Newly Renovated Franklin Park Shines Over the Weekend “DowntownDC BID Announces Rock the Park DC!”

Franklin Square is “bounded by K Street NW to the north, 13th Street NW on the east, I Street NW on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west.”

While the photos don’t do it justice, and there was still a bit of sprucing up/planting going on – a look at the newly opened and renovated Franklin Park downtown was quite a sight to see:

New restaurant/cafe coming too:

From the DowntownDC BID:

“The Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID) will host Rock the Park DC, an inaugural concert series, in the newly redeveloped Franklin Park every Saturday in October from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. This free, all ages outdoor music series features a diverse line-up of internationally renowned DJs and live musicians. Rock the Park DC is curated by native Washingtonians and music industry veterans Adrian Loving and Abby O’Neill.

“We are thrilled to introduce music to the recently opened renovated Franklin Park,” stated Neil Albert, DowntownDC BID President and CEO. “We support cultural and music programming that encourages an atmosphere that brings our communities together.”

Rock The Park DC celebrates the nexus of music, dance culture and community at the epicenter of the city.

“Our goal is to provide an energizing outdoor music experience that will instigate joy, the universal connection that music fosters and uplift the DC community in a safe and beautiful outdoor setting.” Abby O’Neill, music curator.

Listeners will hear a combination of live music and DJ sets from local favorites to international headliners. The curation will cover a wide spectrum of genres including jazz, soul, R&B, reggae, hip-hop, electronic and soulful house music.

“We want people to come enjoy outdoor dance music and create new friendships, the way I used to enjoy these events as a kid growing up in Washington, DC.” Adrian Loving, DJ and music programmer.

The following is the scheduled line up and dates. All concerts run from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information and to register, visit Eventbrite.

Line Up:

OCTOBER 2 Strange Fruit Collective Presents
Luke Stewart’s Pioneer Quintet
John Murph
Joe Claussell

OCTOBER 9 Afrofuturism Meets Jazz
Brad Linde Ensemble’s Tribute To Sun Ra
Adrian Loving
Ron Trent

OCTOBER 16 The Originals Present
DJ Clark Kent
Stretch Armstrong
Tony Touch

OCTOBER 23 Kiss n Grind x HU Homecoming Featuring
DJ Jahsonic
Just Blaze
Vikter Duplaix

Hosted by: KG Superstar

OCTOBER 30 Eaton Radio Presents…
Les The DJ
Samantha Francesca
Martin Miguel
Rissa Garcia
Black Rave Culture”

A few more photos from the park I took on Saturday: