Upcoming at Rhizome (click on event for more details):
Exhibit runs July 10-26
Opening reception / live music: Friday July 10, 7-10pm - TICKETS ($10-20 sliding scale)
Closing reception: Sunday July 26, 5-7pm
Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view
Vessel: an art & music exhibition
Featuring:
Emily Alff • Virginia Boyles • Sam Contrino • Deirdre Darden • Elsie Dwyer • Ella Gallogly • Charlotte Hodgeson • Fiona Kohrman • Diane Krauthamer • Jaxyn Lethe • Genevieve Ludwig • Katie Macyshyn • Sarah Ozment • Emilie Toler • Kelly Xio • Brit Whited
Curated by Fiona Kohrman, Deirdre Darden, and Sam Contrino
Monday July 13 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Murena - Mark Moreno is a sound artist born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. As an avid walker, he collects sounds on his walks and compiles them in a way that transports the audience to the locations of his walks. Most of his local sets are site specific, collecting sounds from near the venues he plays at around Providence.
Thumbsucker26 - Intimate and lonely ambient noise.
Guillermo Pizarro - uses field recordings, tapes, harsh noise, synths and ambient textures to achieve his cinematic storytelling through sound. He also runs Flag Day Recordings, a US label focused on promoting experimental music, harsh noise, ambient and soundtracks.
Wednesday July 15 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * All Ages * $18 * TICKETS
Mind Sculptor Productions presents
Kicked in the Head by a Horse (PA Chaotic Hardcore)
https://kickedintheheadbyahorse.bandcamp.com/
Underneath (PA Metallic Hardcore)
https://underneathpa.bandcamp.com/
Letterstoyou (MD Screamo)
https://letterstoyouscreamo.bandcamp.com/
Saltuponwounds (VA Emo)
https://saltuponwounds.bandcamp.com/
Expiration Date (MD Straight Edge Screamo)
https://strangeviewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/my-choice-best-wishes
Thursday July 16 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $10-20 * TICKETS
Red Sunflower is a DC-based instrumental trio formed by brothers Kiyan Saifi (guitar) and Teymour Saifi (bass), with Jaden Shahin on drums. The band explores noise, textural improvisation, and experimental rock. Drawing on the energy of punk and free music, Red Sunflower favors intensity and unpredictability over convention.
Ahn is a three piece no wave/free improv group out of Cleveland.
The music of teaming in chess is the project of Arlington high-schooler Tiago Woodyard. Combining interests in Jazz, harDCore, and 20th century composition (among other things), his most recent record ventures through a poly-stylistic maze. The live set will consist of Woodyard and friends performing a few selections from the album abstracted into a free-improvisation territory.
Friday July 17 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $10-25 * TICKETS
Isaac Sherman is a musician, composer and filmmaker living in Los Angeles, California. Engaging with a variety of analog and digital synthesizers, samplers, guitar and voice, Isaac explores sonic curiosities through improvisation, composition and collaboration. His current musical practice focuses on the physical elements of analog synthesis and its ability to emulate wind, string and other acoustic instruments.
Composer, flutist, and improviser,Rachel Beetz explores presence through sound and listening. Her works recreate physical atmospheres based on her deep listening adventures in the wild, exploring hidden worlds of nature and machines. Combining experimental field recordings and electronically modified flutes, her works examine community, environmentalism, and women’s work through sound, textiles, and lighting.
Alma Laprida is a musician and multi-disciplinary artist whose creative pursuits encompass composition, improvisation, performance, installation, instrument building and radiophonic pieces. She’s known for her work with the tromba marina, a rare string instrument mostly used between the Middle Ages and the Baroque eras in Europa.
Michael R. Bernstein presents Blue Tape Human Liberation Orchestra - For as long as Minimalist music has existed, one weakness has persisted — the need for human involvement. The BTHLO imagines a future where the purity and pleasure of music can exist without the petty and profane need for human intervention. With its twin slogans of “Save Humans from Music” and “Save Music From Humans,” the BTHLO interrogates the infinite possibilities of this perfect future.
Exhibit runs July 18 - August 2
Reception: Sunday July 26, 5-7pm
Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view
Smatters - A 35mm photography exhibition by Eleanor Olson featuring a collection of candid images shot between December 2025 - June 2026.
Saturday July 18 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Please join us to be inspired by puppetry shorts and musical interludes.
