Don"t Miss the DC Funk Parade and Music Festival!
The Funk Parade is a one-of-a-kind street fair, parade and music festival in the U Street neighborhood of Washington DC. The free event is designed to bring people together through music, dance and the visual arts, while celebrating the musical heritage of the historic U Street district. The neighborhood will be enlivened throughout the day with live performances, artists and vendors, food, workshops and spontaneous acts of soul.
The parade will include a variety of dancers, marching bands, drum corps, beat-boxers, junkyard drummers, pot-bangers and more. Several of the area’s most popular music venues will open their doors in the evening offering free, live and local funk-inspired bands immediately following the Funk Parade.
See Photos of the DC Funk Parade
Date: Saturday May 2, 2015
Location: The U Street Metro Station is within walking distance to all of the events. See a map of the U Street Corridor
2015 Schedule Overview
Street Fair - noon-5 p.m. Music, dance, dragon and lion dancers, art and workshops will be located along U Street from 9th to 16th St. NW. Washington DC.
Mighty Funk Parade - 5-7 p.m. The parade will begin at T Street NW and Florida Avenue NW, in front of the Howard Theatre, proceeding west on T Street, turning right on Vermont Avenue, and left onto U Street. It will proceed on U Street NW for several blocks ending in front of the Lincoln Theatre.
Music Festival - 7-10 p.m. Free performances at a variety of venues throughout the U Street Corridor.
See locations and more details below.
Afterparty - 10 p.m. Ticketed Event: $30. The Howard Theatre hosts an official Funk Parade afterparty featuring Trouble Funk, Lee Fields and DJ Nitekrawler. Tickets are for sale at the Howard Theatre Box Office and online.
Street Fair Schedule, Performers and Locations
MA Winter Building Lot - 1436 U St NW
1:00 - 2:00pm - JoGo Project
2:30 - 3:30pm - Akua Alrich
4:00 - 5:00pm - Cheick Hamala Diabate
Reeves Center Performance Area - 2000 14th St NW
12:30 - 1:00pm - Ra Nubia
1:00 - 1:45pm - Virtuoso Horns
1:45 - 2:00pm - Urban Artistry
2:00 - 2:45pm - Crush Funk Brass
2:45 - 3:00pm - Yamomanem Jazz
3:00 - 3:30pm - Batala Washington
3:40 - 4:40pm - The Brass Connection
The Ellington Stage - 1240 U St NW
12:00 - 12:20pm - Universal Capoeira Angola
12:30 - 1:00pm - Chelsey Green and the Green Project
1:10 - 1:40pm - Thaylobleu
1:45 - 1:50pm - Poetry
1:50 - 2:20pm - Under the Influence Band
2:20 - 2:30pm - Enoch 7th Prophet
2:30 - 3:10pm - Nappy Riddem
3:10 - 3:20pm - Face Poet
3:50 - 4:30pm - Faycez U Know
4:30 - 5:00pm - Malcolm X Drummers and Dancers
The Industrial Bank Youth Pavilion - 2005 11th St NW
This area will feature live paint activity for artist of all ages, a beat production workshop, chess instruction, performances by apprentice students from the Words Beats & Life Academy, dancers from the Princess Mhoon Dance Institute and the featured band will be the Hip-Hop Orchestra from the University of Maryland.
African American Civil War Memorial - 1925 Vermont Ave NW
12:00 - 12:30pm - Denyse Pearson and the DC Legendary Musicians (DCLM) Jazz Band
12:30 - 12:45pm - Nubian Spin
12:45 - 1:15pm - The Ministries of Christ Band from House of Prayer
1:15 - 1:30pm - Work It! Studio WandaWoman “Uptown Funk”
1:30 - 2:00pm - DCLM R&B Band with Ida Campbell
2:00 - 2:15pm - Work It! Studio Belly Dancing
2:15 - 2:50pm - Gallons to Ounces
2:50 - 3:10pm - Nation Hand Dance Association
3:10 - 3:50pm - Rufus Roundtree and Da BMore Brass Band
3:50 - 5:00pm - Maggot Brain Guitar Jam Session FEATURING Michael “Kid Funkadelic” Hampton
JBG Lot at Atlantic Plumbing - 945 Florida Ave NW
12:00 - 12:40 - Marlee in the Mixx
12:55 - 1:35 - The New Retro
1:50 - 2:30 - Tosin
2:45 - 3:30 - Empresarios
3:50 - 4:40 - The Junkyard Band
Parade Details
The parade will begin at T Street NW and Florida Avenue NW, in front of the Howard Theatre, proceeding west on T Street, turning right on Vermont Avenue, and left onto U Street. It will proceed on U Street NW for several blocks ending in front of the Lincoln Theatre. Everyone is invited to participate, come ready to sing, dance, clap and have a great time. Participants include Batala Washington, Duke Ellington Radical Elite Show Band, Royal Knights Marching Band Options Charter School Marching Band, Eastern High School Blue & White Marching Machine and more.
Music Festival Details
Free performancesby Black Alley, See-I, Janka Nabay, Black Masala, Elikeh, The Funk Ark, Congo Sanchez, Crocodiles, Baby Bry Bry, Backbeat Underground, Joe Quarterman, Alma Tropicalia, Karikatura, Lucky So-and-So’s, Three Man Soul Machine, Astronaut Jones, Champion Sound, All The Best Kids, Joe Keyes and the Late Bloomer Band, SWAGFUNK, Aztec Sun, Flashband Funk Parade Jam, Salsa Night on U At Wanda Work it Studios. Venues include the following:
- U Street Music Hall - 1115 U St NW Washington DC
- Tropicalia - 2001 14th St. NW Washington DC
- Solly’s: Flashband Project - 1942 11th St. NW Washington DC
- DC9 Nightclub - 1942 11th St. NW Washington DC
- Patty Boom Boom - 1359 U St NW, Washington, DC
- Liv Nightclub DC - 2001 11th St NW, Washington DC
- Bohemian Caverns - 2001 11th St NW, Washington DC
- The Brixton - 901 U St NW Washington DC
- Twins Jazz Club - 1344 U St NW Washington DC
- Jojo Restaurant and Bar - 1518 U St. NW Washington DC
- Busboys and Poets - 2021 14th St NW Washington, DC
- Ben’s Next Door - 1211 U St NW, Washington, DC
- Dukem Restaurant - 1114-1118 U St NW Washington DC
Website:funkparade.com
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