Thursday, March 26th, 2026 at Art Sanctuary (back room) 1433 S. Shelby Street Louisville, KY 40217
$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; Physical tickets available for in-person purchase soon at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204
7:00 PM doors 8:00 PM music
TAKAAT (duo version)
TAKAAT (pronounced tuh-cot), meaning “noise” in the Tuareg language Tamashek, is the trio of Ahmoudou Madassane, Mikey Coltun, and Souleymane Ibrahim, also known as the rhythm section of Mdou Moctar. TAKAAT is sonic chaos, improvisation, freedom of exploration, and the punk styles of bands such as Fugazi and Unwound, all mixed together with the guitar music from the Sahel. TAKAAT started during soundchecks while on the road with Mdou Moctar when the trio indulged their shared love for amps cranked to 11 and the sound of blown out speakers. Towards the end of 2023, the three started writing music together, inspired by their shared experiences with the sounds and energy of Hausa bar bands, gritty soukous, and 2000s post-punk. The music of TAKAAT is intense, dark, and energetic. Deeply inspired by the DIY ethos of punk, Ahmoudou, Mikey, and Souleymane capture that thrill of the new and the ecstasy of togetherness in these heavy rockers. TAKAAT follows in the spirit of the independent music culture that birthed hardcore basement shows, bedroom tape labels, and generator-powered pick-up wedding bands.
Please note that TAKAAT is performing as a duo on their Spring 2026 tour.
Friday, March 6th, 2026 Art Sanctuary (back room) 1433 S. Shelby Street Louisville, KY 40217
$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; Physical tickets available for in-person purchase on Wednesday February 4th at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204
18+ 7:00 PM doors 8:00 PM music
(Photo of Sarah Hennies by GlassHertzzPhoto)
SARAH HENNIES (b. 1979, Louisville, KY) is a composer based in Upstate NY whose work is concerned with a variety of musical, sociopolitical, and psychological issues including queer & trans identity, psychoacoustics, and the social and neurological conditions underlying creative thought. She is primarily a composer of acoustic ensemble music, but is also active in improvisation, film, and performance art. She presents her work internationally as both a composer and percussionist with notable performances at MoMA PS1 (NYC), Monday Evening Concerts (Los Angeles), Warsaw Autumn, Ruhrtriennale (Essen), Archipel Festival (Geneva), Darmstädter Ferienkurse, Time:Spans (NYC), and the Edition Festival (Stockholm). As a composer, she has received commissions across a wide array of performers and ensembles including Bearthoven, Bent Duo, Ensemble Dedalus, The Living Earth Show, Mivos String Quartet, Sarah Saviet/Joe Houston, Talea Ensemble, Nate Wooley, and Yarn/Wire.
Her ground breaking audio-visual work Contralto (2017) explores transfeminine identity through the elements of “voice feminization” therapy, featuring a cast of transgender women accompanied by a dense and varied musical score for string quartet and three percussionists. The work has been in high demand since its premiere, with numerous performances taking place around North America, Europe, and Australia and was one of four finalists for the 2019 Queer|Art Prize.
She works collaboratively in a duo with double bassist Tristan Kasten-Krause and in the percussion trio Meridian. As a scholar and performer she is engaged with ongoing research about the percussion music of Iannis Xenakis and a recording project to document music by the American percussionist and composer Michael Ranta. Sarah is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Bard College.
For 25 years, SAPAT has operated as a Louisville-based large-group ensemble, shaping slow-moving architectures of sound across drone, minimalist composition, and experiments in rock, jazz, and folk idioms. The work drifts between extended environments and tighter, song-shaped forms, allowing time, density, and volume to act as compositional forces. More recordings circulate under affiliated names and alternative identities than under SAPAT itself, and even so, the catalog only gestures toward a much larger body of work. Each performance becomes a new room to enter: a site where resonance is risked rather than managed, and where sound answers back through the interplay of players, space, and duration.
Thursday, January 15th, 2026
Art Sanctuary (back room)
1433 S. Shelby Street
Louisville, KY 40217
$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; Physical tickets available for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204
18+
7:00 PM doors
8:00 PM music
(Photo of Samuel S.C. by…)
SAMUEL began in the early 90’s in State College, PA as a female-fronted punk rock outfit that relentlessly toured the legendary DIY hardcore/punk circuit, performing alongside notables of the time such as Avail, Promise Ring, Chamberlain, Grain, Kerosene 454 and dozens more. Born from the ashes of Downing’s previous outfit Junction, SAMUEL was the flagship band of drummer Eric Astor’s label Art Monk Construction, which produced some of the most revered 7″ releases of the era including a legendary split with the then unknown Texas is the Reason. Reformed in 2021 as SAMUEL S.C. with the added S.C. reflecting a new beginning while paying homage to the band’s origins. A lineup adjustment included Michael Honch (CONTINUALS, Alarms & Controls) picking up bass duties, bringing a fresh perspective to SAMUEL’s 90’s material while creating opportunity for new songwriting. Today the band is squarely focused on the now, adeptly shedding any dangers of a nostalgic act tag and carving out space as a relevant force in current music.
