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This week you can rediscover the magic of the Wizarding World, enjoy the experimental hip-hop stylings of a producer and MC, and take in the frenetic energy of a British punk band. As always, check out the latest in arts news and reviews and ticket sales at the end of To Do This Week. —Kayla Randall
FRIDAY
The Wizarding World Film FestivalOn a dark and stormy night, a bearded giant arrives on the doorsteps of the Dursleys’ vacation home and whisks their 11-year-old nephew to a realm of trolls, owls, and talking hats. The giant (or half-giant, rather) is Rubeus Hagrid, and the boy is Harry Potter, known in the Wizarding World––and now the world over––as The Boy Who Lived. So begins Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), the first cinematic installment of a series that spanned eight films, inspired a prequel series, and launched a global frenzy that buoys the success of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling fantasy novels. This Friday at the National Museum of American History’s Warner Bros. Theater, witness a baby-faced Daniel Radcliffe team up with the red-headed Ron (Rupert Grint) and the whip-smart Hermione (Emma Watson) for the first time before you settle in to watch screenings of the other seven Harry Potter films (as well as the two Fantastic Beasts installments) for a five-day film festival extravaganza. Read more>>> The film festival begins at 8:30 p.m. at the Warner Bros. Theater, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. $15. (202) 633-1000. si.edu/theaters/warnerbrostheater. (Amy Guay)
D.C. rock trio Ex Hex performs at 9:30 Club. 8 p.m. at 815 V St. NW. $25.
Adult Mom, the bedroom-pop-rock persona of Stephanie Knipe, performs at Songbyrd Music House. 8 p.m. at 2477 18th St. NW. $13–$15.
Writer Michele Filgate appears at Politics and Prose at Union Market to discuss the anthology she edited about the nature of the mother-child bond, What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence. 7 p.m. at 1270 5th St. NE. Free.
SATURDAY
Knife Knights“A different notion of richness in life” is how Ishmael Butler explained the intended impact of his music project Knife Knights to a KEXP-FM host last year, but those words could easily apply to the rest of the Seattle MC and producer’s deeply creative career. The jazz autodidact, Lil B appreciator, and Sub Pop Records signee has long been a master of cool and out-there aesthetics, starting as a member of hip-hop trio Digable Planets in the ’90s and resurfacing this decade for four albums as a member of hip-hop duo Shabazz Palaces. Read more>>> Knife Knights performs at 8 p.m. at the Pie Shop Bar, 1339 H St. NE. $14. (202) 398-7437. pieshopdc.com. (Joe Warminsky)
Folk duo Jamestown Revival performs at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 8 p.m. at 600 I St. NW. $20–$23.
English pop group BBMak, remembered for its early-aughts hits “Back Here” and “Out of My Heart,” performs at Jammin Java. 8 p.m. at 227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna. $30–$40.
Pearl Street Warehouse presents a free Funk Parade showcase featuring pianist and singer Aaron Abernathy. 8 p.m. at 33 Pearl St. SW. Free.
SUNDAY
IDLESBy the time IDLES get here, the British band will have been through months of touring in support of Joy as an Act of Resistance, a 2018 album that delivered loud, brusque critiques of masculinity (and other toxic topics) at a time when soft, awkward wokeness was the default option for a lot of dudes. Frontman Joe Talbot sing/shouts as though the microphone isn’t working—look up the November clips of IDLES on Later … with Jools Holland for a quintessential dose—and his bandmates are constantly in motion, as if they’re trying to stay a step ahead of the aggro-rock history that seems to fuel every riff. Read more>>> IDLES perform at 8 p.m. at Rock & Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. Sold out. (202) 388-7625. rockandrollhoteldc.com. (Joe Warminsky)
Scottish rock band The Twilight Sad performs at U Street Music Hall. 7 p.m. at 1115 U St. NW. $18.
The National Gallery of Art continues its run of the exhibition The American Pre-Raphaelites: Radical Realists, a collection of more than 90 paintings, watercolors, and drawings from American artists influenced by art critic John Ruskin. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. between 3rd Street and 9th Street on Constitution Avenue NW. Free.
British folk rock band Bear’s Den performs at 9:30 Club. 7 p.m. at 815 V St. NW. $25.
MONDAY
CommonSince his 1992 debut album Can I Borrow A Dollar?, Common has become one of the most consistent and respected voices in rap. Today, Common is an actor, a political activist, a producer of multiple television shows (including Showtime’s The Chi and the still-in-development Black Samurai) and, fun fact, a narrator for the anti-bias training videos that Starbucks employees are required to view before donning their aprons. Read more>>> Common performs at 8 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater, 2700 F St. NW. $45–$75. (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. (Will Lennon)
Chef Kwame Onwuachi speaks at Politics and Prose at The Wharf about his memoir, Notes From a Young Black Chef. 7 p.m. at 70 District Square SW. Free.
