Gregory Porter headlines the DC Jazz Festival's Night of Stars at The Anthem

The baritone who has played Washington more than any other city in our records anchors the festival's annual benefit on the Wharf next Monday.

Next Monday night, the biggest room on the Southwest Waterfront turns into a fundraiser with a very good singer at the center of it. Gregory Porter plays The Anthem on Monday, November 16, at 7:30pm, headlining the DC Jazz Festival's annual trustee benefit concert, billed as A Night of Stars. Tickets run $84.45 to $287.30 through Ticketmaster.

The Anthem sits at 901 Wharf Street SW and holds around 6,000, which is a lot of room for a jazz singer on a Monday. That it works says something about Porter's pull here. In our records he has played Washington more than any other market, 13 shows and counting, and this is the kind of booking that explains why: a hometown institution putting its name and its fundraising year on him. The festival notes that the afterparty in The Anthem's Marquee Lounge is sold separately, so check what your ticket covers before you plan the rest of the night.

What he brings this time of year is worth knowing. Porter's most recent album in our sources is Christmas Wish, his first holiday record, released on November 3, 2023, through Blue Note and Decca. It mixes standards like "Silent Night," "Christmas Waltz" and "Do You Hear What I Hear?" with three songs of his own, among them the title track and the single "Everything's Not Lost," and it brought in Samara Joy for "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" The sessions ran between Sear Sound in New York and Crossways in London, with the orchestra recorded at Abbey Road. Nothing here says he'll lean on that material for a November benefit, but the season is turning, and his December dates in Europe are built around songs from it.

That's the other reason to catch him now. The Anthem show lands right before Porter heads overseas: European listings have him at a Jazz Classics 2026 date in Dübendorf, Switzerland, on November 19 and at the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival on November 20. Monday is the Washington stop before the run takes him away for the holidays.

The benefit format matters, too. The DC Jazz Festival does a lot of its year-round work outside the June festival weekend, and this night is how its trustees raise money for it. Buying a seat isn't only a night out on the Wharf; it's a contribution to the organization that keeps jazz programming in this city's calendar between summers. The festival has brought Porter in before, too: its own site lists an earlier "DC JazzFest Presents Gregory Porter" date.

If you've only heard Porter on record, the live version is the argument. The voice is a warm, unhurried baritone that fills a big room without shouting, and The Anthem's tiered floor gives you sightlines from almost anywhere, so even the back rail works.

A hometown institution putting its name and its fundraising year on one voice.

Get to the Wharf early, eat somewhere along the water, and walk over. The night starts at 7:30, and the walk back along the river after a set like this is half the point.

Sources: DC Jazz Festival — A Night of Stars (dcjazzfest.org); IMP Concerts — Gregory Porter – DC Jazz Festival Benefit Concert, A Night of Stars (impconcerts.com); DC Jazz Festival — DC JazzFest Presents Gregory Porter (dcjazzfest.org); Blue Note Records — Gregory Porter releases his first-ever holiday album Christmas Wish (bluenote.com); Universal Music Canada — Gregory Porter releases his first ever Christmas album Christmas Wish (universalmusic.ca); Jazzwise — Gregory Porter to release Christmas Wish album ahead of Royal Albert Hall concert (jazzwise.com); Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival — Gregory Porter / Youn Sun Nah (montecarlosbm.com); regioactive — Gregory Porter, Jazz Classics 2026, Dübendorf (regioactive.de); regioactive — Gregory Porter (regioactive.de)