Fall Arts Guide: 10 Essential Things to Do in the DC Area

10 Best Things to Do in DC

Music

Geese

November 6 and 13

The Brooklyn post-punk band has blown up over the last year, and these big-venue shows should be intense: Cameron Winter’s distinctive vocals and the group’s angular, inventive guitar work make them one of indie rock’s most exciting live acts.

Theater

The Score

September 11–October 18

Succession’s Brian Cox stars as Johann Sebastian Bach in this new drama, directed by Trevor Nunn, about the composer’s meeting with Frederick the Great.

Museums

“Photographic Memory: Fifty Years of Photography at the National Portrait Gallery”

November 14, 2026–November 7, 2027

The exhibit highlights significant works from the museum’s holdings, including early images (John Plumbe Jr.’s daguerreotype of Dolley Madison, Alexander Gardner’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln) and newer ones (Roy DeCarava’s photo of Mahalia Jackson, Annie Leibovitz’s image of Venus and Serena Williams).

Music

Olivia Rodrigo

October 3–4

The celebrated singer brings her latest tour to Washington in support of You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, one of the year’s biggest pop releases.

Museums

Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden

October 31

Following a years-long renovation, the popular space reopens with carefully conceived landscaping, gorgeous stacked-stone walls, and lots of new artwork. The reimagined garden is being overseen by artist and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Theater

Maybe Happy Ending

October 6–11

This show, which won the Tony Award for best musical last year, follows two obsolete helper robots who unexpectedly fall in love, blending science fiction, romance, and humor into one of Broadway’s most acclaimed recent hits.

Museums

“Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea”

October 24–January 24

This intriguing exhibition explores the friendship among Mark Rothko, Milton Avery, and Adolph Gottlieb, tracing how summers spent together by the water influenced their artistic development.

Music

All Things Go

September 25–27

The three-day festival returns with another stacked lineup, this year including Hayley Williams, Mitski, Brandi Carlile, and Lola Young.

Museums

“From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic Art”

September 26–January 18

The Louvre lends treasures from its Islamic art collection, including the Baptistery of Saint Louis and the Lion of Monzón. It’s a chance to see these important works without getting on a flight. Below, a pair of ornate pen cases.

Opera

Nixon in China

November 14, 19, and 21

Washington National Opera stages John Adams’s landmark work dramatizing President Nixon’s 1972 trip. This production boasts an all-star cast, including Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson as Pat and Richard Nixon.