Modular on the Mall
Modular on the Mall was a free modular synth and electronic music concert series created for the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia communities.
Held at the DC War Memorial on select weekends during the warmer months, the series offered a rare public space for local and traveling artists to perform modular-based synth music in the heart of the National Mall.
Founded by Patrick O'Brien following his 2018 Catharsis on the Mall performance near the Washington Monument, the project was built to create opportunities for artists to share experimental electronic music in an open, welcoming environment.
Across its run, Modular on the Mall brought together performers, listeners, and curious passersby in celebration of creativity, improvisation, and the evolving art of synthesis.
The series is archived. This page remains as a record of the performances, community, and moments that shaped it. Past performances can still be explored across the project's social archives.
Threads, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube.
Artist Alumni
Proud to have hosted 82 performances with 58 artists!
Thank you to these top-notch performers for sharing your musical stories with us since we started in July 2021.
2024:
Industrial Grade Acid, Jamie Kowalski, Stukes, eMBee, Sequenox, Ridged Chippies, The Wake Up, Ri Caragol, Hypnotized Chickens, Frae-Frae, Synthador, Copacaballa, POB, Heather Stebbins, Matthew Cha
2023:
B_X_R_N_X_R_D, Chaka Benson, Atograph, Blakmoth, Trovarsi, shredderghost, Copacaballa, The Pseudoscientists, June Lopez, Noah Totten, WetSoul, Matt Ling, Graham Watson, Deathguard-Oliver, Tangent Universes, Energy Runner, TALsounds, Gabe Churray & POB
2022:
Unspooled, Jess Makler, Jamie Kowalski, 17Cortland, Atograph, Copacaballa, Chuck W., WetSoul, Huron, DJ Cherishtheluv, Ri Caragol, Chaka Benson, Evan Angello, Don Nothing, Oxalis, Energy Runner, Tyler Charles, Truck, Medenine, Heather Stebbins, Matt Ling, Tangent Universes, Jerry Kaba, Synthador, Blakmoth, Null Phi Infinity, Resonant Space, POB, Marie Ann Hedonia
2021:
Synthador, Marie Ann Hedonia, Ali The Architect, POB, Johno Wells, Copacaballa, Medenine, Tyler Charles, Chaka Benson, Resonant Space, SCIF, Null Phi Infinity, Patch Node, DJ Cherishtheluv, Blakmoth, Minimal Oscillations, Ri Caragol, Heather Stebbins, Audible Void, Energy Runner
The Location
Events took place at the DC War Memorial on the National Mall
This open-air, circular Doric structure was built to serve as both a memorial and a bandstand. At its dedication in 1931, DC's own John Phillip Sousa led the U.S. Marine Band in a stirring 20-minute performance. Over 90 years later, the bandstand lived again with 20-minute sets from the modular synth and electronic music community.
Across its run, artists and audiences gathered beneath the memorial's dome to share immersive performances in one of Washington's most iconic public spaces, creating an intersection of history, community, and contemporary sound.
This location became central to the identity of the series, serving as both stage and symbol for its mission of open, accessible electronic music.
About the organizers
Patrick "POB" OBrien, Organizer
Amoreena, Host
Modular on the Mall