(Photo of POHGOH by…)
Formed in 1994, POHGOH cut their teeth in the 90’s DIY/indie underground with a small league of female-fronted bands of the era like Rainer Maria and Jejune, only to hang it up three years later, leaving behind a sole, posthumous full-length, In Memory of Bab. That album traveled far and wide, however, along with a spate of singles and comp appearances, creating pockets of rabid fans worldwide and engendering a small handful of one-off gigs for Susie Ulrey (vocals/guitar), Matt Slate (guitar), Keith Ulrey (drums) and new bassist Brian Roberts (of Hankshaw) before the foursome settled back in for the long haul in 2016. Since coming back into the public eye in 2017 after a 20-year break, Tampa, FL’s POHGOH have been going non-stop with two J. Robbins (Jawbox/Burning Airlines) produced albums (2018’s Secret Club and 2022’s du und ich) and tours of the U.S. and Japan. While playing regional and local shows, the band continue to write for the future, with the latest being the split 10-inch EP with SAMUEL S.C. released in October, 2025.
CONTINUALS are four human friends who have been in a bunch of other bands before this one – most notably Kerosene 454, Alarms and Controls, The Most Secret Method, Office of Future Plans, Hunger Artist, Soccer Team, and Channels. Darren Zentek plays drums. Michael Honch plays bass. Melissa Quinley plays keyboards and sings. Ryan Nelson plays guitar and sings. Their first LP (Bright Future #01/Dischord #197.5) was released in 2024. CONTINUALS recently completed their second LP to be released in 2026.
(Photo of Strange Birds by Fallon Frierson)
Louisville, Kentucky’s STRANGE BIRDS carry with them the DIY ethos and punk sensibilities of their earlier years while churning out mature songs that blend the three friends’ extensive and eclectic musical past. Brandon Butler (Canyon, Boys Life) manages an almost-sweet, slightly off-center American twang over dissonant yet consistently melodic guitars. Bassist Matt Olson (Black Heva) anchors the trio with a thumping and precise presence alongside the dynamic crescendo of drums from Ella Lumpkins (Blue Collar Revenge Theory, 3 Nails for a False Prophet).
$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; Physical tickets on sale Friday September 5th for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204. Surface Noise is open 12 to 6 PM every day except Tuesdays.
7:00 PM doors 8:00 PM music
CHIKAMORACHI photo by Mark Rappaport
“The rhythm team of Darin Gray & Chris Corsano is especially incredible, ever-engaging, consistently creative and supportive.” – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
“…arguably the most riotously energetic and creative drummer in contemporary free jazz” – The Wire
“One of the world’s great drummers.” –The Guardian
Since 2005 DARIN GRAY (upright bass) and CHRIS CORSANO (drums, percussion) have performed side by side as CHIKAMORACHI. Working either in a trio with Japanese saxophonist Akira Sakata or in expanded line-ups with the likes of Japan-based American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist Jim O’Rourke, dancer and actor Min Tanaka, Masami Akita (aka Merzbow), guitarist/vocalist Keiji Haino (Fushitsusha), koto player and vocalist Michiyo Yagi, and jazz pianist Masahiko Satoh, they’ve released six albums to date under the CHIKAMORACHI moniker, including 2011’s And That’s the Story of Jazz double CD (with Akira Sakata & Jim O’Rourke), 2015’s Flying Basket (with Akira Sakata, Jim O’Rourke, and Merzbow), and Live at Hungry Brain LP (with Akira Sakata). Neither member is a stranger to the possibilities afforded when the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic duties are left to an upright bass and drum duo. Their September 19th performance in Louisville will be their only North American appearance as CHIKAMORACHI, after taking part in the SOUND AND GRAVITY FESTIVAL in Chicago, IL on Thursday, September 11th as part of the SACCATA QUARTET with Wilco bandmates guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glenn Kotche.
