High Zero Experimental Music Festival

This will be the 12th year of High Zero, an experimental music festival that has garnered praise and national attention. National Public Radio called it “the premier showcase for spontaneous sound”. City Paper praised it as “the continent’s finest four days of all-in improv and otherwise musical exploration”. High Zero calls itself a “weird, sophisticated and over the top event”. No matter how you see it, the festival’s not to be missed.

High Zero’s main concerts take place over four nights, at the Theatre Project at 45 W. Preston Street. The doors open at 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Sunday night, with a Saturday matinee at noon.

These concerts feature Baltimorean and guest musicians, who play both electronic and traditional instruments. According to the website, the performers include Shelly Blake-Plock (who “couldn’t make it to this year’s festival, so he sent his twin brother, also named Shelly Blake-Plock”) , Dr. Johannes Rosenberg, (who is pictured on the website playing violin on a camel), Wobbly, from California, and many more characters. You can see more biographies on the website, which also lists which artists are playing each night.

Admission to these concerts is $13, or $10 at the door for students. Each concert is four hours long.

Additionally, Gallery Four, at 405 W. Franklin Street, is hosting the Electronic Petting Zoo Sound Installation, running 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. through Sunday. It brings together three incredible, largely indescribable visions of sound and space. Karl Ekdahl has constructed an interactive  “laser pentagram,” with a “chaotic synthesizer circuit,” where your every gesture causes changes in the audio. Julie Benoit has contributed a 30-speaker setup, amplifying ambient recordings in an exploration of noise and chaos. Tristan Perich’s vision involves magnetic drivers with DC electronics. The exhibit must be experienced to be believed, or even just comprehended.

If you’re really looking to get involved, check out the “High Jinks” improvisational events happening around the city. You can participate (at your own risk) in unique events like “Simultaneous Dramatic Readings” and “Balloon Symphony.”

Find out more about all the events on the website, at www.highzero.org/2010_site/.