Taking a Beat: A Celebration of DC’s Most Famous Black Musicians & Locales

With a sound and artistry all its own, our vibrant city builds on the legacy of great artists who call Washington, DC home.

Our nation’s capital is rich in musical history and influence, made even more engaging by the contributions of centuries of African American artists. As we celebrate Black History Month, here’s a look at some of the most notable names and places here in your own backyard. We encourage you to strike out and explore not just the music but the places throughout the city where these pioneers shared their artistry and made their mark.

Photo: The Chuck Brown Band

Go-Go: The Official Sound of DC

Sometimes called “the heartbeat of the DMV,” Go-Go music is the genre most identified with DC culture. Go-Go originated in DC during the mid-1970s as a mix of funk, R&B, and Latin music, with a focus on percussion, melody, and call-and-response audience participation. Clubs throughout the city became community anchors, not just for playing and promoting Go-Go music but building a musical force through economic investment and activism.

While many musicians helped craft the sound that defined the city, Chuck Brown, “The Godfather of Go-Go”, is probably the artist most identified with the Go-Go scene. He was a local legend before his death in 2012 and his spirit lives on with the Chuck Brown Band, headed by his son Wiley Brown. Get your groove on at their upcoming show on March 5 at the Bethesda Theater.

Regular Go-Go shows happen every week throughout the region, including the double-header “For the Love of Go-Go” on Valentine’s Day with Backyard Band and Black Alley at The Kennedy Center and Rare Essence & Black Alley at The Hamilton on February 16. And, to immerse yourself in Go-Go culture, check out the Go-Go Museum & Café in historic Anacostia, the official site for appreciation and study of the art form.

Photo: National Portrait Gallery, artist Peter Hurd

Washington Royalty: Duke Ellington

If Chuck Brown was The Godfather of DC’s native sound, pianist and jazz musician Duke Ellington was Washington Royalty who defined “Black Broadway” and so much more throughout the city. “The Duke” (born Edward Kennedy Ellington) began his musical career in various schools and locales throughout the city, including Armstrong Technical High School, one of only two public schools for Black students at the time, and Frank Holliday’s Pool Hall next to Howard Theater, the nation’s first and largest theater for Black audiences and entertainers.

After gaining momentum in his hometown, Ellington left DC at the age of 20 for New York City to become one of the most influential artists of the Harlem Renaissance. He honored his roots by naming one of his first ensembles The Washingtonians, and he is in turn honored in his native city with a school named after him: The Duke Ellington School of the Arts, the only public high school in DC to offer a dual curriculum integrating college-preparatory academics with pre-professional arts training in Dance, Instrumental Music, Cinematic Arts & Media Production, Museum Studies, Technical, Design & Production, Theatre, Visual Arts, and Vocal Music.

Photo: Far Out UK & Discogs

harDCore: Pioneering Punk

Another groundbreaking band that formed in the ‘70s (initially as a jazz fusion ensemble) and made their mark in the ‘80s was Bad Brains, who Rolling Stones called “the mother of all Black hard-rock bands.” Like Go-Go, Bad Brains’ music is a blend of styles: reggae, funk, heavy metal, hip-hop, and soul, and their influence is still found throughout alternative metal and punk styles. As Far Out UK noted, “While their music undoubtedly separated them from the majority, it goes without saying that Bad Brains were not the same as most people in the punk community at the time – played differently, too. Being a black band in a very white orientated scene saw the group mesh their love of funk, a factor which they fused with punk which saw Bad Brains not only combine two different sounds, but cultures, too.”

Photo: Sweet Honey in the Rock

Musical Ambassadors: Sweet Honey in the Rock

Grammy-nominated Sweet Honey in the Rock is another genre-blending act that originated in the early ‘70s and continues their singing, dancing, and signing ensemble act today, albeit with a different generation of women artists. Founded by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon as part of the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company with Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson and Mie, Sweet Honey In The Rock has “continuously evolved into international ambassadors of a cappella vocal and lyrical excellence and musical missionaries of equality, empowerment and education, peace, love, solidarity and nondenominational spirituality.”

A Cultural Beacon: Black Broadway

Before there was NYC’s Harlem, there was DC’s Black Broadway, a thriving center of African-American culture and social change. Duke Ellington earned his chops here, along with many other gifted musicians like Cab Calloway, Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Jelly Roll Morton, and icons such as author Zora Neale Hurston, historian Carter G. Woodson, civil rights activist and educator Mary McLeod Bethune, and researcher Dr. Charles Drew.

Visit some of Black Broadway’s musical haunts and historical venues featured throughout this article, including the Lincoln Theatre, which inspired a poem of the same name by Langston Hughes, the Bohemian Crystal Caverns, and the 12th St. YMCA.

Explore More

The National Museum of African American History & Culture maps the musical journey of many of these artists along with the impact of other influential Black musicians in their series Musical Crossroads, which tells the story of African American music from the arrival of the first Africans to the present day.

DC-native Marvin Gaye is honored with a park that bears his name and serves as a vital greenway and trail system as Washington’s longest municipal park, spanning 1.6 miles through the far-northeastern DC neighborhoods of Deanwood, Burville, Hillbrook, Lincoln Heights, and Northeast Boundary.Finally, be sure to check out these curated events from throughout the region for Black History Month and be a tourist in your own city!

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