“The Most Psychedelic Light Show of All Time!” — Rolling Stone
Following highly successful NYU Skirball performances in 2012 and 2014, the Joshua Light Show returns to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The (in)famous multimedia artist Joshua White and his legendary team of collaborators create live visual masterpieces that move to the sounds of a remarkable roster of musical collaborators. Utilizing signature projection techniques, including lumia and its fabled “liquid light,” the JLS improvises an intense visual experience to complement the sensation of live music.
The JLS gained worldwide acclaim as resident artists at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East during the late 1960’s and continued to amaze at Woodstock with the most celebrated musicians of the era. Today, JLS performs across the United States and Europe with the newest generation of music luminaries.
September 8
Boss Hog, New York’s punk-blues provacateurs, were formed in 1989 by the rock royalty couple of Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer. Early shows were chaotic and scandalous, setting the tone for the band’s fiery ascent. By 1995, they had reached international fame and released a lauded, major label debut record. In 2017, the band—back with its most familiar lineup (featuring Jens Jurgensen and Hollis Queens)—put out its first LP in nearly 20 years, and are yet again taking New York and the world by storm. Alongside the JLS’s iconic imagery, the band affirms its status as one of the greats.
Dave Harrington Group is an ever-evolving musical project anchored by guitarist Harrington’s forays into experimental rock, progressive jazz, and ambient electronics. Chaotic improvisations surge into tight rhythms, which melt into haunting atmospheres. Harrington, who toured the UK with the Joshua Light Show to great acclaim as one half of the band Darkside, brings together a number of his key New York collaborators and special guests to create a live soundtrack to the light show’s cinematic imagery.
September 9
Man Forever, a platform for the broad-ranging compositions of lauded drummer John Colpitts, celebrates JLS’s 50th anniversary with his diverse ensemble, featuring superstars from the worlds of avant-rock, jazz, and classical music. Choral landscapes, frenzied strings, and meditative drones come together in a delirious mix, anchored by Colpitts’ full-throttled rhythms, echoing through the lightshow’s kinetic visual improvisations.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is a composer of electronic music whose profile has quickly skyrocketed into the mainstream. From her formative years on Orcas Island, off the coast of Washington state, she’s steadily amassed a global fanbase. Ethereal vocals soar over analog pulsations and braided melodic patterns, weaving together a complex and beautiful tapestry of sound, with reference points in pop and avant-classical alike. Building upon their recent collaboration at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, Smith and the JLS make their first appearance in NYC together.
Joshua Light Show at NYU Skirball is co-sponsored by the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, and the Department of Interactive Media Arts (IMA)/Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).
Skirball Sounds Season Sponsor.