Last week, Broccoli City Festival announced that this year’s two-day fest will take place at D.C.’s Audi Field, making it the first event that is part of a just-inked multiyear booking and concert promotion partnership between Grand Rising Curations, led by Dave Niedbalski (a former Live Nation executive) and the local soccer venue.
BCF will take place July 27 and 28 (having moved from its previous home at the festival grounds at RFK Stadium). The announcement kicks off a grander plan for Audi Field that has been in the works for years.
“Since the opening of Audi Field, it’s been a complete desire to move into the world of concerts and live shows,” says Danita Johnson, D.C. United president of business operations. And while the timing coincides with the recent announcement from Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis to relocate from Capital One Arena to Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Johnson says this is merely coincidence.
“We had been in motion prior to this,” says Johnson. “We just needed to get to the right timing as we were building other areas of our business. So definitely not in response. Definitely something we’ve always had a desire to do and the timing is just working out well for us.”
Set in motion by Janine Brunson–Johnson (who worked with Niedbalski on live shows during her tenure as promotions director at iHeartRadio in Philadelphia), D.C. United’s senior director of events and entertainment, initial conversations of a potential partnership began a year ago.
“When [Janine] moved to D.C. and took that position [at Audi Field], she picked up the phone and said, ‘Help me figure this out,’” Niedbalski tells City Paper. “We had worked together for that whole time so there’s just a natural symbiosis between us.”
On his first walk-through at Audi Field, Niedbalski saw not only a fairly new stadium—the complex opened in July 2018—but also a design that was ideal for shows. “The intention of a great soccer stadium is to see the ball,” Niedbalski says. “That works so well for stages and concerts because it creates a level of intimacy for such a large space.”
The news is a big deal for the stadium, but it also shows a significant level of growth for BCF, which launched in Los Angeles in 2010 and moved to D.C. in 2013. (Live Nation Urban started co-promoting the fest in 2018 and purchased an equity stake in the festival in 2022).
With the festival’s growth and a larger space comes bigger acts. This year’s fest will include performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Gunna, Victoria Monet, Baby Tate, and Lil Yachty. It will also feature intros from Issa Rae and Desi Banks, and Funny Marco will host the two-day fest. And, given that its new location comes with a built-in infrastructure, many of the comforts of home are already in place.
“There’s a movement in the music industry that fans have a desire for infrastructure and creature comforts and amenities,” says Niedbalski. “Broccoli City’s team knows what their fans want. Somebody who wants a GA atmosphere can still have some of that but also the people who are like, ‘I want a real bathroom, and I want great food and beverage options’ … Infrastructure has been a real movement in the festival and concert world.” (Access to the 2024 Broccoli City Festival ranges from $225 for a two-day reserved seated pass to $845 for a two-day all-access VIP reserved seated pass.)
Audi Field’s partnership with Grand Rising is not exclusive in terms of concert promotions, so other promoters are already expressing interest in using Audi Field as a potential venue.
“We still have the ability to bring on any show,” Johnson says. “It does not exclude others such as Live Nation and the AEGs of the world to come in and do shows with us. Grand Rising really is now our in-house group … to help curate, build the shows, [they’re the] subject matter experts to bring this to life.”
“After the announcement, there was a flood [of interest],” says Niedbalski. “So many people reached out wanting information about coming in there… This is an open canvas for us to paint on and there’s a lot we can do with what they’ve created here.”
Broccoli City Festival takes place on July 27–28 at Audi Field, 100 Potomac Ave. SW. bcfestival.com. $225–$845.