TICKETS ARE VERY LIMITED FOR THIS EVENT! $15 advance tickets, $20 day of show — PAY WHAT YOU WISH option also available! Advance tickets available online at TicketLeap; Physical tickets on sale Friday October 16th for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204
ALL AGES 7:00 PM Doors 8:00 PM Music
Magic Tuber Stringband by Libby Rodenbough
MAGIC TUBER STRINGBAND, hailing from North Carolina, probes the undercurrents of the landscapes around them. Highly skilled players and writers, the trio are leaders within the burgeoning avant composition world utilizing folk instrumentation. Their music appears to weave in and out of the fabric of their surroundings, reflecting their time spent living across the Southeast and studying its regional folk traditions and natural histories. Having performed recently at Big Ears, Hopscotch, Sound & Gravity (and many other places along the way) the group’s music resonates well beyond their regional roots. Their newest record, Heavy Water, was released May 22, 2026 on the venerable Thrill Jockey Records. The ensemble continues to stretch the parameters of acoustic instrumental expression with masterful flourishes of dense, textural arrangements, subtle minimalist gestures and deft improvisation.
MAN EATER (performing as the duo of Grace Rogers and Nadia Ramlagan for this concert) has built a unique repertoire and a following both inside of and outside of the old-time scene, having played in every setting from dive bars and house shows to old time festivals including the Celebration of Women in Old Time Music in Knoxville and the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School. They’ve shared stages with acts like the Local Honeys, and Leo Shannon & Sarah Kate Morgan. MAN EATER is committed to deep connection and study in the old-time music world, and meaningful connection with the broader music community.
TICKETS ARE VERY LIMITED FOR THIS EVENT! $15 advance tickets, $20 day of show — PAY WHAT YOU WISH option also available! Advance tickets available online at TicketLeap; Physical tickets on sale Friday August 21st for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204
ALL AGES 7:00 PM Doors 8:00 PM Music
Photo by by Mike Belleme
TASHI DORJI is a Bhutanese-born, Asheville-based experimental guitarist whose fiercely intuitive improvisations have carved out a unique space in the contemporary avant-garde. His expansive discography includes deeply felt solo works like Stateless (2020) and we will be wherever the fires are lit (2024), and his most recent electric album low clouds hang, this land is on fire (2026) on Drag City. TASHI DORJI is one half of Manas, the dynamic duo with drummer Thom Nguyen, and a founding member of the free jazz trio KUZU, alongside saxophonist Dave Rempis and drummer Tyler Damon. His collaborators span a wide spectrum: from Mette Rasmussen, Susie Ibarra, Efrim Manuel Menuck, Alex Zhang Hungtai, John Dieterich, Audrey Chen and Joe McPhee to more recent partnerships with Tony Buck, Terrie Ex, Andy Moor, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Steve Noble. Across his solo and group projects, DORJI’s playing, rooted in alternate tunings, prepared guitar, and spontaneous gesture, articulates an aesthetic of resistance, deep listening, and collective transformation.
TASHI DORJI turns to the electric guitar. After the furious acoustic improvisations that drove [his previous two albums] —Stateless and we will be wherever the fires are lit — it’s easy to imagine [his new] album of electric guitar improvisations as an encompassingly incendiary essay. Especially when titled low clouds hang, this land is on fire. After all, this is a man capable of tearing up the place with the tactile musical violence of Bill Orcutt and Derek Bailey! And yet, this knowledge serves to set up a greater shock: the album’s disarmingly gentle musical drift. When asked why he turned the knob down from 11 for this album, TASHI says simply, “To find the silence.” As ever with TASHI, this is a political statement. Even the search for silence takes intention and happens for a reason. In this time of such institutional inhumanity, what is there to feel but exhaustion? When seeing the faces of the deprived, what is there to feel other than hopelessness? In the face of such grief, what words are there to say? So, TASHI got a couple amps, moved from the shed where he’d done his first two [Drag City] titles, set up in a room in the family home with high ceilings and dialed in the reverb. Once the sound was in the space, reflecting in a manner that he felt congenial with his mood, he taped it. It’s a striking signal, meditative and melancholy, with a delicacy comparable to the lineage of Loren Connors or Bill Frisell, the songs at times developed with the deliberate exposition of themes in raga’s alap form. It’s a sound that lives within silence. Once he’d laid down the sound, TASHI went back and listened to the composition of each piece. Then the words came easily. They’re the titles of these songs, they provide the narrative — or a prism, to allow us to gaze unblinking upon the awesome rot of empire. These are TASHI DORJI‘s punk anthems for the year 2026… for all the years, really— to be thrown to the people outside the walls, to aid them in their quest to be allowed in.
