Shake out those picnic blankets: The National Gallery of Art’s dreamy summer concert series, Jazz in the Garden, returns next month, starting with a Creole-infused performance from Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas on May 31.
The beloved (and, yes, crowded) Sculpture Garden performances will run every Friday for ten weeks from May 31 through August 9, with a mid-season hiatus on July 5. In addition to jazz, this year’s lineup includes genres such as Afro-Latin fusion; funk and soul; indigenous fusion; and more. There will also be a special Juneteenth celebration with the Muneer Nasser Quintet on June 21.
Each show starts at 6 PM, but you’ll want to arrive early after the gates open at 5 PM to stake a spot in the grass and order up one of the garden’s ever-popular sangria pitchers (sorry, no BYOB allowed). Other drinks are available at pop-up bars as well as sandwiches, salads, and snacks inside the Pavilion Café, though you can pack your own fare to munch on too.
While each show is free, you do need a bit of luck to get your hands on the event’s coveted tickets, which are distributed through a lottery system that opens the week prior on Mondays at 10 AM and closes on Fridays at noon. You can register for up to four passes here, and you’ll find out if you’ve won via email on the Monday before each program. There will also be a few additional passes available on a first come, first served basis when the gates open at each event.
And should the odds not be in your favor? Don’t worry: There are other free summer concerts around town too, such as the Wharf’s Rock the Dock concerts on Wednesdays or Bethesda’s summer concert series on Fridays.
Here is this year’s Jazz in the Garden lineup:
May 31: Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, zydeco
- Lottery opens on May 20 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on May 24 at noon
- Results announced on May 27 at 10 AM
June 7: Anderson Quartet, Indigenous fusion
- Lottery opens on May 27 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on May 31 at noon
- Results announced on June 3 at 10 AM
June 14: 8 Ohms Band, horn-heavy funk and soul
- Lottery opens on June 3 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on June 7 at noon
- Results announced on June 10 at 10 AM
June 21: Muneer Nasser Quintet, a Juneteenth celebration
- Lottery opens on June 10 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on June 14 at noon
- Results announced on June 17 at 10 AM
June 28: Josanne Francis, Caribbean steelpan
- Lottery opens on June 17 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on June 21 at noon
- Results announced on June 24 at 10 AM
July 12: US Air Force Band’s Airmen of Note, big band jazz
- Lottery opens on July 1 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on July 5 at noon
- Results announced on July 8 at 10 AM
July 19: Jake Blount, Afrofuturist roots
- Lottery opens on July 8 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on July 12 at noon
- Results announced on July 15 at 10 AM
July 26: Brent Birckhead, contemporary jazz
- Lottery opens on July 15 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on July 19 at noon
- Results announced on July 22 at 10 AM
August 2: Plena Libre, Afro-Latin fusion
- Lottery opens on July 22 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on July 26 at noon
- Results announced on July 29 at 10 AM
August 9: Leigh Pilzer’s Seven Pointed Star, jazz septet
- Lottery opens on July 29 at 10 AM
- Lottery closes on August 2 at noon
- Results announced on August 5 at 10 AM
