Though the Cincinnati natives of The National didn’t form their internationally successful Indie Rock band until they’d all moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., the band’s guitarist, Bryce Dessner, keeps strong musical ties to the Queen City in the shape of his annual MusicNOW festival, a unique, collaborative and creatively curated new music event that is now in its 11th year.
Blending Indie musicians with players and composers from the modern Classical and Chamber music worlds (a reflection of Dessner’s own musical experience), MusicNOW’s premieres and rare collaborations make it the definition of a “one-of-a-kind” event. You are guaranteed to see and hear many things at MusicNOW that you will never see or hear again. It’s a unique experience for the musicians, as well, with many going on to work together after their MusicNOW interactions. In 2010, for example, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon performed Sharon Van Etten’s song “Love More” at the festival (see video below), backed by Bryce and brother Aaron Dessner, saxophonist Colin Stetson and members of the Neo Classical yMusic Ensemble. Stetson and members of yMusic joined Bon Iver, touring and recording the band’s Grammy-acclaimed 2011 self-titled album. Aaron Dessner produced Van Etten’s 2012 album Tramp. And, inspired by MusicNOW’s approach and success, Vernon and Aaron created the popular Wisconsin-based Eaux Claires festival in 2015.
A big part of MusicNOW’s collaborative spirit for the past few years has been the festival’s partnership with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and its music director Louis Langrée. The CSO performs Friday and Saturday at Music Hall for the event. Among the weekend highlights: CSO will present the full-orchestra premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Aheym (with Kronos Quartet, which recorded Aheym with Dessner in 2013) on Friday and, on Saturday, the U.S. premiere of Response Lutoslawski, a composition Dessner was co-commissioned to write by the National Audiovisual Institute of Poland and the Mexico National Orchestra.
On Sunday, MusicNOW moves to the Cincinnati Masonic Center Auditorium (next to the Taft Theatre) and features performances by acclaimed genre-melding Chamber/Bluegrass group Punch Brothers, Indie Folk artist Sam Amidon and Australian-born/Brooklyn-based duo Luluc, which released the widely acclaimed Modern Folk gem Passerby on Sub Pop Records in 2014.
Click here for the full MusicNOW schedule, tickets and more.
This article appears in Mar 9-16, 2016.
