Kennedy Center Launches COUCH CONCERTS

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces a free, live digital performance initiative, Couch Concerts, to help inspire, uplift, heal, and bring the performing arts from the homes of artists into homes across the country and around the world during these difficult times.

For 23 years, Millennium Stage has brought free performances to audiences in person at the Center and virtually through a livestream. The Kennedy Center will now stream concerts direct from artists' homes on the Kennedy Center website at 4 p.m. ET every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while the Center remains closed, due to COVID-19.

National Spotlight Mondays

In partnership with institutions, venues, and organizations across the country, Monday concerts each feature two artists selected by these organizations to tell the story of their city. The Monday concerts will first focus on COVID-19 hotspots and then branch out to venues around the nation to tell their unique artistic story in a universal time of struggle. The first National Spotlight Monday focused on Washington, D.C. with Grammy Award®-nominated singer/songwriter Raheem DeVaughn and singer, poet, actor, and emcee Wes Felton on April 13. The spotlight shifts to San Francisco with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on April 20 and then to Seattle with Seattle Theatre Group on April 27.

Community Spotlight Wednesdays

Wednesday concerts highlight artists across disciplines including hip hop, comedy, theater, past and present Millennium Stage artists, D.C. area artists, and regional partnerships. The first Wednesday concert will kick-off with a performance by past and present Millennium Stage artists Kokayi and indie-soul band Oh He Dead today, April 15. On April 22, comedian and Get Up D.C.! anchor Reese Waters will host Inside Jokes with Reese Waters in a special 9 p.m. ET edition of Couch Concerts featuring Amanda Seales.

Artistic Partners Spotlight Fridays

Kennedy Center Artistic Directors, Turnaround Arts artists, and more Kennedy Center partners and affiliated artists lead the livestream on Fridays, which began on April 10 with Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, Jason Moran, and continues on April 17 with Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra members Anna Ouspenskaya and Igor Zubkovsky and National Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Nurit Bar-Josef. Frédéric Yonnet, who saluted Dave Chappelle at the 2019 Mark Twain Prize, will perform on April 24.

To access the livestream or for more information and the latest Couch Concerts schedule, visit the Couch Concerts page of the Kennedy Center website.

Audiences can discover a wide range of other at-home programming through the Couch Concerts page of the Kennedy Center website.

For three weeks, New York Times bestselling author and Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence, Mo Willems, hosted LUNCH DOODLES with Mo Willems! Explore 15 episodes as Mo invites you into his studio to explore ways of writing and making.

Digital Stage brings you extraordinary performances from the Kennedy Center's stages and beyond, with new releases daily.

Millennium Stage lives on with online encore performances and an archive of hundreds of past performances can be accessed through the Kennedy Center website.

For the millions of students, parents, and teachers looking for ways to learn and grow at home, Kennedy Center Education offers informative and engaging Digital Learning resources.

As announced on March 20, the Kennedy Center has canceled all public performances and events scheduled through Sunday, May 10, 2020, in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Select events after May 10 have also been canceled due to COVID-19's impact on the global cultural sector.