KC Spotlight: BLACK GIRLS ROCK! FestTM starts next week

Plus: Ben Folds, Blue, Kris Davis, Gavin Creel, Stephen Hough + Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique”, free events and performances & more [View this email in your browser.]( [Kennedy Center]( [Kennedy Center]( BGR!FEST™: THREE DAYS OF PARTIES, PERFORMANCES, FILM & MORE BLACK GIRL MAGIC MAIN STAGE TALENT JUST ANNOUNCED! BLACK GIRLS ROCK!®Concert Featuring Alice Smith, Estelle, and Jade Novah Mar. 11 | Concert Hall As part of [Black Girls Rock! Fest™ 2023]( Saturday’s mainstage concert features Grammy Award–nominated singer-songwriter Alice Smith, celebrated for her soulful vocal range and formidable stage presence; Grammy-winning British rapper, singer, songwriter, and radio personality Estelle, known for her eclectic mix of R&B, soul, reggae, hip hop, and dance; and Jade Novah, known for her incredible vocals, sketch comedy, and conscious content. SPECIAL OFFER: TICKETS FROM $39! [Get Tickets]( [VIEW THE FESTIVAL LINEUP >]( BGR!FEST™ AT THE CLUB AT STUDIO K [Mumu Fresh sits against a red background]( BLACK GIRLS BOND™ Opening Party featuring Be’la Dona, Mumu Fresh, Beverly Bond & DJ Aktive Mar. 9 [Get Tickets]( [The two members of AAries pose together]( BGR!FEST™ After Dark: Who Rocks Next? featuring AAries, Kenya Vaun & DJ Ty Alexander Mar. 10 [Get Tickets]( [The two members of dead prez pose together]( BGR!FEST™ After Dark: Black Men Rock featuring dead prez & Bazaar Royale Mar. 11 [Get Tickets]( BGR!FEST™ ON MILLENNIUM STAGE BLACK GIRLS ROCK! ROCK LIKE A GIRL Kayla Ortiz Mar. 9 [Free—reserve tickets]( BLACK GIRLS ROCK! ROCK LIKE A GIRL The Amours Mar. 10 [Free—reserve tickets]( BGR!FEST™ Film Forum A Soul Sunday Movie Matinee Mar. 11 [Free—reserve tickets]( [EXPLORE HIP HOP & CONTEMPORARY MUSIC]( What’s On! [The Club at Studio K]( BEGINS TOMORROW! Downtown at the KC Cabaret Mar. 2–4 | 6 SHOWS Join us for three nights of uproarious comedy! Artists are coming together for bespoke cabarets featuring hilarious original songs. Each night features a different cast of comics belting their hearts out and hitting all the laugh lines! [Get Tickets]( René Marie and Experiment in Truth Mar. 16 | 2 SHOWS Guided by powerful life lessons and traditions of Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, and other leading ladies of jazz, extraordinary vocalist René Marie embodies various elements of folk, R&B, and even classical and country to create her own captivating style. [Get Tickets]( Kris Davis’ Diatom Ribbons Mar. 17 | 2 SHOWS [2023 Grammy winner]( Kris Davis presents an evening of ambitious, inviting music from her newest project Diatom Ribbons, a breakthrough record featuring NEA Jazz Master and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, DJ Val Jeanty, and bassist Trevor Dunn. [Get Tickets]( [Washington National Opera]( “The opera that America needs.” —The Washington Post “Best New Opera of 2020” (The Music Critics Association of North America) Blue 6 performances only! Mar. 11 at 7 p.m. | Mar. 13 at 7 p.m.Mar. 17 at 7:30 p.m. | Mar. 19 at 2 p.m.Mar. 22 at 7:30 p.m. | Mar. 25 at 7 p.m. Eisenhower Theater A family and community struggle when a police officer kills a teenager in the anticipated D.C. premiere of Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori and NAACP Theatre Award–winning librettist Tazewell Thompson’s acclaimed new opera. [Get Tickets]( Dive into Blue—FREE event! [Headshots of Kenneth Kellogg, Aaron Crouch, Dr. Sherry Davis Moloc, Ronald Hampton, Najae Purvis, and Nkechi Taifa]( Let’s Go There: Moving Through + Moving Forward Mar. 18 | Justice Forum The REACH Explore the themes of Blue in an engaging event featuring a panel conversation with special guests, a documentary screening, and musical performance. FREE with required advanced online registration. Advance reservations do not guarantee a seat, and patrons are encouraged to arrive early. [Free—Reserve Tickets]( [NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA]( Shostakovich’s Concerto for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 TOMORROW! Mar. 2 & 4 Award-winning pianist Conrad Tao and NSO Principal Trumpet William Gerlach perform Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto—a rule-breaking, neo-Baroque romp filled with rapid-paced rhythms and comic punch lines. The program, led by charismatic Ukrainian-born conductor Dalia Stasevska, also includes Sibelius’ great Second Symphony and a new work by Jessie Montgomery. [Get Tickets]( Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Rachmaninoff’s Piano  Concerto No. 3 Mar. 23–25 Experience the passion of “Pathétique”—Tchaikovsky’s glorious, heartbreaking