Currently FLANGER MAGAZINE is the trio of Chris Bush (Caboladies, Equipment Pointed Ankh, Sapat), Ben Traughber (Sapat, Equipment Pointed Ankh), and Leidner (Sapat, YLEM) with occasionally Jim Marlowe (Equipment Pointed Ankh, Tropical Trash, Sapat), “Gathering samples, a River Doctor Limnologist inspecting the properties of [FLANGER MAGAZINE‘s 2022 album] After the Bend might note the specter of Leroy Jenkin’s free-violin heat-light deep in the water’s thermal stratification. Or mortgage the late-Maestro’s time with Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza to pay down the growing river heat budget. Or take one’s dirty buckets to the banks of the 19th laundromat where Walt Dickerson plays his vibraphone parts from Divine Gemini with dowsing rods. Or excavate the bedrock in the drainage basin, noting skeletal remains of a Shostakovich string quartet attempting to tune up a Kentucky Fiddle’s subsequent influence on the chemical composition of the water. Or consult the historical revisionist reenactment troupe’s episode of Fishing with John (Fahey) in which Codona, The Sea Ensemble and Nuno Canavarro guest host as their fleet of paddle boats churn river water into a regal lager, and all the fish get drunk in their quest for the leaner enamel Hosianna Mantra GPS coordinates of the Fattened Herb.” – Kris Abplanalp.
Special thanks to Ella Lumpkins, Kris Abplanalp, and MaybeIt’sFate.
UPDATE 8/29/2026: DUE TOEVENTS BEYOND OUR (AND ANYONE’S) CONTROL THE JOE MCPHEE/KEN VANDERMARK/CHRIS CORSANO TRIO PERFORMANCE ATRoots 101 African-American MuseumON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH 2026 HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Refunds for advance online tickets purchased through TicketLeap will be available shortly.
For refunds for advance physical tickets, bring your ticket (and credit/debit card you purchased the ticket with, if applicable) to the following locations:
We apologize for the cancellation, and the inconvenience. We were looking forward not only to seeing Joe, Ken, and Chris play, but also to seeing all of you! Our massive thanks to Joe, Ken, Chris, Lamont Collins and Roots 101, Robert Beatty, Kris Abplanalp, Better Days, and Surface Noise.
Here’s a clip of JOE MCPHEE, in conversation at the Counterflows Festival in 2014, telling his incredible story of Ornette Coleman inviting him, then unknown in the greater jazz world, to play at John Coltrane’s grave the day of Coltrane’s funeral in 1967.
Joe McPhee (Photo by Žiga Koritnik)
JOE MCPHEE (b. 1939, USA) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser, known for his pioneering work in avant-garde jazz and experimental music. Primarily recognized for his virtuosic saxophone playing, MCPHEE also performs on trumpet, pocket trumpet, and a variety of other instruments. His career spans over five decades, during which he has collaborated with leading figures in the free jazz and experimental music scenes, including William Hooker, KEN VANDERMARK, Pauline Oliveros, and Roscoe Mitchell, among many others. MCPHEE’s work blends elements of jazz, free improvisation, and contemporary classical music, marked by emotional depth and innovative approaches to sound. Throughout his career, he has maintained a commitment to pushing the boundaries of music, both in solo performances and collaborative projects.
