CapitalBop, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, presenting and preserving jazz (aka Black American Music or creative music) in Washington, D.C.

Now celebrating our 15th anniversary, CapitalBop was founded on the conviction that jazz is essential to the District’s historic identity — and to its contemporary culture. As the D.C. area has lost many storied venues, CapitalBop has sustained community around jazz and improvised music through our online magazine and video archive, cutting-edge live shows and festivals, and educational programs.

Run by a team of young artists and cultural organizers ever since our inception in 2010, we maintain a place for jazz in D.C.’s cultural conversation — even amid major demographic changes and social upheaval — by emphasizing the continuing importance of this music as a vessel for creativity and resilience, rooted in Black history and culture.

CapitalBop’s celebrated web magazine is one of the most comprehensive publications covering a single city’s jazz scene, anywhere in the world. Our listings, features, reviews and videos serve a wide audience, connecting newcomers and longtime listeners with the city’s thriving live jazz scene. Our coverage of the scene has earned praise from the Washington Post, Washington City Paper, DCist, DownBeat and other local and national outlets.

As a live music presenter, CapitalBop curates a range of grassroots shows and festivals that unite diverse audiences while showcasing improvised music in nontraditional settings. Throughout the years, our annual festivals and recurring concert series have brought together diverse audiences throughout the city, presenting music in settings ranging from DIY spaces to public parks to legendary rock clubs.

Every show we present includes at least one D.C.-area-based act. Among the many world-class musicians we have brought to the nation’s capital — some for the first time — are Thundercat, Mary Halvorson, Nicole Mitchell, Orrin Evans, Marc Cary, Peter Brötzmann, Karriem Riggins, Myra Melford, Joel Ross and NEA Jazz Master Carla Bley. 

CapitalBop is proud to call D.C. home, and we thank you, our readers and supporters, for sharing in the work of continuing to carry  this city’s cultural heritage into the future.