DARIN GRAY is best known as Jim O’Rourke’s go-to bassist for nearly 20 years, as half of the duo On Fillmore with Wilco‘s Glenn Kotche, and as the bassist for groups Grand Ulena, Dazzling Killmen, and Brise-Glace and many others. As an improviser he has performed and recorded with (among others): Loren Connors, Joshua Abrams, Jason Roebke, Axel Dorner, Kevin Drumm, Alan Licht, and Jim O’Rourke. As a session bassist he has played on recordings by Louisville’s Will Oldham, as well as Cheer-Accident, Bobby Conn, Early Day Miners, and Jim O’Rourke, among others. He has toured extensively around the world with Mavis Staples, Tweedy, Daniel Johnston, and William Tyler. He currently resides in Finland.
CHRIS CORSANO has been active at the intersections of collective improvisation, free jazz, avant-rock, and experimental music since the late 1990’s. He’s been the rim-batterer of choice for some of the greatest contemporary purveyors of “jazz” (Joe McPhee, Paul Flaherty, Mette Rasmussen, Zoh Amba) and “rock” (Sir Richard Bishop, Bill Orcutt, Jim O’Rourke), as well as artists beyond categorization (Björk, Michael Flower, Okkyung Lee, Ghédalia Tazartès, Merzbow).
CHIKAMORACHI last played Louisville at the Nachbar in January 2012, part of which you can watch here:
Supporting CHIKAMORACHI will be Louisville musicians STEVE GOOD (saxophones, clarinet) and DANE WATERS (keyboards, voice). A vital natural resource in the Louisville music scene for multiple decades, Steve Good‘s musical vocabulary orbits lightly through a vast expansive local history: doing time with The Web, E-Or, Juanita, Ut Gret, Sapat, Crappy Nightmareville, Parlour, The Liberation Prophecy and many, many others. He has documented via audio recording many thousands of local shows. Slint played in his basement, he recorded the first Will Oldham single, he ran sound and documented the weekly experimental music series at Artswatch through the 1990s, and yes, he shared a stage in Switzerland with Donovan back in the 1970s. Dane Waters is one of Louisville’s brightest musical talents. As a solo performer as well as member of Softcheque, Sapat, and The Phantom Family Halo, she displays an impeccable melodic sensibility, and has a voice so wonderfully haunting, it sends chills down your spine. Her most recent releases are available on Bandcamp as well as finer Louisville record stores.
Opening the show, YLEM is the Louisville-based trio of Chris Martin-Leidner, Dustin Marcum, and Eunoia Close. Their self-titled album was recorded by Jim Marlowe (Equipment Pointed Ankh, Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band) at End of an Ear in Louisville and was released in March, 2025.
After a decade-long absence from concert promotion in Louisville, The Other Side of Life returns with two exciting concerts of contemporary experimental music, both presented at Art Sanctuary in Louisville’s Schnitzelburg neighborhood. Online ticketing is now available for the following performances:
Guitarist BILL ORCUTT returns to Louisville for the first time since 2014, in his acclaimed duo with drummer CHRIS CORSANO:
$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; physical tickets available soon for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204
$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; physical tickets available soon for in-person purchase at Surface Noise Records (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204
The Other Side of Life is a sole proprietorship venture whose mission is to promote contemporary music events in Louisville, Kentucky. In its prior incarnation from 2008 to 2015, The Other Side of Life was responsible for bringing hundreds of legendary international and national touring musicians featuring all kinds of musical genres to Lousiville, including unforgettable concerts by acts such as Faun Fables, Wire (UK), CJ Ramone, Shonen Knife (Japan), Sir Richard Bishop, Tashi Dorji, Steve Gunn, Helmet, Oren Ambarchi (Australia), Spider Bags, Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band, D.R.I., Endless Boogie, Peter Brotzmann (Germany)/Hamid Drake/William Parker trio, Marisa Anderson, The Skull Defekts (Sweden), Loop (UK), Colin Stetson (Canada), Bombino (Niger), Helado Negro, Daniel Higgs, Cave, Josephine Foster, Horse Lords, and many more. The Other Side of Life also promoted events with such local, Louisville-based musical talents as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, State Champion, Parlour, OldBaby, Coliseum, Young Widows, Tropical Trash, Anwar Sadat, Cher Von, The Java Men, Black God, Tyrone Cotton, 1200 (Jecorey Arthur), and White Reaper, among many others.
UPDATE WEDNESDAY 6/25: Shelby Street is closed at the Ash Street railroad crossing four blocks north of Art Sanctuary due to track repair!