KEN VANDERMARK (b. 1964, USA) is an avant-garde composer, improviser, saxophonist/clarinetist, curator, and writer whose unique history has given him the opportunity to perform extensively and record with key figures of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), New York’s Downtown scene, Free Music Productions (Germany), the English improvisation scene, post-punk, Ethiopian music, and Japanese free jazz. He’s been the director of the Catalytic Sound musician cooperative since 2012, has run Audiographic Records since 2014, in 1999 was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in music, and in 2024 he curated the Music Unlimited Festival in Wels, Austria. VANDERMARK moved to Chicago from Boston in 1989 and has worked continuously from the early 1990s onward, both as a performer and organizer in North America, Europe, Latin America, Japan, and Ethiopia, recording in a large array of contexts, with many internationally renowned musicians. kenvandermark.com Instagram Facebook
CHRIS CORSANO (b. 1975, USA) is a drummer who’s been active at the intersections of collective improvisation, free jazz, avant-rock, and noise music since the late 1990’s. He’s worked with JOE MCPHEE, Bill Orcutt, Björk, and many others — appearing on over 200 albums and touring constantly in an ultra-wide array of collaborations. CORSANO has built an inventive and highly personal musical language through extended percussion techniques and creative augmentations to his kit, with circular-breathed reeds, bowed strings, and resonant materials expanding the drums’ melodic and textural possibilities in addition to their rhythmic ones. cor-sano.com Instagram Facebook
The trio of JOE MCPHEE (sax/voice), KEN VANDERMARK (reeds), and CHRIS CORSANO (drums/percussion) will be performing together for the first time in a limited series of concerts in Louisville, Cincinnati, and Lexington, concluding their tour at the Sound & Gravity Festival in Chicago on September 6th. Though this is their initial music as a group, there have been a number of previous collaborations from these musicians, some of them longstanding: JOE and KEN first played together at the recording session for A Meeting in Chicago in 1996. Since then, they have worked together many times, most notably in the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet. Their latest album performances together are as a duo and documented on Musings of a Bahamian Son: Poems and Other Words by Joe McPhee, released by Corbett vs. Dempsey in 2024.
JOE and CHRIS have worked together extensively for more than 15 years, with many recordings and concerts as a duo and in groups with important figures in the music like Eddie Prévost, Evan Parker, Lol Coxhill, and Steve Swell. KEN and CHRIS have also played together in many configurations, beginning with a trio concert at the Festival Germinal in Mexico City with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier during November of 2014 and, since then, they have continued to develop a special musical rapport.
Though the music from this new trio by MCPHEE, VANDERMARK, and CORSANO will be completely improvised and spontaneous, it will be informed by their collective histories, a background which includes decades of work with a variety of musical aesthetics and artists that has taken place during hundreds of concerts and dozens of recordings, at home and abroad.
Founded by Lamont Collins in 2020, the ROOTS 101 AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUM is a place where visitors can see themselves in history, explore the African-American story in its entirety, and gain a greater understanding of the achievements, cultural contributions, and experiences of our community.
The New Vintage and The Other Side of Life are proud to present:
The New Vintage Showcase 4th Anniversary & WHITE GLOVE TEST Celebration
with
GRAFFITI
SECOND STORY MAN
and SPECIAL GUEST DJS BRETT EUGENE RALPH (Kentucky Chrome Revue, Malignant Growth, Rising Shotgun) JOEY YATES (Twin Sister Radio) JOEL HUNT (The Other Side of Life)
We’ll be celebrating the four year anniversary of The New Vintage Showcase AND the official (Saturday night) White Glove Test: Louisville Punk Flyers 1978-1994 Exhibition after-party. The event is free to attend and there will be tons of surprises.
Don’t miss the Opening Reception for White Glove Test: Louisville Punk Flyers 1978-1994 Exhibition at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft on Friday, February 6th, beginning at 5 PM. More information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/597840816983514/.
And the White Glove Test After-Party Friday night at Seidenfaden’s with DJ Kim Sorise and the Staple Slingers, from 10 PM on. More information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1533808756880136/.
Hey Louisville, if you weren’t at CROPPED OUT at some point during this past weekend, you really missed something quite special. It wasn’t just that there were a buncha noisy, arty bands and rock n’ roll and whatnot. There was actually a quite palpable community spirit, evidenced by the smiles, high-fives, and general fun it seemed that most everybody had. Didn’t hurt that some of the best weather of the fall made it possible for lots of bands to play outside, too. So here’s a quick rundown of best parts of the festival, complete with crappy pictures from my cellphone.
