Skip to content

What we’re about

This group is for people who appreciate music and other forms of art beyond the mainstream, with a particular focus on the avant-garde or otherwise odd. Free Jazz, Musique Concrete, Atonality, Noise Music, Outsider Art, Surrealism, Dada, Junk Art, ...you name it! Not all events will necessarily be "weird", but simply off the beaten mainstream path.

This is intended to be an oasis from crass commercial banalities.

I'll post events that interest me, but I am also interested in hearing from artists, musicians, and other creative types about their events that I can share with members. Post your events and ideas in the "Discussions" section. I want this group to also be a vehicle that helps support artists and organizations that are doing interesting creative work.

The only requests are that we keep things friendly and civilized. MAGA not welcome.

Upcoming events

19

See all
  • Angel City Jazz Festival: Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio + For Living Lovers

    Angel City Jazz Festival: Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio + For Living Lovers

    REDCAT: ROY AND EDNA DISNEY/CALARTS THEATER, 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA, US

    Date: October 19, 2025 @ 8:00 pm

    Venue: REDCAT at Disney Hall
    631 W 2nd Street
    Los Angeles, CA

    + Google Map

    View Venue Website

    Tickets: $25 https://angelcityjazz.com/event/rudresh-mahanthappa/
    Doors at 7:30pm

    8:00pm – For Living Lovers
    Brandon Ross – acoustic guitar
    Stomu Takeishi – acoustic bass guitar

    9:15 pm – Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio
    Rudresh Mahanthappa – alto saxophone
    François Moutin – acoustic bass
    Rudy Royston – drums

    Over the course of an illustrious twenty-five-year career, Rudresh Mahanthappa’s music making has constantly pushed at the artistic boundaries to encompass such diverse influences as classic bebop, the flash and fury of electric fusion, and the complexities of Carnatic music, while always maintaining a clear sense of his own fiercely intelligent, uncompromising musical personality.

    ““Rudresh is definitely one of the stronge
    st voices on the jazz scene.”
    – All Music

    For Living Lovers is the acoustic duo of guitarist Brandon Ross and acoustic bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi. Founded in 2002, the duo developed while Ross and Takeishi were members of visionary, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Henry Threadgill’s quintet, “Make A Move”.

    “… Ross and Takeishi create tandem waves of sound that mimic a sitar one moment and a Tibetan singing bowl the next.”
    – Downbeat

    Rudresh Mahanthappa
    Hailed by Pitchfork as “jaw-dropping… one of the finest saxophonists going,” alto saxophonist, composer, and educator Rudresh Mahanthappa is widely known as one of the premier voices in jazz of the 21st century.

    He has over a dozen albums to his credit, including the acclaimed Bird Calls, which topped many critics’ best-of-year lists for 2015 and was hailed by PopMatters as “complex, rhythmically vital, free in spirit while still criss-crossed with mutating structures.” His most recent release, Hero Trio, was considered to be one of the best jazz albums of 2020 by critics and fans alike.

    Rudresh has been named alto saxophonist of the year for nine of the last eleven years running in DownBeat Magazine’s International Critics’ Polls (2011-2013, 2015-2018, 2020-1), and for five consecutive years by the Jazz Journalists’ Association (2009-2013) and again in 2016.

    He won alto saxophonist of the year in the 2015-2018 & 2020 JazzTimes Magazine Critics’ Polls and was named the Village Voice’s “Best Jazz Artist” in 2015.

    He has also received the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, among other honors, and is currently the Anthony H. P. Lee ’79 Director of Jazz at Princeton University.
    https://www.rudreshm.com/

    Brandon Ross
    As a performing and recording artist, guitarist and composer Brandon Ross has worked and collaborated with several innovative voices in modern music such as Henry Threadgill, Wadada Leo Smith, Cassandra Wilson, Jewel, Tony Williams, Lizz Wright, Arto Lindsay, The Lounge Lizards, Leroy Jenkins, Oliver Lake, Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris, Bill Frisell, Me’Shell N’degeocello, Arrested Development, Archie Shepp, Muhal Richard Abrams, Don Byron, Ron Miles, and many others.

