Category Archives: Performers & artists

Jeremy “Saymo Saymo” Manson and his cigar boxes are a familiar sight in D.C. He’s a regular at the drum circle in Malcolm X Park every Sunday – practicing, honing and performing his art. He also performs at clubs and venues on H street, on the Metro, at festivals throughout the year, and has even juggled on a Pepco commercial.

All performers have been saddened and sidelined by the pandemic. But as the Black Lives Matter movement grew, the performers from Sunset & Chill saw an opportunity to use their skills to create something that spoke in support of Black Lives Matter. They decided that their statement should take the form of a dance video, using their language of movement to help showcase diversity and counter toxic culture.

Native Washingtonians Airro, L, Loso and Xanyy have been at Black Lives Matter Plaza from the beginning of the protests. Immediately following the murder of George Floyd when the crowds were gathering day and night and tensions and anger were very high, the group decided that they wanted to be a voice too, but a voice through dance, a voice that would give people pause for a moment or longer, a voice to bring a bit of a balance to the anger.

D.C. is eerily quiet these days, and one of the sounds we miss the most is the vibrant drumming of Batala, heard at almost all D.C. festivals, marches, and parades. Batala’s mission is “to empower women through drumming and expose people to Brazil’s dynamic Afro­ Bahian culture and Samba ­Reggae music.” It’s a non-profit organization… Continue reading

We’re big fans of the murals in D.C., and love seeing new ones created. Unfortunately, most murals are only temporary, and we have seen some of the best ones come and go. You’ve likely seen this mural as a backdrop to thousands of Instagram photos, but it is vanishing this week. The mural is on… Continue reading

For a city that is photographed millions of times a year by over a million different photographers, nothing captures the District as uniquely as the photography of Matthew Parker. With special attention paid to space and time, Matthew is able to create amazing collages of the city, its monuments, events and neighborhoods. Matthew begins each… Continue reading

One of the best nights in D.C. is tomorrow – Art All Night takes over several areas of the city with an explosion of creativity. There are many performances scheduled and many venues with art and music inside, but lots of the fun is also just walking the streets and seeing the strange things there…. Continue reading

We love to watch the creative artistry of fire performers, so we’re very excited that two local groups were selected for the Burning Man Fire Conclave coming up next week. Congratulations to Pyroxotic and Revolutionary Motion! See the auditions that got them into Burning Man: Revolutionary Motion: Pyroxotic’s video on YouTube Pyroxotic up close: Revolutionary… Continue reading

The drum circle is an event which is truly unique to Washington DC and very dear to my heart. The drum circle draws a kaleidoscope of drummers, dancers, jugglers, acrobats and artists from all walks of life and backgrounds to it every Sunday and is really a quintessential Washington experience not to be found anywhere else.

In the weeks before the Funk Parade, we’ve been showcasing some of our favorite groups. For our final Funk feature, we are turning the spotlight on the multi-talented Dior Ashley Brown.