BIG DAY IN #15: Desmond n Friends
COUNTDOWN TO BIG DAY IN:
Big Day In, Ithaca Underground’s biggest show of the year, is on Saturday, December 7 at The Haunt! The event is a twelve-hour festival (12PM – 12AM), filled to the brim with touring and local artists. To celebrate the countdown to the Big Day, there will be an artist profile for each performing artist. Today, we have groove-based improvisers, Desmond n Friends!
ARTIST PROFILE: DESMOND N FRIENDS
Desmond n Friends is a new collaboration of three musicians: bassist Desmond Bratton, percussionist Simon Bjarning, and multi-instrumentalist Dara Anissi. Each member brings their own unique perspectives to the table.
Desmond is passionate about community engagement and using his art as a means for musical conversation. He embodies this through being a member of the Ithaca New Music Collective and as a past Naked Noise (Ithaca Undergrounds biggest noise show of the year) performer. Simon is also a member of the Ithaca New Music Collective. Dara shares his art through the Cornell Middle Eastern Ensemble, the middle-eastern group Souk, and his own middle-eastern-influenced rock band. These three musicians’ union is an exploration of these individual sounds, styles and perspectives.
Together, the trio fuses their creative energies to bring groove-based improvisation to the stage. They explore one another’s musical styles in real time, allowing their musicality to blend and come through. Each performance is made of individual moments that cannot be replicated again. Music is a living thing–it breathes through these artists who interact with it in its most pliable form. Desmond, Simon, and Dara create it from the ground up on the spot, all while being presently focused and connected with each other.
Their group is still new and fresh, so everything you hear at the show will be something you’ve never heard before! Come check it out on the Big Day at The Haunt!
Tickets for Big Day In are on sale now! $10 for under 18, $15 for 18 and older.
For more information, check out the Facebook Event.
Tomorrow, I’ll be celebrating the 2-Day-Countdown mark with electronic artist Xen Model and punk band Jake and the Nowhere Men! Stay tuned!