If you need an excuse to dream about summer Fridays, the National Gallery of Art has released its Jazz in the Garden lineup.
Cue thoughts of clocking off work, dressing in linen, packing snacks and taking the Metro to the Sculpture Garden for an evening of dancing and sangria. Plus, lounging on lush green grass and admiring the garden's modern art.
This summer, the concert series features 10 genre-spanning acts starting with zydeco then a Juneteenth jazz celebration and ending with a D.C.-based saxophonist. The series kicks off the weekend after Memorial Day and wraps up the second Friday in August.
It's not known as "D.C.'s favorite summer concert series" for nothing. You'll need to enter a ticket lottery to get in. Each concert is on a Friday night from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
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Here's how to plan to start each weekend on the National Mall:
How to get Jazz in the Garden tickets
Anyone who wants to attend Jazz in the Garden can join the lottery the week prior to the event. Lottery winners will be notified the Monday morning before the concert.
“Those who are selected are welcome to register for up to four passes. Registration is required for all ages 2 and above,” the gallery said on its website.
Jazz in the Garden schedule
May 31: Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas
Genre: Zydeco
- Lottery opens: Monday, May 20, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, May 24, noon
- Results announced: Monday, May 15, 10 a.m.
June 7: Anderson Quartet
Genre: Indigenous fusion
- Lottery opens: Monday, May 27, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, May 31, noon
- Results announced: Monday, June 3, 10 a.m.
June 14: 8 Ohms Band
Genre: Horn-heavy funk and Soul
- Lottery opens: Monday, June 3, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, June 7, noon
- Results announced: Monday, June 10, 10 a.m.
June 21: Muneer Nasser Quintet
Genre: A Juneteenth jazz celebration
- Lottery opens: Monday, June 10, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, June 14, noon
- Results announced: Monday, June 17, 10 a.m.
June 28: Josanne Francis
Genre: Caribbean steelpan
- Lottery opens: Monday, June 17, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, June 21, noon
- Results announced: Monday, June 24, 10 a.m.
July 12: US Air Force Band’s Airmen of Note
Genre: Big band jazz
- Lottery opens: Monday, July 1, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, July 5, noon
- Results announced: Monday, July 8, 10 a.m.
July 19: Jake Blount
Genre: Afrofuturist roots
- Lottery opens: Monday, July 8, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, July 12, noon
- Results announced: Monday, July 15, 10 a.m.
July 26: Brent Birckhead
Genre: Contemporary jazz
- Lottery opens: Monday, July 15, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, July 19, noon
- Results announced: Monday, July 22, 10 a.m.
Aug. 2: Plena Libre
Genre: Afro-Latin fusion
- Lottery opens: Monday, July 22, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, July 26, noon
- Results announced: Monday, July 29, 10 a.m.
Aug. 9: Leigh Pilzer’s Seven Pointed Star
Genre: Jazz septet
- Lottery opens: Monday, July 29, 10 a.m.
- Lottery closes: Friday, August 2, noon
- Results announced: Monday, August 5, 10 a.m.
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