Sufjan’s Enjoy Your Rabbit Set to Ballet by Justin Peck

September 19th, 2012 , by

Selections from Sufjan Stevens’ electronic album “Enjoy Your Rabbit” are featured in a new ballet by up-and-coming choreographer Justin Peck. “Year of the Rabbit” will premiere Oct. 5 at New York City Ballet, programmed with new works by Benjamin Millepied (“Black Swan”) and Christopher Wheeldon (The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet). Conductor and arranger Michael Atkinson has expanded the quartet adaptations of this music from Osso’s “Run Rabbit Run” for string orchestra. Selections for this non-narrative ballet for 18 dancers will include Year of the Ox, Rabbit, Tiger, Rooster, Dragon Boar, and The Lord. There will  be two matinees on Oct. 6 & 7 and a final evening performance on Oct. 13. The ballet will also appear in the winter season next year (January 29 & 30 and February 1 & 2). Tickets are available from the NY City Ballet website.

Sufjan also joins Peck and Aktinson for the Guggenheim’s Works & Process series on Sept. 23 & 24 (at 7:30) in the Guggenheim Theater, where a string quartet will play excerpts from the ballet, with principal dancers performing. Participants will also discuss the odd evolution of Sufjan’s electronic hobby project- composed and recorded in an apartment closet- from the drum machine to the ballet theater. Tickets are no longer available for this event (the theater only seats 285) but the Guggenheim website has a link for live streaming.

You can read about Justin’s previous ballet “In Creases” from the New York Times review here, and learn more about this young dancer/choreographer’s work with the city ballet here  has a link for live streaming.

SUFJAN TO PLAY EINDHOVEN, AMSTERDAM, & LONDON WITH BRYCE DESSNER AND NICO MUHLY

March 22nd, 2012 , by

Sufjan Stevens is collaborating with good friends/old haunts Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly to create a song-cycle loosely based on the planets. The trio will be performing their work in just a few select venues, accompanied by a trombone choir, string quartet, and drums/percussion/drum machine (played by the indefatigable James McAlister). Selections from the song-cycle will be “live workshopped” at Music Now festival in Cincinnati on March 30. Official performances are scheduled in Eindhoven, Amsterdam, London, and Sydney. More details here. Performances in Europe will be preceded by short string quartet works by each collaborator, including two selections from Sufjan’s Run Rabbit Run project.

No other performances for this project have been scheduled and all dates are sold out except Amsterdam, April 8th. Last chance to see cosmic history happen here.

TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR RAPOSA/SUFJAN-SCORED FILM ?BEYOND THIS PLACE?

October 25th, 2011 , by

Beyond This Place is a powerful new film about fatherhood and forgiveness directed by Kaleo La Belle. The film follows Kaleo as he connects with his estranged and perpetually-stoned father on a 500-mile bicycle tour of the Pacific Northwest. It’s currently screening in select theaters across the US. More info here.

Kaleo recruited AK artists Sufjan Stevens and Ray Raposa (Castanets), who worked together to score the film. You can catch a live version of the score as Sufjan and Ray perform the soundtrack before the screenings in LA, San Francisco, Portland, and Brooklyn. Details and tickets are here.

Listen and download to the title track from the score, by Sufjan, Ray, and Vesper:

SUFJAN SHOWS TO OPEN WITH DIAMONDS

July 19th, 2011 , by

Photo from Adz tour trailer by Deborah Johnson

Precious stones abound! Sufjan has recruited two diamond acts to open his shows for Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park. The regal and righteous My Brightest Diamond will open August 2 while the glamorous dance-pop Diamond Rings will open August 3. Add these two musical gemstones to Sufjan’s diamond disco helmet (pictured above) and you get a Triple Diamond Threat! Crystal Power Healing Pop Sensation!

These two shows also mark the grand finale of the Age of Adz tour, a pop-theatrical pageant that has spanned time–zones, political boundaries, and language barriers with its eye-candy choreography (fearlessly executed by back-up singers Cat Martino and Nedelle Torrisi) and vivacious video display (by the indefatigable Deborah Johnson, whose work for the show renders the art of Royal Robertson in fantastic animation). Did we mention double drummers, an LED light extravaganza, and kabuki streamers?

The final shows will expand the band to include woodwinds and will feature two more dancers (including choreographer Jessica Dessner). More is more! Bring Your Magic 8 Ball. Wear Your Dance Pants.

My Brightest Diamond just announced a brand new album due in October (info here), and Diamond Rings is still abuzz from the astounding success of his 2010 debut Special Affection. 

Editor’s Note–we’ve just been notified by park officials: aforementioned balloons and confetti (and other perishables) are strictly prohibited on park property (it’s bad for the environment, understandably). But the production team is frantically scheming to bring party vibes by any means possible. Virtual Balloon Drop? Edible Confetti? Heat Lightning? Please, God, Give Us A Double Rainbow? As for the rest of us: Bring Your Magic 8 Ball!

Remember, this is a benefit show. Ticket sales ensure that most of the other shows remain free of charge. Bring a friend, bring an open mind, and find out why Gothamist named Celebrate Brooklyn  “The #1 Reason Why Brooklyn Lives Up to the Hype.”

August 2 is sold out, but tickets are still available for August 3 here. 

WATCH THE SUFJAN-MADE GET REAL, GET RIGHT [VIDEO]

July 7th, 2011 , by

You might recognize the art in the Sufjan-made stop-motion video above; it comes from Prophet Royal Robertson, who inspired not only Sufjan's The Age of Adz but also the documentary film MAKE. MAKE is available now on DVD for $15 here.

