Creative Cauldron’s annual “Summer Passport Music Festival” is back again for a summer of music, featuring some of the most talented and diverse musicians in the Metro DC area and beyond. The festival will launch on June 20 and run through September 14, 2025. The Series is curated by Wammy Award-winning artist Ken Avis and resident Associate Artistic Director Matt Conner. It features musical styles and genres including blues, bluegrass, jazz, folk, and more.
2025 “Summer Passport Music Festival” Performances
Friday, June 20, 7:30 PM: “Sean Heely Summer Solstice Concert”
A brand-new show from fiddle champion, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist Sean Heely and his band. Celtic traditions combine to celebrate the festival of The Solstice. Witness the beauty, the heart, the soul of this timeless music in a special kick-off to the festival.
Friday, June 27, 7:30 PM: “The Nighthawks”
DC’s legendary blues and roots rock band makes their much-anticipated Creative Cauldron debut. We’re proud to host this amazing band. With some 30+ recordings and local and international awards to their credit, The Nighthawks are still producing new material while drawing on more than four decades’ worth of signature tunes for their legendary live shows.
Saturday, June 28, 7:30 PM: “Stephen Carter-Hicks”
After multiple sold-out cabarets, Stephen Carter-Hicks is back again to share some of his favorite songs from his extensive musical theater repertoire. Expect the warm song stylings that have made Stephen a smash hit for Creative Cauldron!
Friday, July 11, 7:30 PM: “Ayreheart”
A progressive, renaissance-folk quartet founded by GRAMMY-nominated lutenist Ronn McFarlane, restore the lute to its former glory – but in a modern context. With backgrounds in rock, folk and jazz, the members of Ayreheart bring fresh energy to old traditions.
Saturday, July 12, 7:30 PM: “The Guitar Renegades”
DC’s greatest (and only!) guitar “orchestra” – jazz, world, classical and more. From “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to the Brandenburg Concerto; from gypsy jazz to Simon & Garfunkel. All guitar, all the time with 5 of the DC area’s finest guitarists, including Cristian Perez and Jan Knutson.
Friday, July 18, 7:30 PM “The Flybirds”
This award-winning musical embodiment of Alternative Bluegrass & Appalachia based out of Winchester, Virginia, have migrated through the music industry for 8 years, their voices and melodies soaring to new heights together.
Saturday, July 19, 7:30 PM “Seth Kibel & The Kleztet”
You saw him at the Cauldron with Daryl Davis, Seth’s back with a program of klezmer (Eastern-European Jewish folk music) with musical detours into Yiddish folksong, and a smattering of jazz and swing.
Friday, July 25, 7:30 PM “Sahel”
Created by Jean-Francis Varre – you saw him perform his AFROCIDADE show at the Cauldron – the Sahel band interprets musical genres influenced by African culture around the world. Reggae, Samba, Funana, Salsa, Zouk are all woven into Sahel’s canvas of African rhythms. Inspired by tradition and delivered to move your feet, your heart and your voices.
Saturday, July 26, 7:30 PM “Valeria Stewart and Friends”
John Lennon song contest winner and vocalist with Crooked Sparrow, Argentinian born Valeria celebrates the album release of her new all-Spanish album, plus original and classic songs in the Americana and folk tradition, with folk, jazz, and Latin influences.
Friday, Aug. 1, 7:30 PM “Matt Trimboli’s Big Night Out”
Swing the night away with a 10-piece big band featuring vocalist Jason Paul Curtis. Expect classics of the Big Band era, and the swooning sound of Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Ella Fitzgerald, plus a few surprises from the Latin repertoire and beyond.
Friday, Aug. 8, 7:30 PM “Lena Seikaly ‘Ella Sings Duke’”
A celebration of two of the greatest artists of the jazz age Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. DC native Duke Ellington is considered “America’s Beethoven” for his timeless compositions; Ella is the incomparable vocalist of the 20th century. Lena Seikaly is the master jazz vocalist bringing to life the music of the greats.
Saturday, Aug. 9, 7:30 PM “The Rock-a-Sonics”
Just back from their West Coast tour, the Rock-a-Sonics, led by Willie Barry, deliver atomic-age rock ‘n’ roll, classic country, rockabilly, and rhythm & blues. The band are rockabilly festival regulars playing events in Las Vegas, Spain, New England, Florida, and Nashville.
Friday, Aug 15, 7:30 PM “Quintango”
Passport favorites whose distinctive “contemporary chamber tango” style blends intimacy and bravado with passion and precision. Tango like you’ve never witnessed before, performed by top-flight classical musicians with a flair for the rhythm and drama of Argentina’s signature sound.
Saturday, Aug 16, 7:30 PM “Dave Kline’s Acoustic Global Ensemble”
Dave has been wowing audiences at the Creative Cauldron, Blues Alley, and beyond with his high energy, rocking, soulful, virtuoso violin performances with Veronneau and with his own band. He returns with his Global Ensemble featuring Chinese hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian, and special guests.
Friday, Aug 22, 7:30 PM “IO the Singer in ‘The Art & Soul of Nina Simone’”
Jazz, soul, rock vocalist IO, does it all, singer, songwriter, and vocal arranger with a voice and style often compared to legends like Tina Turner, Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Whitney Houston, and Sarah Vaughan.
Saturday, Aug 23, 7:30 PM “Veronneau and Friends”
Passport Music Festival favorites are excited to return to the Cauldron following their Canadian Summer tour of Quebec, with new songs, and old favorites. Quebecoise award-winning vocalist Lynn Veronneau and her British guitarist partner Ken Avis bring their multilingual mix of music with mojo, from an eclectic repertoire of world, folk, jazz, blues and chamber pop influences.
Saturday, Sept. 13, 7:30 PM “Wesley Diener”
Wesley Diener is an opera and musical theater performer based out of Chicago and Washington DC. He has performed across the United States and internationally with companies such as Teatro Nuovo, Charlottesville Opera, and the Shakespeare Opera Theatre. Quickly gaining recognition as a cabaret performer, Wesley has performed several sold-out solo concerts at Creative Cauldron and in Washington, DC.
Sunday, Sept. 14, 2:00 PM “Shenandoah Run”
Shenandoah Run is a nine-member folk ensemble from the Washington, DC area. Showcasing the spirited sounds of Americana, along with the occasional country or bluegrass tune, they deliver a rousing mix of music and styles.
The 2025 Summer Passport Music Festival runs June 20 – September 14, 2025, at Creative Cauldron, 127 E. Broad St, Falls Church, VA 22046. Showtimes are 7:30 PM Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 PM Sundays. Tickets are $30 (Tier One), $25 (Tier Two), $90 (Table for 2 including two glasses of wine), $180 (Table for 4 including one bottle of wine). For tickets, call the box office at 703-436-9948 or go online.
About Creative Cauldron
Creative Cauldron is an award-winning non-profit theater and educational arts organization whose innovative programs in the performing and visual arts embody collaboration, experimentation and community engagement. Creative Cauldron was founded by Artistic Director Laura Connors Hull in 2002. In 2023 Creative Cauldron launched a $500,000 New Home-New Horizon capacity campaign to raise funds for a move into a new theater in the Broad and Washington project in Falls Church City in the Winter of 2025. After raising approximately $725,000 over a two-year span, Creative Cauldron has been able to smoothly transition into its new home, closing out the 2024/25 season. This new location at Broad and Washington will give Creative Cauldron a permanent home for the next 30 years, making a cultural anchor to a comprehensively planned arts and entertainment district that can appeal to people of all ages, incomes, and cultures.