07 Mar PRESS RELEASE: Go-Go Historian Kato Hammond Launches Animated Film Project “Take Me Out to the Go-Go”

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Go-Go Historian Kato Hammond Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for Animated Feature Film Take Me Out to the Go-Go

Coming-of-age story inspired by Hammond’s real-life journey growing up inside Washington D.C.’s legendary music culture

Washington, D.C. — Music historian, author, and cultural archivist Kato Hammond, founder of the influential platform TMOTTGoGo, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to bring his latest creative project to life: an animated feature film titled Take Me Out to the Go-Go.

Unlike the many documentaries that have explored Washington D.C.’s homegrown sound, Take Me Out to the Go-Go takes a different approach. The film is an animated coming-of-age story inspired by Hammond’s real-life experiences growing up within the Go-Go music scene, offering an intimate look at the culture from the inside.

The story centers on a young musician navigating the realities of family, identity, ambition, and creativity while coming of age in a city where rhythm, community, and music shape everyday life.

“This isn’t just a history lesson about Go-Go,” Hammond says. “It’s a personal story about growing up inside the culture… the people, the music, the struggles, the dreams, and the community that shaped who I became.”

Hammond’s connection to the culture runs deeper than journalism. Before becoming widely known as a historian and cultural documentarian, he was an active musician within the Go-Go scene, performing as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the bands Little Benny and the Masters and Proper Utensils. Those firsthand experiences performing, rehearsing, and navigating the realities of life in Go-Go bands helped shape the personal narrative that now forms the foundation of the film.

For more than two decades, Hammond has also served as one of the most visible chroniclers of Go-Go culture. As the founder of TMOTTGoGo (Take Me Out to the Go-Go) — one of the most widely recognized digital platforms documenting the genre — Hammond has helped preserve and promote the music’s legacy through journalism, interviews, and historical documentation.

His work has been recognized and cited by major cultural institutions and media outlets, including NPR, Vibe Magazine, TV One’s Unsung, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, where Hammond is referenced as a key voice in documenting the genre’s evolution.

With Take Me Out to the Go-Go, Hammond is expanding that storytelling into film — but in an unexpected form.

The decision to create the project as an animated feature film was intentional.

“Animation gives us the freedom to revisit spaces and moments that no longer exist,” Hammond explains. “Many of the venues, neighborhoods, and cultural landmarks from the early days of Go-Go are gone. Through animation we can bring those environments back to life, and we can also let the rhythm and energy of the music influence the visuals in ways that live-action simply can’t.”

The film arrives at a particularly significant moment. Go-Go music will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026, marking five decades since the genre first emerged from Washington D.C.’s neighborhoods and dance floors to become a defining cultural force for the city.

Despite Hammond’s established reputation within the Go-Go community and his extensive platform through TMOTTGoGo, the filmmaker has chosen to pursue the project independently through crowdfunding, allowing supporters of the culture to help bring the story to life.

“This film is being built the same way Go-Go culture itself was built — from the community up,” Hammond says. “Crowdfunding allows the people who believe in the culture to be part of bringing this story to the screen.”

The campaign is currently live on Indiegogo and offers supporters a range of participation opportunities and rewards for helping fund the film’s production.

Supporters and those interested in learning more about the project can visit the campaign here:

Campaign Link:
https://www.tmottgogo.com/tmottcrowdfund/

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About Kato Hammond

Kato Hammond is a Washington D.C.–based music historian, author, filmmaker, and founder of TMOTTGoGo, a widely recognized digital platform dedicated to documenting and preserving the history and culture of Go-Go music. A former rhythm guitarist and vocalist who performed with Go-Go bands Little Benny and the Masters and Proper Utensils, Hammond has spent decades amplifying the voices and stories behind one of America’s most distinctive musical genres,