The R&B Club: A Homage to New Jack Swing

Name: The R&B Club: A Homage to New Jack Swing
Start: 2025-02-16T12:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-02-16T15:00:00-05:00
Location: 540 Penn St NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA

Schedule

Sun Feb 16 2025 at 12:00 pm to 03:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

540 Penn St NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA | Washington, DC

Can you believe February is our SEVEN-YEAR anniversary? During our near decadelong run, we here at The R&B Club (that includes you, too) consider all of our events memorable. But it’s always unique when we can sit in a pocket and dive into a specific era of music, peeling back layers and backstories like only our community can. Consider our next event on Feb. 16 — a homage to New Jack Swing — precisely that.
With the recent passing of the late great journalist and filmmaker Barry Michael Cooper, our February gathering feels fitting. Cooper coined the term in an October 1987 piece he wrote in the Village Voice about a young Harlem musical savant named Teddy Riley. We’ll dive deeper into the importance of Cooper and that story while exploring how the sound emboldened a generation through names like Guy, Bobby Brown, Heavy D & The Boyz, Keith Sweat, En Vouge, Jodeci, Janet Jackson, Tony! Toni! Tone! and so many more. Think of this as a snapshot of Black America culturally, sonically and politically in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s and how this landmark style of music is still celebrated today.
You know where to find us, but just in case you don't, we'll be celebrating at Songbyrd Music House (540 Penn Street NE). The event is from 12-to-2PM, though sometimes we tend to go a little longer because we all get lost in the music from time to time. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Food and drinks are, of course, available to order at the bar. See you there and trust us on this — don't wait to buy tickets!
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The R&B Club is a cultural gathering founded in 2018 that discusses the influence of R&B music. In other words, think of it as a musical book club-style meetup. Follow us on social media at @therandbclubdc for more information.