Puppeteers: Sheila Gaskins / Sam Grossman / Paul Greggs / Merry Carver / Mary Nagler / Eli & Aiden Leizerov
Musicians: Maya Renfro & Stephen Wist
Supported by a grant from The Puppet Slam Network.
Sunday July 19 * 11am-2pm * $0-10 sliding scale * REGISTER
Study Hall is a series of salons for people to discuss anything they’d have talked about in the cafeteria (and if you’re someone who really did study, time to share what you learned). Topics can be anything you would’ve talked about during your free time in between classes, including things you would’ve said in the school cafeteria but not to the dean. Everyone is encouraged to present something at a Study Hall.
At the beginning of the event, you will sign up to present a topic. (You can also add yourself to the agenda before the event HERE.) Presentations do not have a specified time limit, and can go on until other attendees begin raising questions and transition into a Q&A format. You do not need to be an expert, and you do not need to have all the answers, proposing an interesting question and prompt for discussion is also encouraged!
Sunday July 19 * 3pm * RSVP
Death Cafes are opportunities for people to enjoy refreshments together and discuss the topic of death. The objective is to “increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” There are Death Cafes all over the country. What's on your mind about death and dying? Contact Death Cafe Facilitators Margaret Branch at margaret603@gmail.com or Monica Lynch at mlynch19@comcast.net.. Death Cafes are NOT therapy, grief support, or counseling sessions. Cost: Free (small donation for the space encouraged)
Sunday July 19 * doors at 6, music at 7 * $15-20 * TICKETS
Vesuvian is a group of punks playing classic rock. Their new album Vesuvian came out in May 2026 out via Worry Bead Records.
Sexfaces ain’t here to play nice. Jacky Cougar (Des Demonas, Thee Lolitas) pounds the drums like they owe him money, while Sal Go (Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb, The NVs) saws through the noise with guitar that’s equal parts bratty and brutal. Hana Racecar (Tadzio, Coven Tree) layers in viola with a sneering elegance, and Neil Cobra (Teen Cobra) slings basslines that punch and swerve. Together, they churn out a sound that drags the droney madness of the Velvet Underground through the gutter, filters it through The Fall’s acerbic wit, and ties it all together with the punk attack of The Damned and the scuzzy swagger of Royal Trux.
Teen Cobra is a Venezuelan lo-fi punk duo by way of Washington, D.C., formed in 2018 by Neil (guitar, vocals) and Veronica (drums, vocals). Their minimalist one-two punch of punk draws equally from ’60s garage rock, the late-’70s CBGB frenzy, British post-punk sensibilities, and who-knows-what-the-fuck since then. They have released two 7-inch records, a live cassette, and a full-length LP. With a shitty guitar, a snare, and a floor tom, Teen Cobra shine a light on the majesty of the DIY music ethos.
The Armors are a rock ’n’ roll band blending hard-hitting classic rock swagger with mid-’70s glam. Nodding to proto-punk and DC’s Revolution Summer, their sound is equal parts danceable and snarky. They’re carving their way through the DC scene in dive bars, record shops, and underground event spaces.
Monday July 20 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS
Pig Heart Transplant - Long-running west coast industrial noise. 1/2 of IRON LUNG.
FRKSE - Organic Death Industrial, new LP “Through The Slow Dusk” out now.
HSFB - Head Separating From Body is a pseudonym of artist and musician Max Hamel.
Vasterian - “Variable-speed mind fucking”.
Tuesday July 21 * doors at 6 * $20 * TICKETS
All proceeds to medical relief efforts in Gaza.
Plastic Toys
https://www.instagram.com/theplastictoys/
Fantazma
https://fantazma.bandcamp.com/
Ben Demase and the Instant Goblin Death Machine
https://www.instagram.com/bendemase
Corinth
Jet Hardy
https://www.instagram.com/jetkhardy
Wednesday July 22 * doors at 7, music at 7:45 * $15 * TICKETS
Jade Weapon is chaos music from maryland. They make beats then make them loud.
Druid Stone is the transexual b-horror music queen, est. 2011. Trans doom metal from Herndon, Virginia.
Courage Mother is a post-hardcore band from Northern Virginia, the brainchild of Salvi-American songwriter Lily Monico. Courage Mother is a project that originated from the desire to overcome. Their songs typically are very high in intensity, structurally adventurous, and lyrically address themes of trauma and growth.
