Free Outdoor Concert Series at the National Arboretum

The Summer Evenings outdoor concert series kicked off last night at the National Arboretum (enter through the gates at 2400 R Street NE). The series, sponsored by Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA) and the Washington Youth Garden, features free Thursday night concerts through August 2nd.



Pack a picnic dinner (no alcohol) and bring your blanket or lawn chair, or just grab a spot in the grass in the meadow beneath the Capitol Columns. Sorry, dogs are not invited. The performances are free, but registration is required. Registration links for two upcoming concerts are below, and registration will open for other concerts as we get closer to those dates (the links will appear on the main concert series page). Gates open at 6pm, and concerts are from 7–8:30pm.

June 21 – Rocknoceros (Children’s music)

• Enjoy music from an award winning children’s band as they celebrate their tenth year together with music from their brand new album.

June 28 – Rochelle Rice (R&B and Soul)

• Rochelle’s sound is a woven tapestry of jazz-centric contemporary pop and soul.

July 5 – John Sax Williams (Jazz)

• A skilled musician who plays the clarinet, saxophone, flute, oboe, and bassoon. John Sax Williams and his band play jazz, R&B, gospel and rock.

July 12 – Mark G. Meadows and The Movement (Jazz)

• You don’t want to miss Mark Meadows in the Meadow! He is a multi-talented jazz pianist, composer, vocalist, and jazz educator. His performances reflect his versatile musical background with jazz, R&B, gospel, and jazz.

July 19 – La Chicha de tu Madre (Latin)

• Dance the evening away with this DC-based amazonica cumbia style band.

July 26 – Wylder (Indie-Rock)

• Wylder fuses indie-rock and chamber-folk that evokes a diverse set of comparisons from Arcade Fire and Weezer all the way to Fleet Foxes.

August 2 – The Hip-Hop Orchestra 

• “The HHO” is a collaborative music project featuring a new generation of DMV artists who color sound with spirit using a diverse palette of personality and strokes of Hip-Hop bringing you classic medleys and landmark originals.