BlackRock Center for the Arts Unveils 2026-27 Season

BlackRock Center for the Arts has announced its 2026-27 season, featuring concerts, exhibitions, educational programming and new partnerships, alongside a series of performances created around the America 250 commemoration.

The Germantown, Maryland arts center will mark America 250 with tribute performances celebrating musicians whose work has contributed to American popular culture, including Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Nirvana and Barbra Streisand, as well as internationally born artists such as George Michael whose music has had a significant impact on American culture.

The season will also introduce and expand partnerships with organizations including the Washington Conservatory of Music, VisArts and Fever's Candlelight Concerts, part of BlackRock's ongoing efforts to make arts programming accessible across ages, backgrounds and abilities.

Concerts and Performances

The performance season will include George Michael Reborn on November 6, followed by Forever Ray: A Tribute to Ray Charles on November 21. Celtic band RUNA will bring Hark – An Irish Christmas to BlackRock on December 4, followed by DMV Go-Go group Rare Essence on December 6.

Holiday programming will continue with Tula and Regina's Holiday Drag Pageant on December 11 and Celebrates The Season featuring The MoCo Women's Chorus on December 12, held in conjunction with BlackRock's annual holiday market.

BlackRock's fourth annual Say It Loud Festival will take place January 16 as Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaches. The event will expand upon the festival's original film-focused concept with a full day of free programming encompassing films, exhibitions, DJs and a record fair. The day will culminate in a ticketed performance of Trouble Man: A Musical Tribute to Marvin Gaye.

Luther ReLives: A Tribute to Luther Vandross follows on January 23, with the MacMillan Pipe Band performing February 27. Smells Like Nirvanna, a live tribute to Nirvana, will take the stage March 27.

The season will continue with The Cab Calloway Orchestra featuring Christopher Calloway on April 24. Christopher Calloway will lead the orchestra in a celebration of the music and legacy of his grandfather, Cab Calloway.

On May 29, Karine Hannah and her band Water Colors will present Songbird: The Singular Tribute to Barbra Streisand, honoring Streisand's music.

The season will additionally feature Candlelight Concert programs devoted to Coldplay and Imagine Dragons, Hans Zimmer, Fleetwood Mac and Vivaldi, beginning October 2.

Gallery Exhibitions Explore Land, Community and Identity

BlackRock's visual arts programming will also engage with America 250 through exhibitions examining relationships to land, history and community.

“America 250 comes at a time when questions around what it means to be an American are more fraught than ever,” BlackRock Gallery Director Joshua Gamma said. “This year as we reflect on what it means to be inhabitants of this contested land, we amplify the voices of local artists, researchers, and storytellers who can help us see our relationships to the land more clearly.”

The gallery season includes the final installment of Women Artists of the DMV: The Thank You Show, featuring works by more than 20 women artists curated by Florencio Lennox Campello. The exhibition is currently on view through October 19.

BlackRock will also partner with artist Brandon Donahue-Shipp on the ongoing Bring What You Carry public art project. Germantown-area residents will contribute personal objects and stories that will ultimately become part of a permanent large-scale relief mural celebrating the community.

Other exhibitions include Colores, celebrating Latino artists in Montgomery County; Dean Kessmann's if not obviously, then potentially; the MoCo Lynching Memorial Project's IT HAPPENED HERE: REMEMBERING THREE LYNCHINGS; Andrey Skripchenko's World of Colors; and CULTIVATE, an interdisciplinary examination of land, place and the commons with a particular focus on Montgomery County.

Youth Art Month will return in March, followed by the Art League of Germantown's annual Inspired! '27 Art Show & Sale in May.

Education, Film and Community Programming

BlackRock's fall education classes will begin September 29. This season's programming will include partnerships with Gottaswing, VisArts, Creative Outlets and the Washington Conservatory of Music, with new offerings including Abstract Painting for Adults and Multimedia for Teens.

The free ReelTalk film screening and discussion series will spotlight films made prominently in Montgomery County, with titles including The Blair Witch Project, Lilith, Philomena, Body of Lies and The Pelican Brief.

BlackRock will also partner with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on its Music Box Series for children ages six months to three years and their families. Hosted by Maria Broom, the approximately 30-minute concerts will combine classical works and children's songs in interactive performances.

The season's community programming will additionally include Local Spirits: Cultivating Community on October 29, featuring tastings from local restaurants and craft beverage makers.

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