Celebrating Ten Years of Luce Unplugged

Luce Unplugged is celebrating ten years of jamming out and highlighting the very best in music coming out of the DMV. Launched in 2010, the program started as an opportunity for local musicians to find connections to an artwork in SAAM’s collection and then talk about it with museum staff before performing in the museum’s Luce Foundation Center. Today this music series has grown to be a favorite venue for emerging and established local artists alike. Luce Unplugged is a series for everyone from local music diehards looking to discover all that DC’s creative scene has to offer to families hoping to inspire the next generation of musicians and fans. Let’s celebrate ten years of incredible music and art with special programming, performances, coloring pages, and more!  

Interdisciplinary artist Camae Ayewa performs with Irreversible Entanglements on July 14, 2017.

Ten years ago, we had an idea... What if local music could exist side by side with the amazing artworks in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's national collection? What if we could spend the evening jamming out to the best independent music in the DMV while also enjoying a painting by Gene Davis or a sculpture by Edmonia Lewis? This idea became a reality in November of 2010 when Star FK Radium took the stage in our first ever Luce Unplugged concert. At first, we really were “unplugged.” Concerts were an un-miced, low-key affair. Artists like Carolyn Malachi, Janel & Anthony, and Laughing Man stopped by to play a set and choose an object from our collection for a special art talk. 

Over time our audience and our equipment collection grew. In 2012, we partnered with WashingtonCityPaper for the first time. With their support, we began to host Luce Unplugged Community Showcases, a quarterly concert series featuring several acts and tastings provided by local craft alcohol producers. 

Ten years later and still going strong, Luce Unplugged has made more friends, and we are grateful to all of our partners, past and present, including Washington City Paper, D.C. Music Download, and Hometown Sounds for their wisdom, enthusiasm, and flawless musical taste. We’ve met amazing musicians, photographers, sound engineers, dancers, and many others who make up this city’s vibrant creative community. We’ve enjoyed watching people that call DC home get to know the Smithsonian American Art Museum and people from all over the U.S. and the world get a taste of what DC has to offer. 

We can’t wait to see what the next ten years bring! 

 

Listen Now

 

In 2012, Washington City Paper and the Smithsonian American Art Museum kicked off the first Luce Unplugged Community Showcase with a lineup featuring Kokayi, The Caribbean, and Alex Minoff. Since then, we have welcomed around 70 artists to perform and celebrate all that DC’s independent music scene has to offer. Listen to some of the greatest hits with a specially curated playlist of songs from past Luce Unplugged performers created by Emma Sarappo, Washington City Paper’s arts editor.   

Get creative and enjoy a series of coloring pages from talented DC photographer Farrah Skeiky.

Farrah has a passion for independent music! In 2019, she published Present Tense, a portfolio of photos dedicated to punk as a living and breathing force in DC. Her photographs document punk, hardcore, and DIY bands as they perform in traditional venues, dive bars, basements, warehouses, churches, galleries, living rooms, restaurants, and even a neighborhood grocery store. She has also transformed some of her favorite photos into a coloring book that brings the joy of attending a concert to you, wherever you happen to be. 

To celebrate ten years of Luce Unplugged, we asked Farrah to create three special edition coloring pages featuring artists who have performed in the Luce Foundation Center. Print these pages or use your favorite coloring app to bring these works to life!

Are you feeling as nostalgic as we are? Step into our time machine and view photos from past Luce Unplugged concerts. 

One of the best things about Luce Unplugged is getting to ask artists what makes them tick. Over the past decade, we have interviewed more than 60 local artists and talked about everything from the intersection of punk rock and motherhood to how to write songs in your sleep. Browse our archive of 5-Question interviews for a local perspective on writing music and living a creative life.

Relive past Luce Unplugged performances with artists like Carolyn Machi, Laughing Man, Pleasure Curses, and Luray with our YouTube playlist.