final symphony—led by the composer’s fellow countryman Stanislav Kochanovsky. But first, prolific “keyboard colossus” (The Guardian) Stephen Hough performs the Mt. Everest of the concerto repertoire: Rachmaninoff’s sweeping, vigorous Piano Concerto No. 3. [Get Tickets]( JUST ANNOUNCED! DECLASSIFIED®: Ben Folds June 9 | Concert Hall Indie icon and NSO Artistic Advisor Ben Folds curates and hosts this part concert, part party, shining a spotlight on great live music performed by the NSO and special guests in a laid-back and relaxed setting. It’s classical music, DECLASSIFIED. On sale to Members now! On sale to the public tomorrow: Thu., Mar. 2 at 10 a.m. [Get Tickets]( Join us for a week of FREE performances— no reservations required! [NSO In Your Neighborhood EDGE OF THE CITY text in a center circle surrounded by a colorful arrangement of violines, piano keys, tubas, triangles, and petals in a flower-like formation]( NSO In Your Neighborhood Edge of the City March 7–13 BRENTWOOD | BROOKLAND | ECKINGTON | FORT LINCOLN | TRINIDAD | UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS | WOODRIDGE [EXPLORE THE SCHEDULE >]( [DANCE]( Red Sky Performance Miigis: Underwater Panther Mar. 2–4 | Terrace Theater Experience the the power of nature and Indigenous prophecy through contemporary Indigenous dance, theatrical innovation, and a fusion of athleticism, music, and film. [Get Tickets]( [FORTAS CHAMBER MUSIC]( A Far Cry Mar. 5 | Terrace Theater The Grammy–nominated orchestra makes its Kennedy Center debut performing three contemporary works and Tchaikovsky’s heartfelt Serenade for Strings in C major. The New York Times raves: A Far Cry “brims with personality or, better, personalities, many and varied.” [Get Tickets]( [THEATER]( NOW PLAYING! Into The Woods Through Mar. 19 | Opera House “BROADWAY’S INTO THE WOODS, NOW AT THE KENNEDY CENTER, STILL ENCHANTS!” —The Washington Post Following a sold-out engagement at New York City Center and a hugely acclaimed transfer to Broadway, Into the Woods is coming to the Kennedy Center. Directed by Lear deBessonet (Hercules), this theatrical event honors Stephen Sondheim’s legendary memory and his masterpiece like never before. [Get Tickets]( The Mortification of Fovea Munson Mar. 4–19 | Family Theater Mary Winn Heider brings her uproarious book to musical life with composer Justin Huertas in this Kennedy Center commission. Fovea Munson is stuck working at her parents’ cadaver lab, but she is by no means Dr. Frankenstein’s snuffling assistant! That is, until three disembodied heads start talking. To her. Out loud. And they need a favor. [Get Tickets]( Gavin Creel in Concert Mar. 13 | Terrace Theater Enjoy an intimate evening with Tony Award winner Gavin Creel as he shares the stage with fellow musicians Madeline Benson and Chris Peters to bring you favorite Broadway tunes, pop hits, and an exclusive preview of his thrilling new theatrical concert Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice. [Get Tickets]( [The Kennedy Center Gift Shop]( [The Kennedy Center Gift Shop]( FIRST LOOK! 🌸 [Shop the Cherry Blossom Collection]( [Cherry Blossom T-Shirt]( [Cherry Blossom Tumbler]( [Cherry Blossom Hoodie]( 🩰 [Shop our Ballet Collection]( NEW! [Ballet Silhouette T-Shirt]( NEW! [Kennedy Center Cuddle Soft Hoodie]( [Enchanted Ballet Puzzle]( 🎭 [Shop Theater Nerd Products!]( NEW! [Theater Phrases Puzzle]( NEW! [Theater Phrases T-shirt]( NEW! [Theater Phrases Notebook and Pen Set]( [Shop all >]( *$7 Flat Rate Ground Shipping for orders $65+ Keeping you safe Masks are optional but welcomed in all Kennedy Center spaces for visitors and staff. We ask that you respect others’ choices, and alert a staff member if you have any concerns. Protocols are subject to change in compliance with revisions to national and local guidelines regarding COVID-19. Visit our [website]( to learn more. See you soon! There’s something for everyone at the Kennedy Center! See [what’s on now](. For tickets and information, call us at 202-467-4600. The Kennedy Center is open to the public Mon.–Sun., 10 a.m.–midnight. The Hall of States Box Office is open Mon.–Sat., 10 a.m.–9 p.m. and Sun. 12–9 p.m. [facebook]( [The Kennedy Center welcomes guests with disabilities.]( [View email in browser.]( | [Forward this email.]( You are receiving this email based on your preferences. [Edit preferences.]( | [Unsubscribe.]( Please do not reply to this email. Add info@kennedy-center.org to your address book or safe list to ensure delivery. We respect our patrons’ privacy. [Read our privacy policy.]( [Contact center & FAQs.]( The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566 Instant Charge (202) 467-4600