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center screens the classic romantic Charlie Chaplin tale City Lights. 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $8–$13.
Singer-songwriter and keyboardist Katie Toupin, formerly of the band Houndmouth, performs at DC9. 8 p.m. at 1940 9th St. NW. $13–$15.
TUESDAY
Julie PackardIn an era of empowerment for women across the globe and at a time when concern for the environment is essential, there is no greater source of inspiration than marine biologist and conservation advocate Julie Packard. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery is displaying a newly commissioned work by artist Hope Gangloff, a colorful vision of the visionary figure. The New York City-based artist conceived this portrait during visits to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, where Packard is the executive director. Read more>>> The portrait is on view to August 16, 2020 at the National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Streets NW. Free. (202) 633-8300. npg.si.edu. (Malika T. Benton)
Violinist Damien Escobar brings his Elements of Love tour to The Birchmere. 7:30 p.m. at 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. $59.50.
Washington National Opera performs the Puccini drama Tosca at the Kennedy Center Opera House. 7:30 p.m. at 2700 F St. NW. $35–$300.
Solid State Books hosts author Erica Williams Simon to speak about her book You Deserve the Truth, a part memoir, part self-help meditation on challenging conventional narratives. 7 p.m. at 600 H St. NE. Free.
WEDNESDAY
Oliver Lee Jackson: Recent PaintingsThe National Gallery of Art’s Oliver Lee Jackson: Recent Paintings is a collection of 18 pieces that span the past 15 years, including never-before-seen works, from the painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Born in St. Louis, Jackson has cultivated a legacy of awe-inspiring, large-scale work, beautifully abstract in the balance of colors which leave much room for interpretation. Read more>>> The exhibition is on view to Sept. 15 at the National Gallery of Art, 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Free. (202) 737-4215. nga.gov. (Malika T. Benton)
Evanescence, the iconic early 2000s rock band that gave us “Bring Me to Life,” perform at The Anthem. 8 p.m. at 901 Wharf St. SW. $55–$354.
Drummer and producer Jamal Moore performs at Union Stage. 7:30 p.m. at 740 Water St. SW. $13–$15.
Prog rock band Thank You Scientist performs at Rock & Roll Hotel. 7:30 p.m .at 1353 H St. NE. $16.50–$20.
THURSDAY
Yemen Blues and NaniRavid Kahalani, the oft-bunned frontman of the genre-collapsing music group Yemen Blues, is a global force, blending musical influences like mambo, jazz, and traditional Arabic sounds. The joyful “Satisfaction,” a collaboration with French-Malian rapper Oxmo Puccino, highlights the band’s international fusion of funky drum beats, trumpets, and chants. (The band boasts musicians who hail from New York, Uruguay, and Tel Aviv.) Nani, the only known artist to sing in Ladino, the language of ancient Morocco, joins Yemen Blues at Union Stage on Thursday as a part of JxJ, a new arts project that unites the Washington Jewish Film Festival and the Washington Jewish Music Festival over a three-week period. Read more>>> Yemen Blues and Nani perform at 8 p.m. at Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW. $30–$36. (877) 987-6487. unionstage.com. (Amy Guay)
Suns Cinema screens 1983 arthouse horror film Angst. 8 p.m. at 3107 Mount Pleasant St. NW. $8.
Americana singer-songwriter Jackie Greene performs with country musician Elise Davis. 8 p.m. at 1350 Okie St. NE. $20–$30.
Viral jazz prodigy Jacob Collier and singer and multi-instrumentalist Becca Stevens perform at The Howard Theatre. 8 p.m. at 620 T St. NW. $30–$62.50.
NEWS & REVIEWS YOU CAN USE
Film: Dogman is a slow-burn thriller with great empathy for its canine characters.
Film: Detective Pikachu only half-earns its weird existence.
Film: The Korean Film Fest celebrates its 15th year.
Museums and Galleries: At Lost Origins Gallery, visualizing the history of Fugazi.
OFFICE OF FUTURE PLANNING
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for Los Angeles-based experimental hip-hop artist Yeek, performing at Union Stage on Aug. 11. 7:30 p.m. at 740 Water St. SW. $15.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for British pop-rock band Bastille, performing at The Anthem on Sept. 21. 9 p.m. at 901 Wharf St. SW. $45–$75.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for rapper 21 Savage, performing at The Anthem on Aug. 6. 8 p.m. at 901 Wharf St. SW. $55–$505.
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