Pitchfork

For the past 10 years, denizens of the Washington, D.C. area have had the unique opportunity to catch free live performances on a nightly basis at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Millennium Stage. Music, dance, theater, the whole bit-- everyone from Norah Jones and Patti Smith to the Joffrey Ballet and the Royal Shakespeare Company have played this thing.

With the tenth anniversary of these free Millennium Stage gigs fast approaching, the Kennedy Center needed a very special human being to lead the celebration charge, a superhuman with the musical mettle to transcend demographic boundaries, delight patrons young and old, and sport one mean-ass mustache-- and that superhuman is Sufjan Stevens.

Along with the National Symphony Orchestra (performing Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition), the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (performing "Revelations"), and Navy jazz combo the Commodores, our beloved Suf-jeezy will enchant the Kennedy Center masses on February 5, 2007, as part of the center's free Millennium Stage 10th Anniversary Celebration. The festivities begin at six in the evening, and Sufjan plays the Center's Opera House-- joined by the Opera House Orchestra, no less. That's a whole lotta butterfly wings.

What's more, the Center has been webcasting and archiving performances since 1999, so even if you can't make it out to D.C. this February, you can still get your Suf on in your dark, dank, dreary basement thanks to the magic of the world wide web. Get familiar with the Millennium Stage archives, which boast more than 2,500 performance documents, by clicking here.

So hmm, 50 states project, Christmas box set, Kennedy Center performance...do I smell a 2008 White House bid? "Believe in Stevens"? "Fawn over Sufjan"?

As previously reported, Sufjan's out there elating Europeans right now with St. Vincent, and will play the final three gigs of his November Euro trek this week. Mr. Superhuman's also up for a PLUG award for male artist of the year, although given last year's Suf-lovefest, the selfless folks at Asthmatic Kitty are encouraging you to vote for Scott Walker instead. Cosign!

Believens:

11-15 Stockholm, Sweden - Berns *
11-17 Reykjavik, Iceland - Frikirkjan Church *
11-18 Reykjavik, Iceland - Frikirkjan Church *
02-05 Washington, DC - Kennedy Center

* with St. Vincent