15-05-2025
Your D.C. Weekend: Bourbon & Bluegrass, Greek festival
Get ready for a banjo-pickin', tumbler-swillin' good time: It's the annual Bourbon & Bluegrass festival this weekend.
Why it matters: It's the 10th anniversary of what Washington City Paper's called "The Best Music Festival in D.C."
Plus: Now that the Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival is no more, it's a good chance to get your bluegrass fix without leaving the city.
State of play: The festival will take place Saturday and Sunday at President Lincoln's Cottage near Petworth.
The artist Swamp Dogg will headline the event and play both days.
The seminal R&B, funk and soul singer and musician's latest album was named one of the best country albums last year by NPR.
The festival coincides with the D.C. showings of " Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted," a documentary about — yep — Swamp Dogg awaiting a custom paint job on his L.A. pool while hanging with celeb pals like Johnny Knoxville.
Catch the flick Saturday at Capitol Hill's Miracle Theatre, followed by a Q&A with Mr. Dogg himself, or Sunday at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring.
Throughout the weekend, you can also check out performances by acts like Goldbug Revival (a D.C.-based indie folk group that works at the NIH by day) and Hubby Jenkins, formerly of the Rhiannon Giddens band and the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Plus: Join in on a jam session, check out food trucks, play lawn games, take historic tours of the property and sip bourbon (obvi).
Know before you go: A one-day adult ticket is $55 ($77 with drinks), and it's $82 for both days ($124 with drinks).
Those between ages 7-20 are $39 a ticket ($55 for the weekend), and littles under 6 are free.
President Lincoln's Cottage is located at 140 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW.
More fun weekend events:
🇬🇷 The annual Saint Sophia Greek Festival runs Friday-Sunday near the Observatory Circle, with live Greek music and folk dancing, a marketplace, kids' games, a taverna with Greek beer and wine, and, of course, all the baklava, spanakopita and gyros your heart desires. (Free admission)
🪞 Head to Berryville, Virginia, for the Luckett's Spring Market Friday through Sunday, with hundreds of vintage vendors selling furniture and garden goods — plus a beer garden, food trucks and live tunes. (Tickets are $23 for general admission, $55 for the early-buyer weekend pass.)
🍜 Fiesta Asia will host its street fair-meets-homage to Asian culture on Saturday in downtown D.C. Come by for a karaoke contest, performances by dancers and martial artists, shopping, a parade, and ramen and sushi cookoff battles. (Free admission)
