For its 2019 edition, D.C.鈥檚 Funk Parade boasts an expanded format and a new sponsor, but keeps its focus on the District鈥檚 long history of music and arts on and around U Street NW.
鈥淚 think the event is really becoming what it was supposed to be 鈥� a sprawling celebration of everything we love about the city, 鈥� said Jeff Tribble, executive director of The MusicianShip.
The MusicianShip is a nonprofit that runs after-school and summer music programs for children in need. Lately, the group has greatly expanded the scope of the funk festivities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really a parade/music festival hybrid that gets people excited about art, love and D.C. music culture,鈥� Tribble said.
The Funk Parade itself happens Saturday from 5 to 6 p.m. at the center of a day鈥檚 worth of musical events in and around the U Street area. Mayor Muriel Bowser will lead a collection of marching bands, bucket drummers, roller girls and just plain folks on a musical journey from the iconic Howard Theatre at 620 T St. NW to the historic Lincoln Theatre at 1215 U St. NW.
The festivities begin days before the parade with the , a suite of discussions and classes presented by Knowledge Commons beginning Tuesday. Themes include Afro-Latin dance, fundamentals of West African drumming and a talk on Parliament Funkadelic鈥檚 Mothership.
Saturday kicks off with the at U Street Music Hall, an event Tribble called a discussion on 鈥渢he attempt to suppress art and creativity鈥� and the underlying 鈥済entrification and responsible development and displacement.鈥� It’s inspired by last month’s controversy over go-go music at a T-Mobile store on at 7th聽Street and Florida Avenue in Shaw.
Music begins at 1 p.m., pauses for the parade itself at 5 and picks back up at 6, running all hours in and around the U Street area. See the .
A dream parade
Justin Rood literally dreamed up the Funk Parade. He was living around 15th and U streets in Northwest D.C. when he “dreamed of this parade that took place around twilight on a Saturday afternoon down U Street,鈥� he said last week.
His dream parade was led by musicians and dancers. 鈥淓veryone and their brother came out and joined it,鈥� he dreamed, then the parade dispersed into a nighttime live-music festival in the clubs that dot the area.
When he woke up, Rood started telling friends about his idea. They pointed him to a number of people who could help, including Chris Naoum of the live-music advocacy group Listen Local First, and just like that, the Funk Parade was born.
Of course, the idea of a parade and celebration on U Street is much older than the parade, now in its seventh year. U Street used to be known as Black Broadway, and Rood said there鈥檚 still a higher concentration of live-music clubs in the neighborhood than anywhere else in D.C.
The parade also has a long historical precedent, including the Howard University Homecoming Parade and spontaneous celebrations as far back as V-J Day. 鈥淪o many of the important parades of the 1800s and 1900s went down U Street,鈥� Rood said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a natural home for this event.鈥�
The marching band
Even with all the new events and stages, the march is still the focus of the Funk Parade, and Tribble and Rood both said marching bands occupy a special place.
鈥淥nce you start hearing [marching bands], and once you start working with the parade, you start hearing them everywhere, in the background of Beyonc茅 songs and everything else,鈥� Rood said. 鈥淭hey are in so many ways the heartbeat of our daily life. Marching bands capture something about the spirit of being alive, being together.鈥�
Tribble said the marching band format is ideal for The MusicianShip鈥檚 work: 鈥淗igh-impact ensembles, where we can work with as many young people as possible 鈥� marching band is a vehicle that lends itself to [that].鈥�
Tribble, a Chicago native who went to George Washington University Law School, said, 鈥淚 knew I wanted to be a social engineer, but I wasn鈥檛 sure how. And I went back to my roots.鈥�
Music was 鈥渞eally impactful鈥� in his childhood, he said, teaching him discipline, self-esteem and confidence. He called music 鈥渁n extraordinary platform on which young people can be successful in other areas of life as well.鈥�
Rood said the Funk Parade outgrew him and the band of volunteers he assembled each year, and he鈥檚 glad to hand it off to Tribble鈥檚 group: 鈥淭heir mission and their values are so aligned with what Funk Parade is about. 鈥� I鈥檓 really excited to see what they do with the event this year.鈥�
