DC’s New Go-Go Museum Vibrates With Music History

Nearly 50 years ago, the “Godfather of Go-Go” Chuck Brown mixed elements of jazz, funk, and salsa to craft a body-rocking beat that “goes and goes.” Now, there’s a new Go-Go Museum & Café in the heart of historic Anacostia dedicated to narrating the lively history of the District’s homegrown music genre.

The collection of all things go-go—in the making for more than a decade—includes concert posters, clothing, and other artifacts. It’s been the passion project of community advocate and go-go promoter Ronald Moten.

“It’s a good feeling. It’s been a long time coming,” Moten says. “Everybody’s happy and enthused, and loves the museum.”

There’s a good reason for community enthusiasm: The venue at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Southeast, is packed with cool homages to the city’s musical past and present, which visitors can explore on more than 12 touchscreen video exhibits and interactive installations. Plus, the museum is easy to walk through; it’s just 8,000 square feet.

Upon entering the two-story storefront, you’ll come face-to-face with a talking hologram of go-go star and actor Anwan “Big G” Glover—lead talker of Backyard Band—which utilizes artificial intelligence to answer go-go questions. A few paces from the entrance, below a giant image of Chuck Brown, guests will find a poetic definition of go-go, with references to partying, politics, independent small businesses, and other connections to the genre’s story. A glance to your left, and you’ll see walls lined with colorful posters and flyers from concerts with such headliners as Rare Essence, Junk Yard Band, Trouble Funk, and Northeast Groovers.

According to Moten, the venue curates a lot of education into a small space by leveraging that aforementioned technology—something he hopes will keep local youth engaged. “  The young people are not exposed to go-go unless we do it,” he says. “That’s been one of the primary missions of the Go-Go museum, and Don’t Mute DC to expose young people to it, and make it cool again.” (Don’t Mute DC is an organization founded to preserve go-go and other Black culture.)

Visitors can also interact with an AI hologram of Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott and the E.U. Band—famous for earning go-go national recognition with their hit single “Da Butt” in the ’80s. Other attention-grabbing displays include a lengthy digital timeline of DC’s culture dating back to Anacostia’s original landowners, the indigenous Anacostan tribe, plus audio and film installations on go-go’s family tree.

In the basement, there’s a sound stage for live performances, a recording studio where artists can make original go-go songs, as well as exhibitions on the “ladies of go-go,” African heritage, and graffiti art.

Coming this spring, there will be cafe food by chef Angela Rose in the outdoor eating area.

The museum is open every Wednesday and Saturday. General admission is $15, and free for DC residents. 

Briana Thomas

Briana A. Thomas is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. She is the author of the Black history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C., a story that was first published in Washingtonian in 2016.