Did you ever grind to Ginuwine’s “Pony?” Did you crack up watching Anthony Anderson’s “Black-ish?”
The Kennedy Center welcomes both stars for a special two-night event called “DC ORIGINALITY: Showcasing the Cultural Beat of Capital City” on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
“I’m from D.C., I was born here and I know the rich culture of the city,” curator Carlos Simon told WTOP. “I know how special the city is and I know the amazing talent and amazing culture that comes out of this city, so I was like, ‘Let’s highlight some of that at the Kennedy Center, the nation’s cultural stage.'”
The event will be co-hosted by “Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson and Dr. Tonya M. Matthews.
“Anthony Anderson needs no introduction, he’s an amazing actor and he’s absolutely going to bring that fire in hosting,” Simon said. “He’s of course known for the big show ‘Black-ish’ and he’ll come and host the show with that same energy. Then we have Dr. Tonya Matthews, who is an engineer and also works with the Maryland Science Center, so they’ll tag-team the event hosting and emceeing and introducing the artists.”
While born in California, Anderson has strong D.C. ties as a proud graduate of Howard University.
“Howard shows up a lot in this concert through artists who graduated and also we have some students from the Howard University Music Department: Afro Blue,” Simon said. “We have Imani-Grace Cooper, who’s a graduate of the university, Kenny Lattimore, who’s also a graduate of Howard University, so Howard is well represented in this concert. Hopefully we have some alum who will come support these local and homegrown artists.”
Lattimore will perform chart-topping R&B hits, alongside another D.C. native, Ginuwine.
“Kenny Lattimore is an American R&B singer, born in D.C., grew up in the DMV area, whose songs include ‘For You,’ ‘Love Will Find a Way,’ ‘Stay on My Mind,’ so it was really important to highlight the R&B element of the city in what it has to bring in contemporary R&B,” Simon said. “Ginuwine will follow Kenny Lattimore and sing those classic hits like ‘Pony’ and ‘Anxious.’ … He is legendary across the world as an R&B singer.”
Other hometown performers include Christylez Bacon, The String Queens and The D.C. Go-Go All Stars.
“The String Queens are a local legend, but they’re performing all over the country now. The name is pretty indicative of what they do, they play strings, but they are exciting, they bring some heat and energy to the classical space,” Simon said. “You cannot have a concert featuring D.C. music and not feature go-go. … We close out the program with the D.C. Go-Go All Stars. It’s going to be really exciting to have the orchestra play go-go music.”
That’s right, the National Symphony Orchestra will lend its epic instruments to the catchy tunes of the late “Godfather of Go-Go” Chuck Brown, as well as other legendary D.C. natives from Marvin Gaye to Duke Ellington.
“They’re a top-tier orchestra with some of the best musicians,” Simon said. “Of course they do classical music like Beethoven, Bach and Mozart, but they also perform works by popular artists. … It shows the wide-ranging talent of the musicians in the National Symphony Orchestra. They can do so many types of music so well.”
Rounding out the concert is a fresh original piece composed by Simon specifically for this concert.
“It pays homage to a D.C. native born in the 1920s known for bringing jazz to Europe,” Simons aid. “His name was James Reese Europe. He led a band called The Harlem Hellfighters, they fought in World War I, Black Americans unable to serve in combat but they were able to play at different bases in Europe to boost morale. They played jazz music from Harlem, music from D.C. and this element of Black American music across the world.”
Arrive early and stay late for pre- and post-shows, pop-up vendors, drink tastings, photo booths and more.
“Be prepared to get out of your seats,” Simon said. “This is not a concert where you’re just gonna sit down and enjoy. No, be prepared to get up and clap your hands and dance a little bit. It’s going to be really exciting.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
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