Summer Of Soul. “It’s a great attraction for the community to enjoy free and valuable live entertainment.”
While the connection between D.C.’s jazz and go-go histories lends itself to a narrative that can be reflected through the music curation, the statehood theme speaks to the larger culture and politics of what it means to live in D.C. Organizers have teed up cultural discussions to draw a throughline between statehood and the arts.
Using film screenings, discussions, visual arts, this “humanities” portion on NEXTfest’s second day addresses ideas such as grassroots organizing, economic empowerment, and local history, with statehood as a launchpad for an exchange of ideas. The statehood-focused programming takes place in and around the Josephine Butler Parks Center, located across the street from Malcolm X Park. Sunday participants will also have an opportunity to hit up the beloved Malcolm X Park drum circle that happens on Sunday afternoons.
“It’s really about being intentional about every piece of the puzzle from tabling to the artists and that results in a fundamentally connected two days,” says Berry. “In our dream world, everybody from Saturday would come on Sunday, but that’s not necessarily the outcome, and that’s okay. It will be a more tailored audience with folks that want to sit down for a moment and not just get some education, but also be part of a conversation.”
NEXTfest takes place Sept. 24-25 at Malcolm X Park in Northwest D.C. The festival is free; visit its website for schedule and program updates.
