After 50 years of hosting summer concerts at Fort Dupont Park in Southeast DC, and promising some summer ones this year, the National Park Service (NPS) announced in an emailed press release on September 25 that it would instead in 2023 be hosting three autumn weekend shows at that outdoor amphitheater stage, starting on Saturday October 7. Their final 2023 gig, a tribute to 50 years of hiphop is this Saturday October 21. Although a statement on the NPS’s Fort Dupont Park’s website had said for months, “We are still in the planning stages for the 2023 events and hope to announce concert dates later this summer,” that website page phrasing did not change until the NPS notice of the October gigs. Why the change in seasons?
I learned that the NPS, using only a federal contracting website, struggled bureaucratically to find a promoter to book and manage the shows for it until August, and then finalizing a contract with that promoter took additional time. Last year NPS, using a different promoter, had four summer events at this Ward 7 location and in the 1970s they had shows every weekend throughout the summer from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
This year’s schedule started on October 7th with an R&B and jazz fusion night that included DC’s Blackbyrds, best known for their 1975 hit “Walking in Rhythm.” The October 14 show that went on despite rain featured DC go-go acts including the Northeast Groovers. The upcoming third show on October 21 is a tribute to fifty years of hiphop with performers including local rappers Noochie and Nonchalant and some veteran wordslingers from elsewhere including Chubb Rock and Monie Love.
So how did the NPS specifically struggle with setting up this year’s programming? In an August emailed response to a series of my questions asking for details regarding why there were no summer NPS shows, Chelsea Sanders, a NPS Public Affairs specialist for the National Capital Region, said in part, ”We began the contracting process for the 2023 Fort Dupont Event Series in the fall of 2022 and released the first solicitation for bids in early May 2023, which resulted in no proposals. In mid-June, the NPS issued a second solicitation to a wide range of potential event organizers; again, we received no proposals. While the NPS worked on the third announcement, we also explored alternative contracting routes for event talent. During this process, however, a contractor who was interested in bidding was identified. The NPS released a third solicitation on August 4, and we are currently negotiating a contract.”
In a region with the Smithsonian, IMP Concerts, Live Nation and countless other non-profit and for profit entities booking music events, it may seem surprising that it took this long to find a contractor to handle an established music series that started in 1972. But in a follow up email in response to my further questions, Sanders noted that the NPS was reaching out only to federal contractors. Sanders said, “[t]he National Park Service posts all contractor solicitation requests, including for the Fort Dupont Event Series, on SAM.gov. Government contractors know to look here for opportunities to bid. The initial solicitation was open to event production contractors that had already filed paperwork with GSA; however, the second solicitation was open to all event production contractors interested in bidding.” NPS has not revealed the name of the promoter handling this year’s program.
While NPS has accounts on websites, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter), Sanders says “Like previous years, this solicitation was not announced on general NPS social media accounts. However, we are already considering ways to improve our communication about the solicitation for next year – including social media.”
Cathy Arevian, the CEO and Managing Director of The Bridge Group which had the Fort Dupont contract in 2021 and 2022, said by email regarding those two years, “We had a lovely experience and the NPS team was very accommodating.” In response to question regarding why they did not apply for 2023, Arevian said that NPS did not provide to them via email a “statement of work” document, which is the document that outlines the required tasks for the contract. However, the August posting on SAM.gov includes an attached statement of work. Arevian subsequently said, “I guess we missed it on SAM.” Isom Global, who had the contract for a number of years between 2014 and 2021, told me they would not comment on Fort Dupont. Carlos Larraz of National Artists Corporation which had the contract from 2001 to 2012 said they did not know about the 2023 solicitation. He said NPS used to let them know about such solicitations but they have not received a direct notification in awhile. He did not see the posting on SAM.gov.
In response to my query regarding how much money a contractor would be paid for 2023, NPS said “to ensure fair and competitive bids, the NPS does not share budgets for contractor bids. We are unable to confirm the amount for the 2023 event series because our contracting office is currently working to award this contract.”
Interestingly though, Fort Dupont Park’s stage did not sit completely quiet this summer. While the NPS was waiting for a contractor to find Sam.gov, a local husband and wife R&B/funk duo called The Cruddy Crankerz quietly hosted a DC government grant funded series of free, little publicized “Soul Food Sunday '' shows with lesser known R&B solo artists and bands, and NPS signoff, at Fort Dupont in May through mid-July this year. Chanel Cowan of the Crankerz (whose band name is Lady Moet Beast) says they received grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the DC governmental entity 202 Creates to do spring and summer gigs at Fort Dupont, the Sylvan Theatre near the Washington Monument, and Anacostia Park. She says their multiple act shows at Fort Dupont which they highlighted on their own social media accounts, and got little to no mainstream press, drew crowds of 50 to 150.
Cowan says that the Crankerz also requested to use Fort Dupont Park in September and October when they were initially told that the NPS would be doing their series from mid-July through August. But the Crankerz were not allowed to do any more shows this summer or fall at Fort Dupont. The DC government’s more heavily funded and promoted Chuck Brown Day, held in August at Fort Dupont Park for the first time this year, drew 8,000 plus to see the better known Backyard Band, Chuck Brown Band and others according to the go-go advocacy organization Don’t Mute DC.
The NPS in decades past has hosted well publicized gigs at Fort Dupont Park and included through 2012 the likes of national acts such as Sun Ra, Roy Ayers, the Dramatics, S.O.S. Band, and Con Funk Shun. Over the last ten years there have been less national acts. While last year’s 50th anniversary programming started on July 30th, and received a fair amount of DC media attention, there has been much less press for this year’s schedule.
Regarding this year’s issues, NPS has not explained why it did not issue the first solicitation for a contractor this year until May 2023, shortly before summer. NPS would also not respond to questions regarding whether it reached out directly to the Bridge Group, last year’s contractor, to ask why they were not bidding this year. NPS simply stated in an August email that it was in negotiations with a contractor and later that the series would start in October, although their website still describes it as a “summer event series.”
The Saturday, Oct. 21 “ Honoring 50 years of Hip-Hop” show starts at 4pm, and includes Noochie, Nonchalant, The Alumni (Chubb Rock, Kwame, Monie Love, Dana Dane, Greg Nice) and DJ Roblove. Fort Dupont Park is at 3600 F St, SE,near Minnesota Avenue SE.
- Steve Kiviat
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