Basilica SoundScape is an annual festival loaded with experimental art, literature, music and film. Held in the cavernous and heightened spaces of Basilica Hudson’s reclaimed waterfront factory, SoundScape has earned its stripes year after year as one of the least compromising festivals dedicated to the new thought and different art.
New for 2019, Basilica SoundScape will host the Poet Trolley, a bill of innovative poets and writers who will perform their work in the unusual setting of a vintage Hudson trolley car. The Poet Trolley is curated by author Jenn Pelly, who returns to Basilica SoundScape for her third year in the role of guest curator. Friday’s bill of poets features the likes of writer, arts organizer and zinemaker Megan Manowitz; writer, bookseller and musician Dave Morse; and Peter BD.
Basilica SoundScape turns over its Back Gallery programming to writer and musician Meredith Graves, who will host a bill presented by Kickstarter Music and featuring visual art, live music, film, discussion, zines, deejays and more. The highlights include a panel examining the work, influence and legacy of the late Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson, who would have turned 50 on September 19.
The Basilica SoundScape Back Gallery lineup will also boast the US premiere of the music documentary I’ll Be Gone, in which two American filmmakers reframe the legacy of Broder Daniel, Sweden’s most divisive rock band – ten years after its tragic end. The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with director Amelia Trask and producer Sasha Hecht. The Back Gallery will feature live performances by Brooks Ginnan and Roger Miller of Mission of Burma’s Trinary System, plus genre-spanning deejay sets from Brooklyn band Sannhet’s NO DAWN project, alongside Endash and Pictureplane. The bill will also feature Kickstarter’s Let’s Swap! zine library and creative workshop and haircuts by Bree Ritter/Goodbye Horsegirl.
For a full description of this almost incomprehensibly eventful and arty festival, visit the website to get your bearings. Ticket prices begin at $80.
Basilica SoundScape, Friday-Sunday, Sept. 13-15, $80+, Basilica Hudson, 110 South Front St., Hudson, https://basilicahudson.org
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