$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; Physical tickets now available for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204
18+ 7:00 PM doors 8:00 PM music
‘It should surprise you not an iota that [BILL] ORCUTT’s style is rooted as much in the fractal melodies of Trane and Taylor as it is in Delta syrup or Tin Pan Alley glitz. As for [CHRIS] CORSANO, well… to me Corsano is beyond jazz, almost beyond music, his ambidextrous, octopoid technique grappling many stylistic levers and spraying a torrent of light from every direction. Corsano’s ferocity has elevated many “mere” improv records to transcendence, but… he’s crafted his polyrhythms within more narrative channels, bringing to mind his “mannered” playing in the lamented Flower-Corsano duo. It’s not “groove” playing precisely, but it follows many grooves simultaneously, much like Orcutt’s own melodic musings — which is why they’re so naturally lock-in-key here.’ – Tom Carter on Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt’s album Made Out of Sound. https://palilalia.com/ https://billorcutt.bandcamp.com/album/made-out-of-sound-2024-reissue https://cor-sano.com
FLANGER MAGAZINE is the duo of Chris Bush (Caboladies, Equipment Pointed Ankh) and Jim Marlowe (Equipment Pointed Ankh, Tropical Trash, Sapat): ‘Gathering samples, a River Doctor Limnologist inspecting the properties of 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 on Flanger Magazine’s album After the Bend. https://flangermagazine.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-bend
JUNGLE BOOGIE is Ken “Bundy” Brown, founding member of Tortoise, and former member of Bastro, Gastr del Sol, Directions, and Pullman. Jungle Boogie’s Cease and Desist is now available at Bandcamp: https://jungleboogie.bandcamp.com/album/cease-desist
Spawned from the formidable Louisville, Kentucky collective known as Black Velvet Fuckere, SAPAT resides as the centrifugal force in this Midwestern psychedelic madrigal set in the psychosexual backwaters of the mighty Ohio River. For the entirety of the ‘00 decade, members have kept busy collaborating with and/or massaging the egos of various and sundry avant-pontiffs such as Robert Fripp, Magik Markers, Dead Child and Eugene Chadbourne – when not honing the orgone energy of SAPAT. Their most recent LP, A Posthuman Guide to the Advent Calendar Origins of the Peep Show, was released last fall on Sophomore Lounge Records.
PETE NOLAN has been a figure in the U.S. underground basement psych scene for the past two decades. A co-founder of legendary noise-rock outfit Magik Markers (with whom he’s amassed over 50 releases), Nolan has collaborated with the likes of Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley (who serves as drummer for his long-running Spectre Folk project), Jandek, J. Mascis, John Olson, Randy “Lee” Sutherland, Chris Corsano, Thurston Moore, Angst Hase Pfeffer Nase, Elisa Ambrogio, Double Leopards, Son of Earth, Julie Cafritz, Kris Abplanalp (as Virgin Eye Blood Brothers), Brian Ramirez, Steve Gunn, Aaron Mullan, Mick Flower, Ashtray Navigations, Kim Gordon, and Mark Ibold. Taking cues from time spent in pro studios with the likes of Lee Ranaldo, Scott Colburn, and Aaron Mullan but never straying too far from his base as a sound collage artist, Nolan wrote, recorded, and mixed his new album, the first under his name, Easy at home with the assistance of his wife, Julie. If you listen closely, you can hear Nolan electrocuting Mark E. Smith mid-performance and enslaving the Clean, making them play the funky drummer for days and days while Eno whirls his Revox in stormy guilt ridden dreams. But don’t be scared off, that’s just the process. The big payback of Easy is a joyful exaltation of life, freedom, mind-expansion, and love. It’s the long way around to a simplified meaning, it’s the goal achieved in the describing, it’s an invitation to get up and dance… it’s Easy.
ZACHARY CALE has been releasing records under his own name for just shy of a decade. Duskland, the title of his latest record, is a work of craftsmanship full of elegant lyricism and mysterious imagery; a collection of songs that look directly into the face of darkness yet drive beyond it, forging new paths. Taking cues from artists like Oh Mercy/Time Out of Mind-era Dylan and Nick Cave’s work with the Bad Seeds, Duskland evokes a restless spirit, one that is informed by American myths and tall tales. There’s a Western flair to many of the album’s songs with nods to soundtrack composers such as Morricone and the dream-laden noir of Badalamenti. Many of the album’s highlights maintain a ceremonial grace.
Due to reasons not worth delving into, this will be the last show produced and presented by The Other Side of Life for the immediate future, and possibly ever. We thank you for your support over the years, and we hope to see you at this fantastic show!
