Ava Mirzadegan / SleepygoLucky / niki afsar

Ava Mirzadegan, SleepygoLucky, and niki afsar share an evening of intimate music and interdisciplinary performance at Rhizome DC. Mirzadegan performs quiet, finger-picked guitar songs centered on longing, release, grief, and companionship with the night.

SleepygoLucky is the sonic art project of Kian Khalilian, an Iranian-American writer whose sardonic contemporary Americana explores identity and decolonization. Khalilian’s influences range from contemporary artists such as Villagerrr and Frog to second- and fourth-wave emo bands including American Football and Algernon Cadwallader.

The lineup also features niki afsar, a nonbinary Iranian-American interdisciplinary artist working in the Washington, DC area. Drawing on personal, familial, and cultural histories, afsar combines devised movement, poetry and text, live singing, sound-making, and mirror-based performance.

When: Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Showtimes: Doors open at 7:00 PM; the show begins at 7:30 PM. The event listing runs through 10:00 PM.

Tickets: $10–20

Venue: Rhizome DC

Lineup: Ava Mirzadegan, SleepygoLucky, and niki afsar

Ava Mirzadegan: Mirzadegan’s sparse songs are generally accompanied by spacious silence and finger-picked nylon-string guitar. Her latest album, *For the Light*, was recorded in early March 2020 and reflects on her mother’s life, grief, and the desolation surrounding loss.

SleepygoLucky: SleepygoLucky is the project of Kian Khalilian, who uses contemporary Americana to address queer and Iranian identity, life after 9/11, and decolonization. The project blends Americana and emo influences.

niki afsar: Afsar is a nonbinary, Iranian-American artist whose work moves between performance, poetry, singing, sound, and mirror work, informed by personal, familial, and cultural histories.