The D.C. community jammed out to honor the late musician known as the ‘Godfather of Go-Go’ Saturday afternoon during its 9th Chuck Brown Day celebration.
The event took place at Fort DuPont Park in Southeast D.C., instead of the usual spot, a park named after Brown. That’s because, organizers said, the event keeps growing in popularity.
And the vibes certainly didn’t disappoint.
Residents came out to dance with friends, family and fellow community members. Food vendors in and around the event filled the air with tasty aromas, and the music was in the pocket.
“It brings people together of all different ages, from all facets of life,” said Latita Faulk, who heads up events for the District’s parks and recreation department. “They all come together for the love of go-go music, and obviously for Chuck Brown.”
Faulk says the day is so important and intrinsic to the culture of D.C., the birthplace of the funk subgenre that is go-go.
“There are not many cities that have their own sound,” she reflected. “And this sound is one that people here have grown up on, generation after generation.”
Brown passed away at 75 on May 16, 2012, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
His band, still playing after all these years, were the night’s featured act to close things out.
“I want to go get down and boogie right this second!” Faulk exclaimed while listening to their set.
A total of 6,037 people attended Saturday’s event, which Faulk said is as much about having fun as it is about keeping the culture of go-go alive to pass down to the next generation.
“Especially now that the mayor has taken pen to paper and written that go-go is the official sound of D.C., it’s important to us that our young people know what go-go music is, and what it means to the culture,” Faulk said.
She said they’re already looking ahead to next year when they expect to have an even bigger crowd to experience the sound of D.C.