    Ross leads For Living Lovers, his Chamber Music for Improvisors acoustic duo with acoustic bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi. The duo’s debut album Revealing Essence was released to critical acclaim, and as a recipient of Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works grant, Ross was commissioned to compose the duo’s new work titled Immortal Obsolescence.

    Ross co-leads the avant power trio, Harriet Tubman, (with bassist Melvin Gibbs, and drummer JT Lewis), using electronics and pan-tonality to sculpt a multidimensional, interactive, sonic language in a classic R&B/Rock configuration of guitar, bass, and drums.

    In his acoustic-based quartet, Blazing Beauty, Ross plays banjo, electric, acoustic, and soprano guitars to extend his expressive range into “folk” oriented musics and compositional approaches that communicate his dedication to fresh musical experience. He has released two albums with Blazing Beauty, Costume (2004) and Puppet (2006) on the Japanese label Intoxicate Records. Both garnered rave reviews, and appearances on several Japanese critics’ “best of the year” lists.

    Described as “restlessly inventive” (Time Out New York), Ross explores various forms of expression in collaborations with artists that inspire him. In AiR with mezzo soprano Alicia Hall Moran, Ross recasts Roland Hayes’ Aframerican spirituals through contemporary electric guitar vernacular; in DarkMatterHalo, a ‘Glyph’ electronic music collective, Ross investigates the current state and use of “exo-technology” with regard to sound production; in Pendulum, Ross incorporates sound design to expand sonic and textural possibilities beyond the voice of a single instrument; and in Phantom Station Ross establishes a creative music context that hosts a revolving personnel and open musical direction dedicated to collective improvised music making and compositional interpretation.

    Ross has been previously commissioned by the ASCAP Foundation, New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA), and is a recipient of Rockefeller Foundation’s MAP Grant and Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works grant. He is a current ASCAP writer and publisher member.

    Ross’ teaching credits include Banff Summer Institute of Jazz and Creative Music, Princeton University’s Graduate Program in Composition, Artez Conservatorium of Arnhem (Netherlands), and Koninklijk Conservatorium, Antwerp (Belgium).

    https://www.brandonross.nyc/

    • Photo of the user
    • Photo of the user
    2 attendees
  •  DOCUMENTARY MOVIE: ORWELL: 2 + 2 = 5 (2025)

    DOCUMENTARY MOVIE: ORWELL: 2 + 2 = 5 (2025)

    Art Theatre of Long Beach, 2025 E 4th St, Long Beach, CA, US

    Cross-posted with SO CAL EXPLORERS

    From Academy Award®-nominated and BAFTA-winning director, Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro), Orwell is the definitive feature-length documentary on visionary author George Orwell, with the exclusive cooperation of the Orwell Estate.

    Date: Wednesday, October 22, 6:30 pm

    Venue: The Art Theater Long Beach, 2025 E 4th St, Long Beach, CA 90814

    Note: the theater does NOT have a parking lot. There are some pay lots nearby and there is street parking, but it can be a bit tough. Give yourself time and read the signs.

    Tickets: $15.00
    https://arttheatre.easy-ware-ticketing.com/generaladmission/SzxMPmFA9q0LHb3A7hXqXg

    Trailer: https://youtu.be/FGMEOdPxpWs?si=7ZUz_ZwPSpzyL0Vw

    "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past..." wrote Orwell in his novel, 1984.

    Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 is a dense, urgent, and unapologetically blunt documentary that offers a chillingly relevant examination of totalitarianism's enduring appeal and the societal conditions that enable it.

    Today, the "newspeak" of authoritarian rule is alive and well and in unexpected places, from the rise of AI Chatbot to the Russian propaganda machine, from the marketing webs of commercial metaverses to the political banning of books in the Southern United States
    Peck's "Orwell" will use George Orwell's life, work and legacy as a maverick iconoclastic writer to jam the signals of the algorithms gone rogue which, in the name of personal freedom, threaten to close our minds to a greater possibility.