On their debut 12” EP for Ever/Never Records, New York City’s BALLROOM explode out of the gate with a whirlwind fury. Anchored by a tornado of vicious snare drum thwacks and excoriating guitars, BALLROOM are a powerful ensemble assembled from scattered remnants of other notable bands. Cecil (who also plays guitar) did time in Chicago punk standout Busy Signals, and has featured in numerous NYC bands since his relocation. The other axe-slinger, Kristian Brenchley, is a founding member of long-running scum rockers Woman, and also lays down the bottom end in Ever/Never labelmates Degreaser. BALLROOM low-end is provided by Home Blitz’ Theresa Smith, while the drums are beaten into submission by Steven Fisher, leader of Wilful Boys and Dozers. Their debut 12″ EP points to a key influence — the sun-scorched blacktop rumble of prime Scientists, Australia’s sultans of swamp. BALLROOM‘s debut features no mellow songs, sappy ballads or moments of false sincerity. Some songs could be feedtime cuts, but there’s also echoes of the Gun Club and past Crypt Records powerhouses like The Beguiled. BALLROOM doesn’t so much ride off into the sunset as reach up into the sky and pull it down into the dirt.
WEI ZHONGLE‘s most recent album “Nu Trance” is like a broadcast from the future, it’s as if a very singular post-kosmische sound were vaguely situated in the tropics. Can, This Heat, and 80′s Downtown New York lay somewhere in WEI ZHONGLE’s world mutant genetic imprint. The members of WEI ZHONGLE are nomads. The intuitive vocals by Rob Jacobs are sometimes in English but mostly in a language of his own inventive but perhaps also channeling ancient vocal traditions, while laying down hypnotizing guitar. The effects-enhanced clarinet by John McCowen floats over and weaves through it all, pulling everything out in four dimensions. Minds are blown when these three elements merge.
Zhongle 4.0:
John McCowen – Clarinet
Pat Kuehn – Bass
Phillip Sudderberg – Drums
Rob Jacobs – Guitar, Vocals
A pastoral suite of electronics, acoustic guitars, synthesizers and rhythm machine, Breslin is the latest work from FLANGER MAGAZINE, the duo of Chris Bush and Ben Zoeller, whose previous work in the group Caboladies serves as a touchstone. Imitation strings, electronic interruptions, and nylon acoustic guitar figures touched with reverb are the perennial players in this work.
ATTEMPT is the songwriting project of Trevor Tremaine. It’s unlikely, but you may know him as the drummer for noise band Hair Police, as the proprietor of the now-defunct micro-edition cassette label Rampart Tapes, as a co-founder of the surrealist Resonant Hole collective, as the conductor of avant-folk combo Eyes & Arms of Smoke, as a sideman with a strange and diverse resume (Burning Star Core, Warmer Milks, Matt Duncan, Death Unit, Silverware, and Thurston Moore’s Aktion Unit, if you can believe it), or as [himself], the author of this brief biography of him.
RECOMMENDED
If anything I’d like to be able to use this outlet as a means to cut through the bullshit, like the kind of purple praise which you’ll probably need to wipe your eyes after reading on the hype sticker affixed to the shrinkwrap (all the low hanging fruits are there: Victim Of Time a/k/a “Nothing’s Bad In Garage Rock Ever, Especially This”; Impose a/k/a “Deep Thoughts/Trying To Understand/Won’t You Explain In 150 Characters, Maybe More”; Ad Hoc, a/k/a “Who?”; Tiny Mix Tapes a/k/a “Reviews So Pointless We Can’t Even Assign Writers’ Real Names To ‘Em”). Look, if you are gonna use a quote, start from something like this. Toupee is pretty indebted to the ‘80s, and Leg Toucher looks uglier than an all-over-print Gotcha brand crewneck sweatshirt, with a sound I’d pin as “aerobic Jackonuts with occasional forays into Siouxsie territory,” but for here and now that’s enough. They sound smack in the middle of the two most common types of bands I’ve seen in Chicago so far: kinda Goth femme punk meets wild & crazy dude noise rock, but on these 11 songs they chop those two trends into a chunky mix, getting to a point at the beginning of side B that brings about over-the-edge chaos (“Come Back To Camp”), gravelly torture screams and winding, near-Jaks style dark rock slams (“Fort Knight”), and the ultimate in “School,” a great, nasty anthem that somehow missed both Hole and Babes In Toyland as their real big breakout hit, sounding like the Go-Go’s dyed blue-black with Marilyn Manson contact lenses dropped in. Toupee introduces and proves their worth within minutes, and begin to devour their competition by the end. There’s my contribution to the violet time. (http://www.moniker-records.com)
(Doug Mosurock)
The Other Side of Life 