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The Guitar Renegades are a guitar quintet comprised of Cristian Perez (founder/leader), Connor Holdridge, Jan Knutson, Parker Spears, and Tommy Holladay. Although they’re all jazz guitarists at heart, they venture into repertoire as diverse as Bach, Simon & Garfunkel, and more.

Prepare to welcome the Year of the Snake with lion dancing and musical performances at the Kennedy Center on the Millennium Stage! This year’s musical performance will feature Stephanie Chou, a Chinese American jazz composer, saxophonist, and singer.

“Virtuosos on clarinet & saxophone” (New York Times), Grammy®-winning Juilliard graduates and identical twins Peter & Will Anderson have performed across the world. On this lively evening of amazing jazz, the twins and their quintet will explore the works of iconic composer Duke Ellington.

The LA Times named Kenny Barron “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” and Jazz Weekly calls him “the most lyrical piano player of our time.” The NEA Jazz Master—along with his trio featuring bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Savannah Harris—brings soul, grace, wit, and an unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with elegant playing and infectious rhythms.

Firebrand trumpet player Jeremy Pelt balances a deep grasp of the jazz tradition with his trademark warm, searching post-bop sound. JazzTimes calls him a “technical marvel” who “executes intricate solos with ease, plays gorgeous ballads in a tasteful manner, and never lacks flair.” Performing music from his 2023 release The Art of Intimacy and more, Pelt improvises an evening of beauty and mastery.

Nite Bjuti (pronounced “Night Beauty”) is a woman-led improvisatory trio of vocalist Candice Hoyes, Grammy-winning sound chemist Val Jeanty, and bassist Mimi Jones. Their improvised electro acoustic performances move through grooves into freedom. According to the New York Times, “spirit, conjure, necromancy, and memory seem to be some of the grounding ideas behind Nite Bjuti’s stunning, fully improvised sound.”

Pan American Symphony Orchestra’s lavish, energetic performance of music inspired by Spanish traditions will leave you warmly inspired.

Pianist, composer, producer, and Washington, D.C. native Sequoia “REDWOOD” Snyder blends contemporary jazz vibes and Black music genres with individuality and style. At only 24, she’s performed with esteemed musicians such as Rodney Whitaker, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kenny Barron, Cory Henry, and even popular R&B band The Internet. REDWOOD’s mentor Jason Moran says of his protégé, “when I can’t do a gig, I always recommend Sequoia.”

This presentation with Kennedy Center Jazz Pianist-in-Residence Charles Covington includes an opening with a Negro Spiritual and a dramatic reading of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman,” followed by interpretations of American classical (jazz) music.

transcenDANCE promises a program of diverse choreographic and innovative styles.

Featuring a vibrant blend of jazz, soul, and vernacular sounds, Alicia Waller and her ensemble will perform selections from her acclaimed EP, Some Hidden Treasure (2020), along with fresh material from her highly anticipated debut album, Louder Then.

Digital meets analogue in the remarkable new trio featuring electronic musician and tape loop specialist BlankFor.ms, innovative drummer Marcus Gilmore, and Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran on piano. Electronics interact with instruments in real time—spontaneously recording loops grabbed on the fly and re-infusing the sonic planes with digital effects—resulting in sounds and energies rarely heard before.

Daymé Arocena, a Grammy®-nominated and Juno Award-winning Afro-Cuban singer, is known for her genre-defying creativity and deep connection to her Cuban heritage.

A steadfast improviser, Joel Ross is one of the most thrilling new vibraphonists in America. He plays in the moment—his live sets saturated with a lyrical intuition that’s equally grounded in melody, phrasing, and post-bop sophistication. Ross’ live performances erupt “through the layers of lush arrangements,” raves Downbeat, “like consistent currents of electricity, high-powered and full of luminous energy.”

Grammy Award–winning titan of jazz saxophone Joe Lovano and virtuoso guitarist Julian Lage have enjoyed a long journey of mutual artistic admiration. “I’ve always found him a natural, beautiful, expressive musician with maturity beyond his years,” Joe says of Julian, “He is someone I always knew I would collaborate with at some point, and I’m so happy to have his contributions within the Paramount Quartet.” This electrifying new ensemble also features drummer Will Calhoun (of Living Colour fame) along with bassist and longtime Lovano collaborator Asante Santi Debriano.

The Pan American Symphony Orchestra (PASO), nominated for a Latin Grammy award for best tango album, presents a concert of nuevo tango by the famous Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla.

During this amazing performance by pianist José André and special guests, you will experience a unique energy combining jazz and Latin American elements to inspire sounds of Earth and space. (Bolivia)

Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran and some of his most talented friends take the stage for a completely improvised concert! Since his formidable emergence on the scene in the late 90s, Moran has established himself as a risk-taker, innovator, and “the most provocative thinker in current jazz” (Rolling Stone). Join us for this one-of-a-kind performance of spontaneous group improvisation.

Windham Hill composer and pianist Liz Story presents a solo piano concert celebrating her forty-year career.

FREE! The National Endowment for the Arts will honor the 2025 NEA Jazz Masters at a tribute concert held in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The 2025 recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship—the nation’s highest honor in jazz—are Marshall Allen, Marilyn Crispell, Chucho Valdés, and recipient of the 2025 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy Gary Giddins.

The Pan American Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Sergio Alessandro Bušlje, presents its signature tango show featuring 25 musicians, Javier Sanchez and Heyni Solera on bandoneóns, and three pairs of international award-winning tango dancers. 

Join us in honoring the life and work of the “first lady of jazz,” legendary pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams. This year’s two-day festival features performances by Dee Dee Bridgewater, the Jamie Baum Septet+, the Savannah Harris “4,” Fay Victor, and more phenomenal women leading today’s jazz scene.

Treat yourself to an evening of American big-band jazz with the bi-annual Washington Performing Arts presentation of the sensational 15-member Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by artistic director, trumpeter, and nine-time Grammy Award-winner Wynton Marsalis.

The New York Times says “Stanley Clarke’s prolific output can soothe you with a gentle bow of the bass… or launch you into an interplanetary future. His playing holds a reckless abandon, clarity, and facility rarely heard on the low end.” Witness the NEA Jazz Master and five-time Grammy winner on tour celebrating his jazz-fusion legacy and the music that made him a major star. Joining Clarke, 4EVER’s young band members bring a sensational combination of harmony and fierce improvisation encompassing rock, funk, R&B, hip hop, and more.