    • Photo of the user
    • Photo of the user
    • Photo of the user
    5 attendees
  • PERFORMANCE:  DIRECT ADDRESS

    PERFORMANCE: DIRECT ADDRESS

    Ford Theatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd E,, los angeles , CA, US

    Date: Fri / Oct 24, 2025 - 8:00PM

    Venue: Ford Theatre
    2580 Cahuenga Blvd E, Los Angeles, CA 90068

    Tickets: $29 to $44
    https://www.theford.com/events/performances/4096/2025-10-24/direct-address

    Please note: more tickets will be released soon so if you're interested in attending, sign up. I will keep an eye on The Ford' website and update this info when it changes.

    About this Performance

    DIRECT ADDRESS is theater as discourse. It is a celebration of the First Amendment and an experiment in making art out of the present tense. DIRECT ADDRESS is an appeal to your imagination and a gathering in the heart of the storm.

    Cornerstone Theater Company has commissioned a group of local artists to make works for public spaces throughout Los Angeles County—works that directly address the state of things as they are right now and attempt poetic interventions on behalf of a just future. These short works will be performed across Los Angeles leading to their complete one-night presentation at The Ford. In this special showcase, the audience will be seated on stage with the performers for an intimate theatrical experience.

    DIRECT ADDRESS is inspired by the history of American activism and public performance—from Frederick Douglass to ACT UP and beyond. It's an invitation to reimagine how we exercise our first amendment rights.

    • Photo of the user
    • Photo of the user
    2 attendees
  • FREE STREET FESTIVAL: GRAND AVENUE ARTS - ALL ACCESS

    FREE STREET FESTIVAL: GRAND AVENUE ARTS - ALL ACCESS

    Grand Park's Fountain Overlook (near Grand Ave.) , 200 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90012, CA, US

    Date: October 25, 2025, from 11 am–4 pm

    Location: Along Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles
    from Temple–6th Street

    Meet at 12:00 at the top of Grand Park (SEE MAP BELOW)

    Event Website: https://grandavearts.org/

    Travel and Parking information: https://grandavearts.org/getting-here/
    Parking from $10 up. Carpooling recommended.

    Maps: https://grandavearts.org/maps-and-directions/

    Specific event details will be posted when they are made available.

    Grand Ave Arts: All Access
    Los Angeles is a playground for arts and culture, and Grand Avenue is its epicenter. Grand Ave Arts: All Access invites all to explore, be curious, pop in, and choose their own adventures.

    On October 25 from 11am to 4pm, arts and cultural institutions along Grand Avenue open their doors to visitors of all ages for a day of free workshops, performances, tours, and interactive events. Explore art, music, dance, literature, art-making and more: all events are free and open to the public, rain or shine.

    For one afternoon, more than a dozen institutions will celebrate their Bunker Hill home with free performances, exhibitions and tours. Most of the action takes place on Grand Avenue between Temple and Sixth Streets.

    Highlights of this year’s event on October 25 include a singing workshop and a chance to try instruments at the Colburn School; a sugar skull workshop and Halloween necklace-making at the Los Angeles Central Library; LA Opera recitals at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion; a preview of the world’s first museum of AI arts, DATALAND; and a Day of the Dead celebration at Gloria Molina Grand Park.

    Other participating institutions include the Broad, MOCA, REDCAT, the Music Center, Center Theatre Group, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grand Performances and Metro, which now has a station just off of Grand Avenue atop Bunker Hill.

    • Photo of the user
    1 attendee

Group links

Organizers

Members

1,248
See all
Photo of the user Paul Petrissans
Photo of the user Curt
Photo of the user Gabriella Ritchie
Photo of the user Justis
Photo of the user Shivalee
Photo of the user Kimberly
Photo of the user Curt  Adams
Photo of the user Joshua Hollins
Photo of the user Julie S
Photo of the user Brian Andersen
Photo of the user Yvonne B
Photo of the user Stanislaw Jarecki

Find us also at