Thursday July 23 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $10-20 * TICKETS
Lin Hsiao-Feng is a Taiwanese improvising flutist, curator, and Music Director of Lin’s Culture in Taipei. His work bridges flute traditions from different cultures, free improvisation, and experimental sound, expanding the possibilities of contemporary flute performance through cross-cultural collaboration. In 2024, he was named World Flutist of the Year by the World Flute Society for his album Cadenza21 and was invited to perform at the Paris Cultural Olympiad. He has performed throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia, fostering intercultural dialogue through improvisation and flute traditions from different cultures.
Hsuan Chang Kitano is a producer, multimedia artist, and adjunct faculty member at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she teaches harpsichord, fortepiano, and seventeenth- and eighteenth-century improvisation. Together with flutist Mr. Lin, their ensemble's album CADENZA 21' received international recognition, including a nomination for the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package and multiple nominations at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, including Best Producer, Best Arrangement, and Best Cross-Genre Album.
p.cain (dc) - solo electronics
https://modelhomedc.bandcamp.com/album/p-cain-12
Friday July 24 * doors at 6:30, music at 7 * $5-15 * TICKETS
Kiing
Spring Silver
Strawbalien
Young Swansii
Motel Portrait
plus art raffle
Saturday July 25 * 3-10pm * $15 * TICKETS
Returning for its third year, OCCIPITAL Fashion Festival once again brings you an eclectic lineup of local bands all modeling clothes made by local fashion designers. The event serves and encourages interdisciplinary creative collaboration and community building. OCCIPITAL III will present varied music performances with customized style, crafty workshops, photoshoots, a clothing swap, a marketplace, and sustainability. Always interactive and experimental, OCCIPITAL encourages inspiration and audience engagement.
Interested in volunteering or vending? Click HERE.
Sunday July 26 * noon-4pm * $5-10 suggested * RSVP
The DC Modular Society is a group focused on learning, teaching, and performing electronic music with modular synths. DCMS meetups are open to all with an interest in electronic music, modular and other hardware synths, and hybrid systems for creating and performing music. We encourage and support building a diverse and inclusive community—if you’re wondering if you belong—the answer is yes! No equipment is necessary to attend meetups, but feel free to bring gear if you like. Mixer and PA system provided. We frequently do informal demos of synths and electronic music techniques.
Sunday July 26 * doors at 7:30, noise at 8 sharp * $10-20 * TICKETS
Slime Queen Bingo (from Slime Planet/Tampa, FL)
The original Harsh Noise Cringe Clown / screamed instructions and manic meltdowns for a class of unruly DIY music fans
Breakdancing Ronald Reagan (from Hollywood, CA)
America’s Worst Noise Artist / the type of cringe train wreck that you can’t look away from
Death Envy (from Stanton, CA)
The Founding Father of Cringecore / Cybergrind for real MySpace heads who know that instruments are for chumps
jane.
is the noise, industrial, and performance art moniker of Cynthia Dorothy-Jane Ryan. She uses tape, vocals, sex toys, found objects, live looping, and the like to create music meant to challenge the presumption that femininity requires either pacifism or submission. Her work often highlights the fetishization of her own transsexuality to create an overwhelming clutter of both self-acceptance and internalized disdain.
Monday July 27 * 7pm * Free * RSVP
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this month, Rhizome DC will host “America Me: 250 years of Promise & Prejudice”, a seminar presented by activist Pelumi Olatinpo, author of the social commentary Manifest Destiny. By holding a mirror up to empire, Pelumi will examine what America has been and what it can become. The 19th-century doctrine “Manifest Destiny” will take center stage as Pelumi exposes the founding belief for what it really is: language used to justify domestic and foreign violence and oppression. Weaving in his background as an American-Nigerian immigrant, Pelumi will engage with what it means to be American in a nation also founded on the promise of equality, of unalienable rights —life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He will incorporate readings from both Manifest Destiny and his earlier work Poeta: Sonetas and Sonnets.