DAY 1 — FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11th: Though it got started way early on Friday afternoon, and there was some noise issues early on, Friday was a good start, especially for the Louisville bands on the bill. SAVAGES played immediately after LEARNER DANCER, both of which brought forceful, guitar-heavy rock (the former more in a pop vein, while the latter mined some heavy Sonic Youth-style dissonant territory).
One of the early Friday highlights was, of course, Louisville’s SHEDDING (disclaimer: Connor and I are buds, but even if we weren’t, I’d still love his music). Despite his talk of being influenced by RUSH, Connor really brought more of a CURRENT 93 vibe, perfectly mellow yet eerie.
Another Friday highlight was Austin, Texas’s SHIT & SHINE, which featured none other than the BUTTHOLE SURFERS’ KING COFFEY on percussion. Tribal, BOREDOMS-esque throb with synth squiggles and CB radio nonsense. Totally fun.
Other Friday night highlights included (in no particular order):
1. apologizing to KING COFFEY for talking his ear off at SxSW ’07
2. MOUNT CARMEL — and the revelation afterwards that KING has never seen ZZ TOP!
3. bonfires (more on them later)
4. hangin’ with MV + EE‘s dog Zuma
5. SHIT & SHINE‘s bunny suits
6. MV + EE singing “Fire on the Mountain” at the end of a fantastic set backed by TIM BARNES and CHRIS from the CHERRY BLOSSOMS (thanks for the beers!)
7. Locals ALCOHOL PARTY, NATIVES, ANWAR SADAT, and AXEL COOPER showing how it’s done
8. Chorizo taco from the Holy Mole Taco Truck
9. Good times with friends old and new
10. Beer
DAY 2 — SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12th: Saturday started inauspiciously as I showed up to the venue, the CRUMMY DEN, way early, so I wandered over to the FLEA OFF MARKET (where I bought an excellent book of photography from Louisville Hardcore’s poet laureate, Mr. BRETT EUGENE RALPH), then had lunch at the Blind Pig. Missed most of the early sets due to some errands I had to run, but caught a little bit of VIDEO DAUGHTER, who were okay.
We haven’t had too much to say about the upcoming CROPPED OUT festival, on the weekend of November 11th – 13th here in lovely Louisville, Kentucky, because it seems like it’s all anybody can talk about anyway! I mean, can you believe freakin’ SCRATCH ACID is gonna play?* Me neither, and I’m really stoked!
But the CROPPED OUT fest is far more than just one band. It’s a whole mess of ’em! Including some of our favorite performers ever:
BILL ORCUTT, former guitarist for HARRY PUSSY, and one of the most exciting purveyors of six-string nonsense (even though he only plays four strings, apparently) going today.
MV + EE, the duo of Matt Valentine (formerly of THE TOWER RECORDINGS) and Erika Elder is probably the closest you’ll get to seeing Neil Young live, except perhaps even more damaged. And rumor has it that former TOWER RECORDINGS member TIM BARNES will be joining them!
MOUNT CARMEL is probably our favorite of the new SILTBREEZE roster — straight-ahead Ohio-style boogie rock!
HUMAN EYE might possibly be the best rock band in Detroit right now. Period.
And there’s a whole slew more, including lots of shit we’ve never heard of before! And a bevy of fantastic local artists, including our friends SAPAT, YOUNG WIDOWS, SHEDDING, COLISEUM, CROSS, and lots more!
They got a new web site up at http://croppedoutmusic.com, so check it out and buy your tickets ASAP.** It’s gonna be killer!
*On a side note, how come nobody got it together to bring THE JESUS LIZARD to Louisville during their recent reunion action? Just because Laura Shine has no idea who they are doesn’t mean they weren’t one of the most popular Chicago-style bands to play in Louisville during the 1990s. Our excuse for not booking them is, well, we were too poor to afford their guarantee (as if our shoe-string show budget wasn’t obvious).
**Seriously Louisville, if you sleep on this like you slept on TERRASTOCK 2008, you only have yourself to blame. The prices are good, the venue is centrally located, and if you miss it…
DISCLAIMER: We are buds with Ryan and James who are booking/promoting CROPPED OUT, and we think they’re awesome! We do occasionally co-promote shows with ’em but that’s only because they rule!
