City to Shut Down Part of Historic U Street for FUNK PARADE
LiveMusicDaily Joins Forces with DC Funk Parade
We are pleased to announce that LiveMusicDaily will be bringing you exclusive coverage of the Funk Parade on May 2nd in Washington, D.C.!
The Bowser Administration has agreed to allow Funk Parade to take place on U Street NW on May 2, 2015, the D.C. Department of Funk announced today. The move reverses the city’s previous stance of prohibiting the closure of U Street NW for any public event, which had been in place for nearly a generation.
“We’re grateful to the city and Mayor Muriel Bowser for acknowledging U Street’s historic significance to the District as the soul of music, culture and celebration, a place that’s unlike anywhere else in the city,” said Justin Rood, co-founder of Funk Parade. The event, including a day fair and evening music festival, takes place from Noon to 10 PM.
“The Funk Parade embodies the best spirit of the District,” said Mayor Bowser. “It brings our communities together and honors the City’s musical heritage that we’ve all come to know and love.”
“We are also grateful for the endorsements from Councilmembers like Brianne Nadeau, our local Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, community groups, local businesses, and the support of community members, that made this happen,” Rood said. “Thank you for making your voices heard. The city has a heart, and it beats beneath U Street.”
Up to the mid-1990s U Street NW frequently hosted community parades, including former Mayor Marion Barry’s 1979 inaugural parade, a parade to mark the opening of the Metro Green Line station in 1992, and even a parade for home rule in 1964 led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, for the past 17 years the city has allowed no significant closure of the thoroughfare for a public event.
The announcement follows months of negotiations between organizers and city officials. A local resident even started an online petition which garnered nearly 1,500 signatures from residents and other supporters. The Washington Post’s Clinton Yates called for the city to switch its position, writing that “the decision should be a no-brainer for Bowser’s office.”
The parade will go from the Howard to the Lincoln, and take place from 5 PM to 7 PM. It will begin at T Street NW and Florida Avenue NW, in front of the historic Howard Theatre. It will head west on T Street NW, and turn right on Vermont Avenue NW, and left onto U Street NW. It will proceed on U Street NW for several blocks before disbanding in front of the Lincoln Theater.
“It is a participatory parade. Anyone can join in, just come to the Howard and get ready to dance and make music, that’s the beauty of this parade,” explained Chris Naoum, co-founder of Funk Parade and head of Listen Local First, an organization devoted to supporting local musicians.
The parade route moves through a rich swath of DC culture and history. In addition to passing the Howard and Lincoln theaters, it passes by the African American Civil War Museum and Memorial; the current home of the Duke Ellington School for the Arts; the historic Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge (which organized parades on U Street NW as far back as the early 1900s); the Bohemian Cavern jazz club, which this May marks the 50th anniversary of the recording of Ramsey Lewis’s “The In Crowd” on its stage, one of the most popular jazz albums of all time; the historic and delicious Ben’s Chili Bowl; and much more.
The parade is the centerpiece of the three-part Funk Parade festival. From Noon to 5 PM, the Funk Parade Day Fair brings areas along U Street NW alive with music, dance, vendors and food. The Funk Parade takes place from 5 PM to 7 PM, and from 7 PM to 10 PM, over a dozen clubs and venues along U Street NW will host free performances by the city’s best musicians. A full list of performers and venues will be released in the coming days. All events are free and open to the public.
This year, the Howard Theatre will host its own official afterparty, featuring Lee Fields and Trouble Funk. Tickets are for sale at the Howard Theatre box office and online.
NEXT STEPS
With the closing of U Street NW, attendance for the 2015 Funk Parade will continue to grow. It is only with the help of individuals and the community that this event will progress. Please take a moment to give to the Indiegogo campaign raising funds for the event: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dc-funk-parade-2015
The event also needs volunteers to gather hundreds of signatures to obtain city permits for the day fair, and to help at the event itself. If you would like to volunteer go to http://funkparade.com/ to sign up.