Lerner Town Square in Tysons will come to life this Sunday (May 31) with the distinctive beats of go-go music.
Take over the parking lot at 8025 Galleria Drive from noon to 8 p.m., this year’s DMV Summer Kickoff Music Fest will double as a 50th anniversary celebration of the musical genre invented in D.C.
With genre pioneer Rare Essence headlining, tickets for the festival have nearly sold out, though as of press time, a few general admission tickets remained available for just under $80.
“Bring your lawn chairs and join DMV festival goers, [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] grads, and guests from around the Mid-Atlantic Region for this 1 day charity event and smorgasbord of culture featuring live jazz, funk, go-go & [rhythm and blues],” the event page says.
Organized by Tena and Byron Jennings, founders of the event curator The A-List of Entertainment and the McLean-based nonprofit 4th and 43, the music fest drew more than 4,500 visitors last year and is expected to see similar attendance for its 2026 edition — the fourth in Tysons.
In addition to Rare Essence, this year’s show lineup includes Junkyard Band, DCVybe, Sirius Company, the Kim Michelle Experience and Major League Band. In between sets, DJs Dirty Rico, Biggs and 5’9 will be on hand to provide music, while Majic 102.3 radio host Asia and Sherell Rowe have been tapped as hosts.
There will also be food vendors, drinks, a photo booth and artisan crafts. The winner of a 50/50 raffle will be announced, with half of the money going toward 4th and 43’s mission of providing HBCU scholarships.
Commemorative T-shirts and posters will be sold to mark the 50th anniversary of go-go music, a milestone pegged to Rare Essence’s formation in 1976 as the Young Dynamos.
Started as a group of elementary school students covering soul and funk classics, the band evolved its own sound under the influence of singer and guitarist Chuck Brown, who’s now widely recognized as the “Godfather of Go-Go” after his album “Bustin’ Loose” became an early touchstone of the genre.
Characterized by a syncopated beat, an eclectic mix of percussion and a call-and-response song structure that encourages audience participation, go-go music became “the heartbeat” of D.C. and gave a voice to the city’s Black community, Go-Go Museum and Cafe founder and CEO Ronald Moten told the Georgetown Voice earlier this year.
Though the music was once demonized as a trigger for violence, it has more recently been embraced by D.C. leaders, who designated go-go as the city’s official music in 2020.
The opportunity to celebrate five decades of go-go culture makes this year’s DMV Summer Kickoff Music Fest “especially significant” for Tysons and the D.C. region as a whole, Tysons Community Alliance communications director Monique Blyther says.
A co-sponsor of the event, the TCA said it’s excited to “welcome thousands of attendees” and thanked property owner Lerner Enterprises for hosting the festival for the past four years.
“We saw this as a meaningful opportunity to support a large-scale cultural activation taking place in Tysons that brings energy, visitation, and community engagement to the district,” Blyther said. “As Fairfax County’s urban core continues to evolve, events like this help strengthen Tysons as a vibrant, experience-driven destination while also supporting local businesses and celebrating the diverse culture of our region.”
