Things are really coming together for the first Down in the Reeds music festival - held in just a few short weeks on October 19 at The Parks at Walter Reed. The initial line-up has been announced and we have been assured that there will be more exciting details and announcments to come.

The Parks at Walter Reed Main Stage line-up will include live performances (12:00pm - 6:30pm) from Crank Lukongo, Aaron Abernathy, Yasmin Williams, Twin Jude, Dove Lady, Thraxx King, New Sewell Music Conservatory Showcase, Boundless Eclectic + Wychdokta.

 The workshop stage (11:30am - 6:00pm) co-presented by Humanities DC will feature performances, presentations, demos and showcases from The Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation, The Sanctuaries (featuring Uptown Shane, Osa the Healer, and Ben Lasso), IMKA, Casey Rae, Uasuf Gueye, a veterans music healing showcase, ​and ​​Studio in the Woods Soul Voyage.

This family friendly festival festival guarantees to have something for everyone . Along with two stages of performances and workshops, festival goers will be able to enjoy a community healers tent, festival partner activations, outdoor games, pumpkin carving and decorating, family arts and crafts, and live art from Khalid Thompson. Attendees will also get to enjoy stellar local cuisine from some of the DMV’s most delicious food trucks, maker and artist vendors from around the DMV and the Atlas Brew Works Beer Garden.

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Get ready for DC's newest homegrown music festival - Down in The Reeds (DitR). This new festival is positioned to be DC's premiere fall festival held in one of the more unique settings in The District. 

In late August, the organizers and producers of the Funk Parade and Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival teamed up with Grammy Award-winning American Songster Dom Flemons and over 20 local partners to announce the first annual Down in the Reeds Festival, which will take place on Saturday, October 19. This day-long celebration of fall and music festival has a mission of healing through community and music.

DitR takes place on the historic campus of former Walter Reed Medical Center — now called the Parks at Walter Reed — and features some of the District's best and most diverse musical acts, as well as local artisans, breweries, food trucks, and family games and activities.

Until now DC proper has had several festivals spanning the spring and summer months. Now, thanks to Listen Local First, the District finally has the perfect fall bookend to the DC music festival season  with Down in the Reeds. 

In the years after its closure, the grounds of the historic Walter Reed Medical Center remained idle as community leaders sought the best way to utilize the space. Now, like a caterpillar that lay dormant in its chrysalis to emerge as something new - the former campus of Water Reed emerges as something new.

We look forward to celebrating Washington DC, its community, its culture, and its music with everyone on October 19.

For more information and news about Down in the Reeds, please use the following web links:

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For more information about Listen Local First, please use the following web links:

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For more information about Don Flemons, please use the following web link:

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