David Byrne is preparing a staged “variety show” inspired by a new chapter in the latest edition of his 2012 book How Music Works. That chapter is about the “four ways we discover music in the digital age: recommendation by experts, by the music itself, by social and cultural forces, and by narrative and context.” The variety show will demonstrate the power of expert recommendation—a.k.a., Byrne will introduce musicians and performers whose work he enjoys personally.
No performers have been announced in advance, but the show takes June 1 at the Town Hall in Manhattan and tickets are on sale here. Here’s Byrne’s statement, via Stereogum:
Prompted by participating in a conversation that Mixcloud put together last summer, I wrote a new chapter on the latest developments in music discovery—the music we hear is largely determined by non-musical forces. This chapter is included in the new edition of How Music Works that is now available thanks to the folks at Crown.
To celebrate this new edition I will act as impresario at a music-related variety show to be staged at The Town Hall in NYC on June 1—human curation in action. I’ll introduce you to some amazing performers that inspire me! I did something similar related to bikes and urbanism some years ago. Those events showcased innovative industrial design, live lock-picking, a bike horn orchestra, streamed video from NY traffic. This music event will include all sorts of performance: music, of course, but also magic, theater, dance, science and humor… and more.
