Live music returns to Carter Barron Amphitheater on Thursday, Aug. 20, for the first time since 2016, ending nearly a decade of silence at one of Washington's most storied outdoor stages.
The Rock Creek Conservancy is hosting three nights of concerts at the 4,200-seat venue in Rock Creek Park, running Thursday, Aug. 20, through Saturday, Aug. 22. All three nights feature DC-area artists: JazzDC AllStars on Thursday, Sylver Logan Sharp and the Groovement Allstars on Friday, and Black Alley with Chester Burke Jr. & Company closing out Saturday.
Saturday's show is already sold out. Tickets for Thursday and Friday are $15 general admission.
"It's an honor and a privilege, really, to reopen a space that is familiar to native Washingtonians," Cam Poles of Black Alley told DC News Now. The DC-native band last performed at Carter Barron roughly 15 years ago.
A stage built for integration
The amphitheater opened Aug. 4, 1950, as part of Washington's 150th anniversary celebration. It was one of only three venues in the city that was not racially segregated at the time, built on the vision of Carter T. Barron, who wanted a space where "all persons of every race, color and creed" could attend performances.
Over the decades, the stage hosted Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown, Marvin Gaye and Bruce Springsteen. Dan Puskar, executive director of the Rock Creek Conservancy, said Springsteen "basically premiered Born to Run on the stage at the Carter Barron," according to WTOP.
The venue's last full season was 2016. A 2017 engineering inspection found the stage's substructure could not safely support the weight of performers and equipment, and the National Park Service shuttered it.
A temporary fix, a longer fight
The original stage remains structurally deficient. Organizers brought in a temporary stage that sits over the first several rows of seats, along with portable restrooms and other temporary infrastructure.
Organizers expect more than 1,500 people each night, well below the venue's full 4,200-seat capacity. The concerts are part of the Rock Creek Conservancy's Summer in the Parks series, presented in partnership with the DC Jazz Festival and Washington Performing Arts.
Puskar said the temporary reopening aims to build public support for a larger, permanent restoration effort being developed with the National Park Service. The NPS is still working to secure funding for full rehabilitation of the amphitheater. Puskar said the quest to reopen Carter Barron is far from over, adding that in some ways the conservancy still feels like it's in its early days.
If you go
Carter Barron Amphitheater is at 4850 Colorado Ave. NW. The venue is accessible by Metrobus lines D6X and D60 near 16th Street and Colorado Avenue NW. Tickets are available through the Rock Creek Conservancy at universe.com.
