Washington is a city transient to many; a political town where people come and go with the waves of new administrations. But one thing that still anchors its heartbeat is its sound: Go-Go music. A rhythm so unmistakable it has been passed down for 50 years.
“I actually grew up wanting to be a Go-Go artist,” Frank “Scooby” Sirius told me on a February afternoon as the snow was finally beginning to melt and the sun peeked through the clouds. “I say this all the time, a lot of the Go-Go artists before us were kind of into being funk bands, rock bands, R&B bands and they kind of stumbled into playing Go-Go music.”
Go-Go was rooted in Sirius’ childhood. Reflecting on Unifest Festival, Sirius remembers making his way down Martin Luther King Avenue to a stage set for the community to come together around the music all day.
“It would be thousands and thousands of people in the streets, just listening to Go-Go music. That really had a tremendous impact on my childhood and what I thought. I’m forever grateful for being a part of that time.”
Growing up in Southeast Washington in the 80s, Sirius was always surrounded by music. “It wasn’t hard. I grew up in a household when my dad was in an R&B doo-wop group. As I was growing up with a lot of R&B, the harmonies and the musical selection was kind of infused into my early Go-Go childhood.”
Go-Go is more than a music genre; it has been a driving factor in building community, artistic expression and a defining cultural pinpoint growing up in DC. “We counted up the generation that wanted to do this,” said Sirius.
This year Sirius’ role in the Go-Go community was highlighted when he was awarded with the distinction of Go-Go Artist of the Year. Sirius’ recognition comes from his deep appreciation for the sound of the city and a career dedicated to preserving and championing Go-Go.
“With winning Artist of the Year, hopefully, it will inspire other artists to record more music and be more conscious of what it takes to be an artist in the music industry, not just the Go-Go industry.”
While Go-Go is highly respected and loved in Washington, its impact has yet to make it fully to the national stage. But that is part of what makes it so authentic, so DC. “We’ve always felt like the underdog in the music industry,” Sirius told me. “DC is such a unique place that we are always going to have each other.”
From the early years, Go-Go has been rooted in Black culture in the nation’s capital. “Any other genre of music has been colonized and has been taken over by corporate interest. In a sense, it’s lost its authenticity to its roots. And Go-Go music really hasn’t had that. It’s still the same in a lot of ways as it was when it first started,” he said.
Sirius described Go-Go as a people’s music, starting out as a struggle music and evolving to hold space as dance and party music. “Back from the days of when freed slaves found refuge here, it was totally homegrown right here in Washington, D.C.”
And that homegrown feeling continues on into 2026 as Go-Go has remained ingrained in the culture of DC. Go-Go is something that every Washingtonian should set out to experience and every visitor should be aware of. No different than the monuments on the mall, Go-Go holds a monumental space in the hearts of DC natives.
The best way to appreciate Go-Go is to be front row at a show. “There are a lot of intricacies and small things that people don’t really understand until you get to see it up close. Go-Go is a party music, it’s an energy music, it’s an atmosphere music. So, I would implore anybody that wanted to learn more about Go-Go, you gotta go to the shows,” Sirius told me.
While Go-Go artists and fans celebrate 50 years of vitality in the district, Sirius hopes that future generations gain the same appreciation for the sound that he has. “The fight never stopped, for respect, to be recognized…and I would hope that they would continue to fight 50 years from now.”
In 2026 Go-Go remains a music of the people, as it will for the next generation of music makers and community leaders. A carefully crafted percussion-based joyous celebration of what it means to be a Washingtonian.
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Featured image/photo courtesy of Frank Sirius.