The Howard Theatre
A 1910 theater near Howard University that helped build American music - Ella, Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, James Brown all played here. Restored in 2012, it still books jazz, R&B, and hip-hop in the...
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Some venues have history. The Howard is history. Opened in 1910 near Howard University, it was a center of gravity for jazz, blues, gospel, and R&B for the first half of the 20th century - Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, and James Brown all have documented runs on this stage. It went dark for years, then came back fully restored in 2012.
These days it's a 1,200-seat room that books a smart mix - jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and cultural events that nod to both the past and what's happening now. The scale is intimate enough that you feel the weight of the place. You're not in a generic box; you're standing where a century of American music got made.
It sits in Shaw, one of D.C.'s richest cultural corridors and a short walk from the U Street restaurant scene, so build a full evening around it. Find Howard Theatre shows on Evil Tickets and catch a night in a room that earned every bit of its legend.
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