Another month in the greatest live music city in the world. This May, there are three great festivals covering the gamut. If you're interested in Gen X nostalgia or Gen Z's newness, punk or piano, there's something to see.
If you’re looking to hear something weird and wondrous
It’s hard to lump together the acts performing at the Long Play festival under any term other than the vague and inadequately descriptive “experimental.” There’s simply too much happening at the fifth edition of this annual four-day festival to generalize. But go in with an open mind and you're practically guaranteed to experience something new.
The shows will happen at a slew of Brooklyn venues, and passes are available for both individual days and the full fest. Following a smattering of kickoff shows on April 30, things really get underway on May 1, where you might choose to see meditative trumpeter Chris Ryan Williams, the stunningly attuned trio of pianist Jason Moran, drummer Marcus Gilmore and tape-loop artist BlankFor.ms; or enjoy an epic feast of electroacoustic drone by the composer Kali Malone.
On May 2, you might choose from visionary solo pianists (Matthew Shipp, Amina Claudine Myers), avant-garde percussion mixed with performance art (a rendition of composer Mauricio Kagel’s "Dressur"), a site-specific solo piece inspired by ancient Greek medicine and Buddhist funeral rites (Julia Santoli’s "Caress of a Cave") or extended cello drones that offer a taste of the infinite (Lucy Railton’s "Blue Veil").
There’s another massive outdoor happening in Fort Greene Park on May 3, spearheaded by the nature-fueled composer John Luther Adams. Elsewhere that day is Sarah Davachi’s mind-bending organ works, Kris Davis’s incendiary avant-jazz piano trio, trumpet legend Wadada Leo Smith’s duo with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and tons more. Choose your own adventure here.
If you’re looking to rock out, Gen X and/or Z style
Nostalgia-oriented fests have been a prominent feature on the 21st century musical landscape. What’s noteworthy about the latest wave — as seen in two multi-night festivals this month — is how they’re not just pandering to the old heads. That’s because of the way Gen Z has embraced sounds from decades ago — shoegaze, old-school indie rock and more — and created their own sonic vision in response.
The two-day Total Bummer festival hitting Queens’ Knockdown Center on May 30 and 31, wears its Gen X orientation proudly on its sleeve, employing ’90s-style slang in its name and adorning its official flyer with an image from the era-defining black comedy "Heathers." Its roster stretches back into the wilds of the ’80s underground, featuring renowned purveyors of fuzz-bathed rock, including Dinosaur Jr., Meat Puppets, the Jesus and Mary Chain, as well as art-rock standouts of the mid-’90s and beyond, like Blonde Redhead. Representing the fest’s youth wing are Julie and They Are Gutting a Body of Water, distortion-friendly tunesmiths whose record collections — possibly handed down from their parents — no doubt include well-loved albums by their legendary billmates.
A similar blend of intergenerational acts appears at Slide Away, a three-city event geared toward the past and present of shoegaze (a subgenre that’s become an unlikely rallying point for the TikTok generation), hitting the Brooklyn Paramount on May 15th and 16th. The acts topping the bill each night represent three different wings of the scene: gauzy post-hardcore quartet Hum, early shoegaze revivalists Nothing, and British outfit Chapterhouse, a band that made its name in the early ’90s with a heady sound built around shimmering guitars and hypnotic beats. Openers include more ’90s era visionaries like Lovesliescrushing and Swirlies as well as a solid roster of today’s neo-shoegaze luminaries, including Bleary Eyed and She’s Green.
If you’re looking to hear how jazz is expanding ever outward
Jazz has enjoyed a major surge in popularity in recent years, and one key reason may be just how porous its borders have become. More and more, audiences are rallying behind projects that reflect the genre’s lively conversation with adjacent styles.
In an earlier era, “jazz fusion” came to signify a glossy, manicured sound, but the collaboration between the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis — playing Le Poisson Rouge on May 6 — represents a grittier, more volatile hybrid. The band harnesses the sinewy drive that bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty honed in their prior band, the legendary Fugaz. As heard on the new "Deface the Currency," their union with saxophone standout Lewis produces a righteous union of body-moving groove and improvisational heat.
Expect another potent sonic collision from the newly formed Issa Iyer Gibbs Coalition, hitting Market Hotel on May 10. Bassist Melvin Gibbs has made a career out of bridging disparate styles in his work with vanguard acts including Defunkt, Power Tools, and Rollins Band. His new book, "How Black Music Took Over the World," unpacks the tangled roots of both his own style and Africa’s vast musical diaspora, and he continues his on-the-job research at this related gig, which unites him with Kokayi Issa and Vijay Iyer, adventurous luminaries from the respective worlds of hip-hop and jazz.
Two other key intergenre bridge-builders also hit town this month. Terrace Martin has brought the worlds of jazz and hip-hop significantly closer during the past decade through his work with major names such as Kendrick Lamar, Herbie Hancock and Kamasi Washington. Expect special guests from his VIP-packed Rolodex to turn up at his lengthy upcoming Blue Note takeover, running from May 12 through 17, and May 26 through 31.
And if you want to see a Chili Pepper up close
Superbassist Flea makes a rare appearance outside his main gig at Webster Hall on May 12, playing on his first instrument, the trumpet, as he presents music from his recent, largely instrumental solo debut, "Honora." He’ll be backed by all-stars of L.A.’s thriving progressive-jazz scene, including bassist Anna Butterss, guitarist Jeff Parker, and multi-instrumentalist Josh Johnson.
