The Music Tapes

Tickets: $15; $5 for Bard students (reservations via the Box Office)

Pitching the cozy circus tent they designed specially for this tour in towns and cities across North America, The Music Tapes will present a “magical and enchanting” (Bob Boilen, NPR) evening of songs, stories, games, movies, amusements, and more.

As soon as audiences walk through the door, they will be greeted with The Music Tapes’ surreal, carnival-esque gamesincluding antique 16mm cartoons, virtuoso klezmer music performed on the singing saw, Julian Koster’s unique narratives about dehydrated European cities and half-imagined children’s games, a 12-foot snowman, and an array of mechanical musical contraptions like the 7-foot tall metronome and Static the singing television. From there, the audience enters the tent for a dreamlike show that includes songs from the band’s newest album Mary’s Voice, "a grand, genre-straddling vision in sound" (Pitchfork).

Says Julian: “It’s our sincere desire to offer audiences an unusual sort of fun, a new kind of experience. Something that feels like exploring a wonderful dream or a pleasant memory. Something that gives a feeling of holiday and amusement that begins the very moment you walk in the door.”