Tuesday July 28 * doors at 7pm, music at 7:30 * $10-15 * TICKETS
Mundy
https://www.instagram.com/mund4ye
https://soundartreality.com
Shiloh The Messenger
https://www.instagram.com/shiloh_themessenger
https://www.shilohthemessenger.com
D Skillz Harris
https://www.instagram.com/dskillzharris
Raf Almighty
https://www.instagram.com/thenewesi23/
Wednesday July 29 * 7pm * $15 * TICKETS
Drew Davis - Drew Davis of Crazy Doberman plays in solo mode. He has collaborated with Zach Rowden, Rodger Stella, Tim Gick, Kyle Flanagan, John Olson and many, many more.
Ben “Baby” Copperhead is the snake-bitten moniker of NYC-based multi-instrumentalist and vocalist whose compositions, performances, and arrangements offer a unique, contemporary vision informed by an unlikely range of influences, traditions, and collaborations. Copperhead expresses his folk roots through his “otherworldly” banjo style using modal and tonal explorations, while sometimes using samplers, processed drum machines, tape loops, and handmade electronic instruments inspired by the experimentalism of Musique Concrète. Longtime collaborator, David Menestres, will be joining Copperhead on double bass.
Brick Digest presents "Fort Lincoln" - Come learn about the history of the unrealized Fort Lincoln "New Town" development in Washington, DC. The mastermind behind Brick Digest will share the story of what could have been in Northeast DC.
Thursday July 30 * doors at 7, show at 7:30 * $15-25 * TICKETS
Trace Amount is the solo project of Brooklyn-based producer, vocalist, and visual artist, Brandon Gallagher. The sound is a harsh strain of industrial music, evoking apocalyptic dread through primal rhythms, layers of synth and noise, and Gallagher's distorted moans and screams.
Pennsylvania’s own darkwave enigma, LUNACY transmits from the edge of ruin, fusing cinematic post-punk, industrial pulse, and spectral noise into a sound both ancient and futuristic. Their music explores the shadowy corners of the human psyche, echoing themes of collapse and catharsis through powerful synths and analog drum machines.
S Y Z Y G Y X has been active for several years now. Last year, she released her fourth full-length album on Cold Transmission Music. “Sinner” picks up the thread of the previous work, yet undoubtedly stands out as the most personal. Deeply human themes form the guiding principle of a sound that once again positions itself between Electro / Pop-Wave and EBM.
Serpent Hologram is an improv electro industrial duo born of the eternal transmutive autophagy of the Ouroboros.
Friday July 31 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $15-25 * TICKETS
Grex is an experimental music duo based out of Oakland, California. In biological terms, a "grex" is an entity composed of several smaller organisms. Grex (the band) explores the meeting point between surreal songcraft and the dark outer reaches of free jazz, industrial hip-hop, and art rock. The group has been called an "otherworldly experience" (Eugene Weekly) and "true genre warping music" (KFJC), recalling at turns the ecstatic energy of John Coltrane, the electronic squall of Death Grips, and the lilting songwriting of Mitski.
Lesley Mok is a New York City-based percussionist and sound artist. Their work is guided by a continual search for the connection between the mundane and the divine, the experience and manipulation of time, and a desire to capture emotional dissonance and complexity. Lesley’s ongoing explorations with composition and improvisation are most notably documented in their debut album The Living Collection(released May 2023 on American Dreams Records). The album, described as “an exquisite and stimulating work” by All About Jazz and “a singularly personal statement” by Jazz Trail Magazine, was named International Debut Album of the Year at the 2024 Deutscher Jazz Preis. As a collaborator, Lesley has shared the stage with Tomeka Reid, William Parker, Ingrid Laubrock, Marilyn Crispell, Craig Taborn, Myra Melford, Mary Halvorson, and Rafiq Bhatia among others.
Embroidered Bird blends simple acoustic based songs with analog sound experiments using mostly analog synthesizers, cassette tape loops, and thrift store instrument finds.
Exhibit runs August 1-28
Opening reception with live music by Zottoh & cannibal boom: Saturday August 1, 4-6pm
Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view
Zottoh is the solo project of Santiago Soto, focused on sound works built through electric guitar feedback and spatial amplification systems, where the surrounding environment becomes part of the instrument itself.
In this configuration, a guitar is suspended within a metal frame, held in place by tensioned steel cables. The surrounding structure functions as an environment that both supports and stresses it. Transducers fed by external sources as well as by the guitar’s own signal excite the entire structure, setting both frame and instrument into vibration. Sound, captured through the guitar’s own pickups, is reintroduced into the space through speakers and transducers, activating a continuous loop of airborne and structural feedback. In this way, sound appears both self-inflicted and as a response to its environment.
