A Very D.C. Kind of Beat

Every city has its soundtrack. Nashville has country. New Orleans, jazz. But D.C.? We’re painted as politics and nothing but. Us locals though know better.

What we have is more than just a musical genre. It’s a cultural heritage. Born right here in the DMV in the ’70s as an offshoot of funk, go-go is high-energy, dance-forward, and built on audience participation.

So that unfair rep we’ve been given as a bunch of no-fun, cubicle-bound mids? Well fine, we admit it has its truth. But it’s certainly not the whole picture.

Who we really are? Turnt up music. Yes, banging on trashcans included. Call and response with the whole crowd singing back the classic chants, block parties with dancing until dawn. And all the while? Rolling a fat one to really feel those beats, or “pockets”, as they’re called in go-go.

The DMV Does it Different

And we like it that way. Half-smokes instead of hot dogs. Mumbo sauce on just about anything. Safe to say, we have our own flavor. So naturally, when it comes to our local soundtrack, it’s no different.

How many genres of music have thrived on live recordings rather than commercially produced tracks? Have grown and evolved over a half-century without compromising their sound for the mainstream or chasing radio play over community-centered performance?

From Chuck Brown, the ‘Godfather of Go-Go,’ pioneering the genre in the 1970s, to Backyard Band infusing it with hip-hop in the ’90s, to the emergence of bounce beat in 2003, go-go has evolved with each generation, all while staying true to its roots.

Originally built on funk grooves and horn-driven percussion, the sound got harder and faster in the ’90s, when bands cranked up the beat known as the “pocket” into the “socket”. By 2000, “grown and sexy” bands flipped the script, slowing the pocket back down and creating a subgenre with a R&B flavor done DMV-style. Go-go’s youngest fans have continued with the culture of innovation and put their own stamp on it with bounce beat, which brings in a faster, more percussive style and its own offshoot, the slow bounce.

Beyond the music, go-go has continued to exist as a cultural icon in the DMV. Its community-first spirit is exactly what put go-go at the center of the #DontMuteDC movement in 2019, combating gentrification and erasure of D.C.’s Black culture. This, in turn, gave rise to D.C.’s grassroots music festival, Moechella, which thrived for four years at the intersection of a giant block party, a music event, and a form of protest.

Today, in 2026, the beat that keeps us Washingtonians “going and going” is still going strong. At the Go-Go Museum & Cafe you can take a go-go drumming class, catch live music, or learn about its living history with interactive exhibits. Not to mention the countless shows and events organized all across the DMV.

It’s Just How We Roll…

Turns out our “do it different” energy didn’t stop at the music. Or the munchies, for that matter. We’ve always found a way to keep our culture in the rotation. So when you’re talking to a crew of music-loving DMV stoners, the logical leap brings us right back to… cannabis!

Straight from illegal to recreational in greater Maryland, we’ve always found a way to keep the vibes high while doing it different. And what has in other places been an exchange, here is its own culture. Walk into a dispensary or a cannabis lounge in the DMV and it feels less like a store, more like a neighborhood hang. Start with a pre-roll, end with a new pal. Sure we’re a little biased, but if that’s not community…

Lightly Lifted, Ready for Dancing

August evenings were practically made for block parties. We’ve suffered through the heat of the day, the warm nights are our reward. Perfect for staying out late and “going and going”, you might say.

What’s on the lineup? Do it real D.C. style with a go-go karaoke night at the Go-Go Museum & Cafe. Or bring out your inner artist with Crank N Paint, a go-go-inspired night of, you guessed it, painting.

And what’s our favorite community-centered pairing for a night of community-centered culture? Nothing gets us feeling the beat quite like a hybrid. A few hits from a Cherry Limeade Cake Pre-roll, a half-smoke en route, and we’re ready for a night out worthy of Chuck Brown.

WEED THE PEOPLE