Since the festival’s inception in 2013, Broccoli City has always been about unifying, entertaining, and and educating audiences — initially raising awareness on environmental issues. A two-day, sold-out event that attracted 30,000 guests daily, the 2024 festival at Audi Field in Southwest D.C. July 27-28 was more than a star-studded concert; it was an opportunity to celebrate Black culture and encourage attendees to be informed about important issues all at once.
“What is your Black job in November,” asked Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) to an engaged crowd of music fans before her fellow Texan and Saturday night’s headliner, Megan Thee Stallion, performed.
“Voting,” attendees shouted back to Crockett, accompanied the reply with claps and cheers.
Just about two miles from the Capitol Building, the congresswoman got real with the audience about the realities of conservative agendas such as Project 2025, which challenges democracy by solely placing federal bureaucracy under presidential control.
“My last question. Have any of you ever heard of Project 2025? If you haven’t heard of Project 2025, I need you to Google it, but let me tell you, it ain’t nothing good for nobody that looks like me and you in Project 2025,” Crockett emphasized.
For Broccoli City co-founder Marcus Allen, the nation’s capital is a perfect place to highlight the intersectionality of music and social issues. People came from around the DMV and nation to see artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, Gunna, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Victoria Monét, Sexyy Red, Lil Yachty and Concrete Family, and Kaytranada, and left the festival entertained and informed.
“I think one of the reasons why we’ve always kept it here in the District is because D.C. represents something for Black culture,” Allen told The Informer in a WIN-TV interview. “I think that Chocolate City, while it’s not said as often… I think that it is still a very strong undertone, when people make that connection back to D.C. and they understand what they’re going to get.”
With sponsors such as BLK, a dating and lifestyle app for Black people, Broccoli City Festival is proud to provide a safe space for people of color to dance and dialogue about important topics all at once.
“Our attendees are people of color… There are very few festivals that are able to maintain all Black, or majority Black– people of color– audiences,” Allen said. “I think that’s been mainly because we’ve maintained a city like D.C., where when people think about traveling here, they expect a certain vibe, like they come here for a certain energy.”
Broccoli City 2024 is a perfect example of the fact that Washingtonians have the propensity to party and talk politics all in one setting, and the city offers permission for others to embrace such moments.
LaToya Foster, director of the District of Columbia Office of Cable, Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME), said festivals like Broccoli City are a great opportunity for people to tap into the strength of D.C. culture.
This year, the festival featured a City Stage, with support from OCTFME, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Angie Gates, director of Events DC.
“OCTFME, Mayor Bowser, Events DC and Dr. Angie Gates, we have come together to bring the City Stage… where we are highlighting our local talent,” Foster told The Informer on WIN-TV.
She also said that the mayor appreciates what Allen and fellow festival co-founders Brandon McEachern and Jermon Williams have been able to do with Broccoli City beyond throwing a successful event.
“She knows what these types of festivals do for our city– they garner tourism. So you have a lot of residents who have a great time, but it also encourages a source for tourism in our city. So she has also invested resources in her budget for festival funds,” Foster explained.
Foster also noted that Broccoli City can serve as an example for other Washingtonians hoping to bring an innovative idea to fruition.
“We can have more Marcuses and Brandons and Jermons who can see them as the real example of homegrown getting it done,” she added.
For Spencer Gopaul, Broccoli City Festival was a homecoming that allowed people to come together peacefully, while showcasing the unique vibrancy of D.C. culture.
“It felt like a family reunion going to Broccoli City this year. Some people I haven’t seen in two years were there. It was nice to have a space for the D.C. community to look good, dance, and enjoy our beautiful culture. This year’s event was peaceful, which unfortunately can be rare nowadays,” Gopaul, current deputy director for the Deputy Mayor for Operations and Infrastructure, told The Informer. “I have traveled this country and world – and this weekend reminded me that there are not more beautiful, creative, vibrant people than Washingtonians.”