What to Do in the DMV This Week: Four Events Worth Your Calendar, Oct. 26–Nov. 1

Published October 26, 2026 · 3 min read

A short list this week, and every item on it earns its place. One album that took decades to arrive. One debut that took years. One lineage that goes back to the Buena Vista Social Club. And one Pixar score played live by a Mexican orchestra.

Franck Biyong — NAMBALA

Twenty-one albums in, and it started with his father's record collection.

His dad loved Black American jazz and blues, played guitar now and then, and one of those records was Wes Montgomery's "Canadian Sunset." That's the sound that made Franck pick up the instrument. Decades later it became NAMBALA, recorded across Cameroon, Kenya, France, and North Africa.

Georges Collinet joined me to talk with him about it—not as a promotional interview, but as a conversation between two people who have spent their lives inside the same tradition.

Hear it: → Article: Franck Biyong's NAMBALA Arrives — and Georges Collinet Has the Last Word | CulturalDMV · Listen on Mixcloud

Kanysha — Strawberry Sessions

A debut built from real experience, not filler.

"Gay Guy" is exactly the true story it sounds like. "B.H.W.O." is about walking away from what no longer serves you. Ten songs, recorded at Blue House Productions in Kensington—the same room where she'll celebrate the release on Oct. 30.

We covered her Strathmore residency in June. This is the follow-through.

Details: Friday, Oct. 30, 8:00–10:00 PM · Blue House Productions SoundStage, 4213 Howard Ave, Suite C, Kensington, MD · Costumes encouraged, not required. No Metro within walking distance—drive or rideshare, and plan for a designated driver if you're drinking.

Go: → Article: Our Own Kanysha's Debut Album Release Party at Blue House, Oct. 30 | CulturalDMV · Tickets: Eventbrite

Afro-Cuban All Stars — Strathmore

Thu, Oct. 29 | 8:00 PM | Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda | $28–$78

Juan de Marcos González founded the All Stars—and he's the same person who assembled the Buena Vista Social Club project. That's not a footnote, it's the lineage. The son cubano tradition carried forward by the man who helped bring it back to the world's attention.

They sent a shoutout for the show this week. Go see them live.

Getting there: Red Line to Grosvenor–Strathmore, then the covered skybridge. If the forecast holds, you'll be glad you used it.

Tickets: → Visit Strathmore

Coco Live-to-Film — Recuerdos

Oct. 31 & Nov. 1 | Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda | $28–$78

The film with its score performed live, paired with Recuerdos: A Latin American Arts Market—co-presented by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Montgomery County. Art, vendors, food, and music before the screening and during intermission.

This one's a matinee, which makes it the family move of the week. The score is performed by the Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México—traditional Mexican folk instrumentation, not a symphony doing a soundtrack.

Full coverage coming this week after my conversation with Strathmore's education team and the Chamber.

Tickets: →Visit Strathmore

Four events, four different reasons. This is an opportunity to build a week out of all four—Thursday at Strathmore, Friday in Kensington, Saturday back at Strathmore for Coco.

Two of these are free to read about and cost money to attend. One is an album you can stream tonight. One is a party you'll want a costume for.

The full calendar is at culturaldmv.town.news/calendar.

#TheWeekAhead #FranckBiyong #NAMBALA #Kanysha #AfroCubanAllStars #CocoLive #Strathmore #CulturalDMV

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• Franck Biyong's NAMBALA Arrives — and Georges Collinet Has the Last Word Franck Biyong's NAMBALA is out now— built from Cameroon, Kenya, and finished in Paris, with a Tony Allen track across three generations, and Georges Collinet framing the story.