Conceived as a self-portrait, the piece does not represent appearance but condition. The suspended guitar becomes a surrogate body—held together by the same forces that strain to pull it apart. During the opening, the work is performed using synthesizers and external processing; during the exhibition period, it remains open to visitor interaction through a simplified interface that excites the structure directly, without amplification.
Exhibit runs August 1-28
Opening reception with live music by cannibal boom & Zottoh: Saturday August 1, 4-6pm
Open during all events, or email us to schedule a different time to view
what is the sound of the tears of a clown?
reishin norberto gómez jr (born 1983, Alice, Texas, USA) is an artist, writer, publisher, curator, and educator based in Washington, D.C. Their work engages the interstices and chasms of death, spirituality, and technology, along with aesthetics, horror, media studies, and popular culture. They are the co-founder and editor of Sybil Press (est. 2013), an independent publisher of zines, art books, and experimental print media. Sybil Press has participated in print, art book, and zine fairs across the U.S. and internationally, including Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair, Boston Art Book Fair, Tokyo Art Book Fair, and Vancouver Art Book Fair.
Sunday August 1 * 7pm * $10/15 advance, $20 at the door * TICKETS
BIG CITY PRESENTS
CITY SPOTLIGHT: ECHOES OF DOUBT
SHY RASHEEN
OPEN MIC
ARTIST SHOWCASE
CITY CYPHER
LIVE PERFORMANCES
VENDORS
ARTIST SHOWCASE (LIMITED SLOTS) 1ST COME 1ST SERVED
PROOF OF LIFE
Sundays August 2 and September 6 * $20 suggested * REGISTER
Learning crochet and don't know what to make next? Join us for a two-part class exploring how to crochet granny squares, a versatile crochet shape that can be repeated and assembled into a useful tote bag. All supplies provided. No experience necessary.
In part 1, we will learn how to make a granny square in one or multiple colors, and we will begin our granny square bag.
In part 2, we will troubleshoot challenges with making granny squares, and we will learn how to assemble the squares into a tote bag.
Part 1: Sunday August 2nd, 11 AM - 12:30 PM
Part 2: Sunday September 6th 11 AM - 12:30 PM
Price: Pay what you like, recommended $20
Questions? Email swamp.rose.studio@proton.me
Sunday August 2 * 6pm * $10-15 * TICKETS
Green Fields, Grine Felder
1h 37m, 1937
"Ulmer's soulful, open-air adaptation of Peretz Hirshbein's classic play heralded the Golden Age of Yiddish cinema. When an ascetic young scholar ventures into the countryside, searching for the city of "true Jews," he learns some unexpected lessons from the Jewish peasants who take him in as a tutor for their children."
Hosted by the DMV Jewish Labor Bund
Potluck beforehand
No Yiddish skills necessary!
Discussion afterwards
Movie is subtitled in English.
Monday August 3 * doors at 7, music at 7:30 * $15 * TICKETS
SH!TOMATO - A cacophony of noise rock, psych, trip-hop and jazz, SH!TOMATO defies easy categorization, pulling listeners into a swirling soundscape of controlled chaos and hypnotic rhythms. The record thrives on unpredictability, shifting effortlessly between distorted walls of sound, eerie downtempo beats, and moments of improvisational brilliance. At its core is one half of long-time AD mainstays Comfort Food, bringing a raw, exploratory energy, blurring the lines between structure and spontaneity.
The Peopling - The solo project of NYC to PNW transplant Ronnie Gonzalez, longtime Already Dead cohort and one half of legendary duo Video Daughters
Simmone Wrath - Baltimore experimental and digital hardcore.
Inter Not Milan - Alternative Hip Hop ex Pain Directive
Tuesday August 4 * doors at 7, music at 8 * $10-12 * TICKETS
BLASTER
Iowa weird hardcore punk
https://blaster3.bandcamp.com/
GORF
DCHC
https://www.instagram.com/gorf.band/
BRAIN SURGERY
Maryland grinding noise punk
https://www.instagram.com/brainxsurgeryxpunk/
GIFTS UNGIVEN
DC metalcore
https://giftsungiven.bandcamp.com/
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