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PRESS RELEASE: DC Jazz Festival Adds Iconic Bass Virtuoso Marcus Miller to 2025 DC JazzFest Lineup!



DC Jazz Festival Adds Iconic Bass Virtuoso 

Marcus Miller to 2025 DC JazzFest Lineup!


Great Masters and Next Gen Artists Perform on Multiple Stages August 27 - 31

 

WASHINGTON, DC – June 10, 2025 - DC Jazz Festival (DCJF) is proud to announce the addition of internationally acclaimed bassist, composer, and media personality Marcus Miller and his extraordinary band to the 2025 DC JazzFest at The Wharf, taking place August 30 – August 31, 2025 over Labor Day Weekend.

 

Tickets are available now at dcjazzfest.org.

 

A true force in contemporary jazz, Marcus Miller is set to bring his powerhouse band to DC JazzFest 2025. The legendary bassist, composer, and producer has worked with icons like Miles Davis, Beyoncé, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock, and Aretha Franklin. A two-time GRAMMY winner, Miller helped shape the sound of modern jazz and R&B—producing Miles Davis’ “Tutu” and co-writing hits like “Power of Love/Love Power” and “Jump To It.” With credits spanning blockbuster film scores (“School Daze”), Saturday Night Live, and his current SiriusXM show “Miller Time,” he continues to captivate audiences worldwide. Miller’s DC JazzFest set promises to be a standout moment of DC JazzFest at The Wharf during Labor Day Weekend.

 

"Marcus Miller is a singular force in modern music and a brilliant addition to our 2025 lineup,” said DCJF CEO Sunny Sumter. “We are thrilled to present his extraordinary artistry to DC audiences." 

 

DC JazzFest at The Wharf will bring together a dynamic lineup of jazz legends, rising stars, and boundary-pushing global artists including NEA Jazz Masters Eddie Palmieri, Ron Carter, Branford Marsalis, Gary Bartz, and Marshall Allen leading Sun Ra Arkestra, alongside acclaimed vocalists Lalah Hathaway and Cécile McLorin Salvant plus John Scofield, Emmet Cohen, Matthew Whitaker, Keyon HarroldThe Baylor ProjectThe String Queens, and more to be announced. 

 

“The 21st edition of the DC JazzFest will present a stunning array of artistic expressions from a broad range of jazz and jazz-informed styles, representing the true 21st century state-of-the-artform,” said DCJF Artistic Director Willard Jenkins.  

 

The festival will also shine a spotlight on the exceptional talent of the DMV’s own jazz community including The Strings Queens, Corcoran Holt, the JazzDC Orchestra directed by Allyn Johnson, Birckhead, Christie Dashiell, Paul Carr, Herb Scott, Akua Allrich, Todd Marcus, Charles Covington, Leigh Pilzer, Joshua Bayer, and many more.

 

DC JazzFest’s marquee weekend will take place across six stages at The Wharf, DC’s stunning waterfront destination, offering breathtaking riverside views, top-tier hotels, over 80 shops and restaurants, and convenient access via Metro, highway, and water taxi.

 

For more information, full lineup announcements, and to purchase tickets, visit dcjazzfest.org.


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DCJF Media Contact:

Lydia Liebman, DCJF Publicist


DCJF Contacts:

Sunny Sumter, Executive Producer


Josh Brown, Marketing and Communications Associate


Keep up with DCJF:

Twitter: @dcjazzfest

Instagram: @dcjazzfest

LinkedIn: DC Jazz Festival

Everything Else: linktr.ee/dcjazzfest

1 Comment


Ronnie Whitaker
Ronnie Whitaker
3 days ago

DC JazzFest is stacked with brilliance. The riverside setting just seals the deal.

Honestly, the only other thing that gets my heart racing like this lineup is trying to beat Geometry Dash Lite on Hard mode. Both require rhythm and nerves of steel.

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The DC Jazz Festival®, a 501(c)(3) non-profit service organization, and its programs are made possible, in part, with major grants from the Government of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, Mayor; DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs program of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts; DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; and with awards from Mellon Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Gillon Family Charitable Fund, Galena-Yorktown Foundation, Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Leonard and Elaine Silverstein Family Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts, Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts, Venable Foundation, Ella Fitzgerald Foundation, and HumanitiesDC. ©2025 DC Jazz Festival. All rights reserved.

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