MARGOT MACDONALD & PIOTR PAKHOMKIN
Thursday, February 6, 2020
7:30PM
Tickets: $24
Indie rock maven Margot MacDonald is known as something of a one-woman band. Using a looping pedal, she creates lush layers of haunting melodies. It will be a delight to see how the expertly plucked strings of Piotr Pakhomkin’s classical guitar are woven into this mix, layered and looped along with MacDonald’s award-winning voice. Pakhomkin trained under guitarist, Manuel Barrueco at Peabody Conservatory after just 18 months of playing classical guitar. MacDonald is a critical darling of DC, with 11 awards from the Washington Area Music Association under her belt. Expect the unexpected from this unique pairing.
DRUM TAO
Friday, February 7, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $29–$69
DRUM TAO 2020 is the latest production from TAO, internationally-acclaimed percussion artists. TAO’s modern, high-energy performances showcasing the ancient art of Japanese drumming have transfixed audiences worldwide. Combining highly physical, large-scale drumming with contemporary costumes, precise choreography, and innovative visuals, TAO creates an energetic and unforgettable experience.
The National Symphony Orchestra’s (NSO) Artistic Advisor Ben Folds takes center stage to perform at the DECLASSIFIED: Ben Folds Presents concert on Friday, February 7, at 9 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Other featured artists are composer-arranger-producer and multi-instrumentalist Jherek Bischoff and Chinese Pipa artist Wu Man. Ankush Bahl conducts.
Audiences who purchase tickets to both the February 7, 2020 AND the upcoming December 6, 2019 DECLASSIFIED concerts featuring Jamey Johnson, Emily King, and Gaby Moreno will receive a signed poster from Ben Folds at the February performance. In addition, the first 125 buyers to both shows will be invited to an intimate open-mic conversation and Q&A with Folds, along with the other artists and conductor, on the evening of February 6 in the REACH.
In a unique event that can only be heard with the NSO and Ben Folds, the DECLASSIFIED series defies the traditional classical music presentation by offering great live music in a casual and relaxed setting, with performances of symphonic music, as well as songs that are newly composed and/or arranged specifically for this event.
Folds has said that all the shows in the DECLASSIFIED series strictly adhere to a set of principles that set it apart from other kinds of orchestra performances. “There’s no rock, country, or pop band on stage,” Folds said. “The NSO is the band. We play by the orchestra’s rules, placing them in their natural environment, rather than using them to ornament. We create context that gives both the discerning veteran of the symphony hall as well as the newcomer a musical human experience, drawing a thread between the old and new. Never dumbing down a single note.”
For the February DECLASSIFIED, rather than serving in his usual role as host, Folds will perform live with the Orchestra.
The first DECLASSIFIED: Ben Folds Presents concert took place in June 2017, and featured artist-composer-producer Blake Mills, along with Latin Grammy®–nominated Cuban artist Danay Suarez. Previous NSO DECLASSIFIED performances have featured multi Grammy® and Tony®–nominated vocalist and composer Sara Bareilles with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and singer Caroline Shaw; bandleader and composer Jon Batiste with singer/songwriter Kishi Bashi, and composer and pianist Joachim Horsley; indie singer-songwriter Regina Spektor; and Sarah Silverman, Danay Suarez, and Gracie Folds.
CRIS JACOBS BAND
Saturday, February 8, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
The man Baltimore Magazine credited with inspiring an acoustic music revival that took over the city, Cris Jacobs is back with a follow-up to his highly acclaimed album Dust to Gold. His new album, Color Where You Are, showcases a more mature songwriter who has experienced profound change both professionally and personally. Jacobs is a new dad with new priorities, and his lyrics, delivered with that wonderfully gritty soul, connect on a new, visceral level. He also spends time reflecting on the tumultuous political climate at home, offering thoughtful criticism and messages of empowerment.
THE THREE TENORS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
WHEN: FEBRUARY 10th, 2020 at 5:30 PM
WHERE: The Mansion on O & O Museum, 2020 O Street, NWDC
Tickets: $10 per person. Reservations required at omuseum.org/tenors
Science is about facts, and scientific fact is at the center of climatologist Dr. Ben Santer’s work on global warming. The esteemed scientist from Lawrence Livermore Labs will join Milwaukee-based filmmaker Chip Duncan and global health expert Dr. Hernando Garzon from California’s Kaiser Permanente for an evening of discussion about receding glaciers, global climate modeling and the long term health consequences facing a warming world.
Using personal stories, long term study and decades of documentation and participation, Santer, Duncan and Garzon have teamed up to bring their climate story to audiences across the U.S. Duncan begins the evening with a discussion of his documentation of North America’s iciest landscapes going back to 1991. Santer tells the story of a warming climate through computer modeling and satellite imagery accented by personal stories that begin with his participation in the 1995 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This report reached the historic conclusion that “the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate.” Considered one of the world’s leading experts on global disaster response during the past generation, Garzon weaves a personal story that begins with his work navigating crises like 9/11, the Haitian earthquake and West Africa’s Ebola crisis while addressing a noticeable shift to climate-related disasters such as Puerto Rico, New Orleans, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Ayerwaddy Delta region of Burma Cab
The speakers are donating their time for this appearance.
Proceeds of this event go to support the programs at O Museum in The Mansion
LANDAU EUGENE MURPHY, JR.
AN EVENING OF LOVE SONGS WITH AMERICA’S GOT TALENT WINNER
Friday, February 14, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $28–$45
“Got Talent” might be the understatement of the century when it comes to America’s Got Talent winner Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. He stunned the nation with his story of triumph over adversity and won America’s Got Talent by the biggest vote total in the show’s history—but the sensation he’s created around the world since then is nothing short of extraordinary. His latest album, Landau, puts a big band twist on Great American Songbook standards. For this special Valentine’s Day concert at AMP, Murphy serenades you and your loved one with classic love songs.
BOWIE SYMPHONIC
BLACKSTAR
Saturday, February 15, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $29–$69
Conceived, adapted, and arranged for orchestra by Evan Ziporyn, conductor
Featuring Maya Beiser, cello and the Ambient Orchestra, featuring musicians from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music
While secretly battling a fatal illness, rock icon David Bowie crafted what would be his final album: the stark yet adventurous Blackstar. The record takes some surprising jazz-fusion turns in the midst of the Starman facing his own mortality. Composer, performer, and MIT professor Ziporyn pays tribute to the late Bowie by transforming Blackstar into a cello concerto for avant-garde cellist Beiser, backed by the Ambient Orchestra.
CRACK THE SKY
Saturday, February 15, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $27–$50
Crack the Sky have an impressive prog rock résumé. The group spent the ’70s touring with everyone from Frank Zappa to ELO, and their eponymous debut album was named Rolling Stone’s Debut Album of the Year in 1975. Since then, the band has been a fixture of the Baltimore music scene and has continued to put on live shows punctuated by quirky rhythms and lyrics that highlight singer-mastermind John Palumbo’s satirical worldview.
February 20, 2020 at 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.
Studio K
Join the amazing group of improvisers from Baby Wants Candy as they create an epic Hip Hop musical based on a historical figure of your choosing.
Tickets: $25
FRONTIERS
THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY TRIBUTE BAND
Friday, February 21, 2020
8PM
Tickets: $20–$35
Frontiers secured their place as the world’s number one tribute to Journey thanks to their unparalleled attention to detail. Powerhouse lead vocalist Elaine Tuttle channels Steve Perry with stunning accuracy and she’s backed by a world-class band of New York musicians. Journey fans will be transported back to the ’80s as Frontiers takes on hit after hit, including, “Open Arms,” “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” “Anyway You Want It,” and more.