Sufjan is also playing one last big Adz show on August 2nd and 3rd in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. In addition to neon gaffe tape (bring it if you got it!), some non-balloon non-confetti partying devices, x-treme dancing, and sweat, expect to see some of projectionist Deborah Johnson's brilliant work at the show (ie. this amazing bit).

Show is general admission and standing room only (stand up if you love standing!). Bring a good 'tude and neon, because you can't Celebrate Brooklyn with a frown. Besides Celebrate Broolyn! is the number one reason Brooklyn lives up to the hype. Believe the hype. Tickets for the show are here.

ONE LAST CHANCE TO CELEBRATE

June 23rd, 2011 , by

Sufjan Stevens is playing Celebrate Brooklyn! in Prospect Park on August 2nd and 3rd. This video by Deborah Johnson, who also did the projection you'll see at the show, gives you some idea of what to expect. (YouTube version here).

Buy tickets to the August 3rd show here.

NEWLY RELEASED: MAKE DVD

June 21st, 2011 , by

The best art is that which uses the engine of inspiration to in turn create more art. So today we are honored to be releasing MAKE on DVD, a documentary film that explores the lives of four American self-taught artists, all of whom use simple materials to create remarkable and thought-provoking work. The journey of the film from concept to today's release has been a long one for filmmakers Scott Ogden and Malcolm Hearn; years, really, of travel,  investigation, interviewing, research, editing, collecting, and documenting. Their work, if we may be so bold, mirrors the quality of the artists that they document in the film. 
 
And it is MAKE that also inspired Sufjan Stevens' most recent album, The Age of Adz. Sufjan based the framework of the album after seeing Prophet Royal Robertson's work featured in MAKE. (Royal's artwork is also in the liner notes of the CD and LP.) 
 
You can see this remarkable film for yourself by purchasing the DVD for $15. We also have a digital version available for $10. Click here to do either.
Feel free to play or download Sufjan’s “Get Real, Get Right” below, a track from Adz heavily inspired by the art of Prophet Royal Robertson.

SECOND SUFJAN STEVENS SHOW ADDED TO PROSPECT PARK

June 14th, 2011 , by


Photo by Mattias Johansson

EDIT: preorder tickets go live today (June 15) at 10AM EST at Etix.
The Password is "heirloom" (without quotes): http://bit.ly/m7EqMI 

You went and did it! Undeterred by swelter and sweat and mosquitos and rising crime rates in the surrounding area, you bought all the tickets to Sufjan's Celebrate Brooklyn! show in NYC's Prospect Park on August 2. Wow! Thanks so much! 

Problem though. Sufjan and crew just finished up their European tour, and people seemed to really, really like it. That's not the problem, but do check out these normally reserved British folk in the comment section on the  on the 4-star review in the Guardian: "Utterly mad, utterly beautiful," "My face hurts from 2 1/2 hours of grinning ear to ear," "Ambitious, silly, indulgent and profoundly moving," "The rest of the crowd went absolutely mental." Ok, fine and good, but…back to that problem. 
 
See, Sufjan still has an enormous overstock of balloons and confetti and neon gaffe tape. Soooo what do do? There's only one thing to do: ADD A SECOND SHOW! How's August 3rd sound? Good? Good! 
 
This will be your last chance to see the Adz tour in all its bright, balloony glory! And to see Sufjan actually outdoors. Imagine this, but outside! For the last time! Ok, we said that it was your last chance when we announced the August 2nd show, but this time we mean business. 

And by business we mean tickets. Presale tickets for the second benefit concert go on sale tomorrow from 10AM-10PM EST (Wednesday June 15th) at Etix, and general admission tickets will go sale Friday the 17th on Ticketmaster right here.

TICKETS FOR SUFJAN AT PROSPECT PARK ON SALE 10AM EST

April 6th, 2011 , by

A reminder: tickets for Sufjan Stevens' summer outdoor show in Prospect Park in August go on sale on Etix at 10AM EST today (Wednseday, April 6th). Click here for details. You'll need the password "Heirloom" to purchase from this link: http://bit.ly/gauVaq.

SUFJAN STEVENS TO PLAY PROSPECT PARK IN AUGUST

April 4th, 2011 , by

Summer in Brooklyn: friends, fireflies, stoop sales, racial tension, black-outs, car theft, homicide, real estate busts, and…Celebrate Brooklyn! Where the World's Greatest Borough puts on the World's Greatest Summer Festival in the World's Greatest Urban Park. That's what we call Prospect Park!

Our Very Own Megalomaniac Master of Musical Disguises Sufjan Stevens will be making a rare outdoor appearance at the infamous bandshell on Tuesday August 2, 2011 for the annual Celebrate Brooklyn! festival. He'll be performing with his 10-piece intergalactic ensemble of musical muppets from the Age of Adz tour. What does that mean for you? Do the math: Prog-pop space jams + extra-terrestrial dancers + excessive neon gaff tape + cosmic eurhythmy + hot booty moves + a frenetic video display + hometown advantage = Life Affirming Summer Spectacular Event of a Lifetime (and other superlatives).
 
Did we already say it's outdoors? Under the Brooklyn sky, surrounded by sycamores and flickering fireflies, and city smog…This is a rare treat! Sufjan does not typically play outdoor stages. Nor does he have any festival appearances scheduled for 2011. This is your last chance to see Adz in all its glory! And we promise it will be a total blow-out!
 
Tickets for the show are will go on sale for general public on Friday, but you can get special preorder tickets for $35 (+fees) from Etix on Wednesday April 6th. Those tickets will be at this link at 10AM EST April 6th: http://bit.ly/gauVaq. The password is (whisper): Heirloom.
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