On the birthday of the late “godfather of go-go,” we’re learning more about the investment D.C. is making to assure sure the city’s official music plays on.
There’s no better time than on Chuck Brown’s birthday to hear about the city’s “Go-Go Stimulus Plan” — a $3 million investment in the style of music that has been labeled “the official music of D.C.”
D.C. Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie, says the money will be equally divided between three entities.
“We’re going to put a million at Events DC, we’re going to put a million at the Office of Cable Television and then we’re going to put a million at our public libraries,” McDuffie said. “Why are we going to do that, might you ask? Because we need to provide a system of archives so we can preserve and protect the music we’ve been listening to for more than decades.”
Some of the money is expected to promote go-go to tourists.
“Events DC is really the place where you think of tourism, you think of hospitality, hotels, restaurants, night life,” said McDuffie, “Events DC is going to help to make sure we’re making the music out on that fashion and supporting it similarly to the way that New Orleans supports jazz and Nashville supports country music — we want our city to support go-go in a similar fashion.”
He believes this funding will give them the resources to push the music out to those different areas of tourism and hospitality.
“When people arrive into the city are they hearing go-go music? Are they seeing artists? Are they understanding the venues where they’re going to be playing the music?”
They are also creating a grant program to help go-go artists, who are struggling amid the pandemic and to offer economic support so they can continue to create their music.
