Barbez, Hope For Agoldensummer, Soldier Kane

Gorgeous old-world cabaret collides with modernity in this unique Brooklyn-based ensemble. Barbez wrings elements of Eastern European folksong, post-war classical, and experimental rock into an otherworldly soundscape. With: Dan Kaufman, guitar; Danny Tunick, vibes, marimba; Peter Hess, clarinets, percussion; Lily Henley, violin; Peter Lettre, bass; John Bollinger, drums.

“The music of Barbez conjures an imaginary place full of narrow, crooked streets that are paved with ancient, damp cobblestones. The Brooklyn-based ensemble looks to Eastern Europe for inspiration and its expansive rock draws on such composers as Brecht, Schnittke, and Satie. But Barbez is firmly lodged in the present. Its original compositions capture the angst, joy, and strangeness of life in the twenty-first century.”–The New Yorker

Hope For Agoldensummer is a family band from the fine Southern town of Athens, Georgia. For nearly 13 years, they've traveled the USA in a variety of busted automobiles. Their sparse arrangements are both angelic & rusty, using slide guitar, banjo, and a bowed handsaw, all overlaid with the powerful sibling-soul-choir harmonies of Claire & Page Campbell. They are part junkyard orchestra & part campfire song circle. The music is exotic, ethereal, fragile – full of childlike wonderment. The sisters write songs similarly to how Flannery O’Connor or Cormac McCarthy wrote prose: Barren yet evocative, ethereal and eloquent, built about invigorating imagery, and utterly transfixing. That last one’s due in part — perhaps in whole — to the Campbell’s majestic voices. Over the years Hope For Agoldensummer has released 4 albums & several EPs and their tunes have scored several independent films, such as Off The Black (starring Nick Nolte) and D'Artagnan (starring a horse).

"Hope For Agoldensummer has a knack for crafting gorgeous and often complex refrains, supported by utterly captivating arrangements."–NPR All Songs Considered

Jonathan Kane (February, Swans, La Monte Young) and Dave Soldier ( Soldier String Quartet, John Cale, Thai Elephant Orchestra) perform a set of uprooted Americana. With Soldier on violin and Kane on drums and guitar, they dismantle the Blues, the Great American Songbook and R&B dance hits.

"Any self-respecting fan of downtown music could tell you that a project involving drummer Jonathan Kane and multi-instrumentalist David Soldier is bound to be both intensely eclectic and a whole lot of fun. –Time Out New York