Thursday
Theatre Week
Various DMV Theaters, $25 to $65, through Oct. 11
Over an 18-day stretch, 27 area theaters have blocked off a set number of seats at discount prices. Admittedly, 18 days is not a “week,” but to (loosely) quote the musical “Rent,” how do you measure a season of love? Should your first choice show at a larger theater sell out, Theatre Week is a great time to try a smaller local company. Free events include today’s pop-up serenades at Dulles and DCA, a concert at The Wharf on Sept. 29 and a “State of DC Theatre” podcast taping at Studio Theatre on Oct. 5.
“Lay Him Quietly” at Dance Place
3225 8th St. NE, 7 p.m. free, registration required
Trending
A decade ago, Dance Place hosted touring dance companies multiple times each month. Now, it’s only a few times a year, as the Brookland venue struggles with fiscal issues and leadership turnover. There’s a bright spot this Wednesday and Thursday, however, when the Swedish embassy presents a free immersive work by Hiroki Ichinose, a Japanese-American dance artist and member of Göteborg Operans Danskompani. Ichinose and fellow Swedish dancer Ninos Josef perform “Lay Him Quietly” before a film backdrop, a now-rare chance to see intimate international modern dance in the District.
More to explore: Photographer Sheila Pree Bright talks American flag imagery at the National Gallery of Art
Friday
All Things Go Music Festival
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, tickets start at $170
Great news for anyone who has ever wanted to yell, “Summer isn’t over yet!” at the top of their lungs in late September: Swedish superstar and “Midnight Sun” singer Zara Larsson is among the headliners at this year’s All Things Go Music Festival. The 2026 lineup has more female boldfaced names than Lilith Fair. Mitski is the big draw on Friday, Hayley Williams and Larsson on Saturday and Brandi Carlile on Sunday.
Dance Theatre of Harlem at The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 7:30 (Also 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday), $76 to $114
Washington Performing Arts first presented Dance Theatre of Harlem way back in 1973, four years after Arthur Mitchell founded his groundbreaking company dedicated to Black excellence in ballet. Given that a festival of Black dance was among the events cancelled at the Kennedy Center earlier this year, it’s all the more meaningful that WPA is welcoming Dance Theatre of Harlem back to town. The performance includes George Balanchine’s “Donizetti Variations,” a soulful suite set to music by Aretha Franklin and James Brown.
More to explore: IZIS at the Publick Playhouse
Saturday
MARO at The Black Cat
1811 14th St. NW, 7:30, $30
At every Eurovision Song Context, there’s a balladeer who’s too sincere to win the crystal trophy and confetti, but who wins over the crowd and launches an international career. In 2022 that act was MARO. For an easy-listening initiation, check out her dreamy cover of Harry Styles’ “As it Was” with Charlotte Cardin and November Ultra. Sadly, MARO’s spring North American tour was cancelled due to what the singer called “circumstances beyond our control.” That’s usually code for failure to secure a U.S. visa, all the better reason to turn out now that the Portuguese singer and her band made it to America.
Music From the Sole at George Mason University
4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax, 7:30, $38 to $60, minors half price
Like dance? Got a car, or willing to spend time on public transit? Great, because it’s time to start schlepping to George Mason University if you want to see touring companies of Kennedy Center-caliber. The Center for the Arts’ 2026-27 dance season kicks off with Music From the Sole, a dance-and-music collective with Brazilian and Afro-Cuban influences, plus “flashes of samba, house, Lindy Hop and Orisha dances,” according to The New York Times review of “I Didn’t Come to Stay.” That’s the work they’ll perform here too, infused with a “party spirit” worth the drive to Fairfax.
More to explore: FiestaDC celebrates Latino Heritage Month on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Sunday
Takoma Park Folk Festival
Takoma Park Middle School, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., free
DMV neighborhood street fair season continues this weekend with a daylong celebration in The People’s Republic of Takoma Park, as some residents call their counter-culture enclave on the D.C.-Maryland border. The festival’s seven stages feature folk musicians, world music and children’s entertainment. There’s also a juried craft show, community tabling and two-dozen food vendors, most offering vegan and gluten-free options.
Black Women Make Movies at Shanklin Hall
2325 18th St. NW, 5 to 8 p.m, $23
Catch five short films at this event billed as a “screening + mixer” for “Black women filmmakers and the folx who love them.” Local documentaries in the lineup explore underground “numbers” gambling in the 1960s and “The Legacy of Lee’s Flower Shop,” one of D.C.’s oldest Black-owned businesses. Bonus: One drink is included with each ticket.
More to explore: Alexandria Symphony performs at the George Washington Masonic Memorial