Everybody loves the Passport to the World Festival, the DMV’s most musically diverse month-long music festival in the intimate listening-room environment of the Creative Cauldron’s black-box theater. Twenty shows every January, for over 12 years, featuring current and future musicians of the DMV and beyond. Due to popular demand there’s now a Summer Series too, curated by Antidote, in partnership with the Cauldron’s Cabaret Summer Series.

For 2023 we see the return of legendary DC musicians The Kennedy’s, on tour from their NYC home and performing for two-nights at the Cauldron. Other artists include Quintango, The Dave Kline Band, Griefcat, Veronneau, Don Dillingham (Nat King Cole Tribute), and more. Full schedule to be published soon.

Antidote has been curating the Passport to the World series since 2017. Featured artists have included:

Yazmin Williams, Irene Jalenti, The Kennedy’s, Nataly Merezhuk, Griefcat, Veronneau, Project Locrea, Sean Heely Trio, Akua Alrich, Jo Go Project, Rochelle Rice, Dave Chappell, Anthony Pirog, David Schulman, Cecily, Alison Crockett, Quintango, Dave Kline Band, Bobby Thompson, The Honeylarks, Swing Sisters, Anette Wasilik, Jillian Mantundan, Kipyn Martyn, Eric Brace, Jake Blount, Trio Caliente, Chao Tian, Cristian Perez, Steve Herberman, Steve Abshire, Jan Knutson, Ken & Brad Kolodner, The Hot Club of Baltimore, Michael Bowie, Rose Moraes, Jose Andres, Raymi, Munit Mesfin, No Part of Nuthin’, Nicole Belanus, Tom Prasada Rao, Kevin Dudley, Josh Walker, Christie Dashiel, Danielle Wertz, Mark Meadows, Ronn McFarlane, Heather Mae, Crys Matthews, Big Howdy, Bitter Dose Combo, Bumper Jacksons, Kevin Johnson, Karl Straub.

Ken Avis continues his popular audio-visual history of the popular music of DC with 3 lectures in November 2021. In the first series Ken focused on Jazz, Hillbilly & Country Music, and Rock. Part 2 fills in the gaps with the focus on Acoustic Music, Soul and DC music of the 21st century.

Each program highlights artists from the DMV area who have made a significant impact nationally and beyond, while explaining the social, technological and music business innovation which created the context in which these artists emerged.

Music City DC developed from a series of talks for Encore Learning at George Mason University and has been delivered and tailored for multiple audiences.

Tickets available from www.smithsonianassociates.org

"The Greatest Guitar Player You've Never Heard”

Washington DC boasts not one, but two guitar players who earned that label - Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton. Both called the Washington area their home and both were part of a music scene with a uniquely Washington DC sound—a virtuosic blend of rock and roll, jazz, blues, rockabilly, country, and soul - that Gatton said came from the Anacostia Delta. That sound can still be heard in venues around the DC. This full length, concert documentary tells the story of the legends and the legacy. Co-produced by Antidote's Ken Avis, the film is available for download and DVD purchase.

www.AnacostiaDelta.com

The Cauldron responded to the challenges of the pandemic quarantine by staging a series of outdoor concerts every weekend featuring smaller bands and solo artists performing to a masked and socially distanced audience. For many performers this had been their first opportunity to play to a live audience since the quarantine began. For the audience it was a welcome return to great live music.

Featured artists included Irene Jalenti, Nataly Merezhuk, Griefcat, Veronneau, Project Locrea, Sean Heely Trio, Yasmin Williams, Alison Crockett.

Artfest continued in 2020 as a virtual festival of art and music, a beacon of great music in the quarantine. In partnership with Creative Cauldron we curated and presented two virtual shows including such diverse artist as Project Locrea, Irene Jalenti, Veronneau, Yasmin Williams, Sean Heely Trio, Nora Palka, and the Nataly Merezhuk Trio – all filmed live during the Cauldron’s 2020 Outdoor Summer Concert Series – Masked and Distanced.

Every January, in partnership with the Creative Cauldron, Falls Church, VA we present live music in a fabulous, seated, theater listening-room. Every Fri, Sat & Sunday throughout January. Featured artists have included:

Yasmin Williams, Rose Moraes, Irene Jalenti, Cecily, Ken & Brad Kolodner Trio, VERONNEAU, Jess Eliot Myhre, Bumper Jacksons, Karen Jonas, Louisa Hall, Crys Matthews, Heather Mae, Bitter Dose Combo, The Kennedys, Cristian Perez Quintet, Project Locrea, Raymi, Jan Knutson, Steve Heberman, Steve Abshire, Michael Bowie, Shakira Rogers, Akua Alrich, Sean Heely Trio, Jose Andres, Mark G. Meadows.

DC Music History: The album which launched bossa nova….from a DC church hall!

It could only have happened in DC. Thanks to a State Department Cultural Grant in 1960, DC’s Charlie Byrd Trio toured Latin American and Brazil, bringing back albums of the new Brazilian bossa nova sound, created by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jao Gilberto and others in the late 50’s. Their subsequent Jazz Samba album, recorded in the 16th Street Unitarian Church in just 3 hours, became a global smash which introduced bossa nova to the public. Ken Avis produced this full length, documentary, with director/videographer Bret Primack, telling the story of the album and it’s impact on the music world.

Bossa Nova: The Brazilian Music Which Charmed the World

The film was premiered at the Strathmore’s Jazz Samba Project, a two week event celebrating the music, art, dance and film of Brazil, co-curated by Antidote’s Ken Avis and Strathmore. In addition to the performances, the program included a panel discussion which included drummer Buddy Deppenschmidt and legendary recording engineer Ed Greene, the last two living participants of the legendary Jazz Samba recording session. The panel also included Jazz Times journalist David Adler, WPFW G-Strings host Tom Cole, and Brazilian musician and educator Leo Lucini, and can be viewed here.

Jazz Samba Panel discussion

Multiple articles were written by Ken about the Jazz Samba album and the musical and social context of the era. Here’s a short article:

Fairfax Times - short Jazz Samba article