Ben LaMar Gay has been an integral member of the Instigation Festival community since its inception, so it’s only fitting we celebrate our ten year anniversary by having Ben as our artist-in-residence. Ben’s singular approach and sound will be highlighted in small groups across the first three nights [January 26-28th] of the festival, culminating on the fourth night [January 29th] with the premiere of his new composition for the sixteen-piece Instigation Orchestra, “Little By Little, One By One After Another”. Grab your festival pass now and watch this space as we roll out the full daily lineup featuring Instigation Orchestra small groups. 

All four nights are at The Broadside and begin at 8pm. $15 ADV / $20 DOS, $50 Festival Pass

Buy Your Tickets Here

Monday January 26th 

Set 1

Ben LaMar Gay - cornet

Darren Johnston - trumpet

Steve Lands - trumpet

Set 2

Ben LaMar Gay - cornet
Rob Frye - tenor saxophone

Dan Oestreicher - bass saxophone

Mike Reed - drums

Tuesday January 27th


Set 1

Byron Asher - reeds

Helen Gillet - cello, voice, electronics

Anton Hatwich - bass

Martin Krusche - saxophones

Set 2

Freddie Douggie 

Lisa E. Harris - voice, electronics

Ben LaMar Gay - cornet, electronics

JayVe Montgomery - woodwinds, electronics


Wednesday January 28th 


Set 1 

Rob Cambre - guitar

Chris Corsano - drums

Steve Marquette - guitar

Katherine Young - bassoon, electronics

Set 2

Ben LaMar Gay - cornet, electronics

Aurora Nealand - alto saxophone, accordion, voice

Thursday January 29th 

The Instigation Orchestra performs “Little By Little, One By One After Another” by Ben LaMar Gay

Jeff Albert - trombone

Byron Asher - tenor sax, clarinet

Rob Frye - reeds

Ben LaMar Gay - conduction, composition

Helen Gillet - cello, voice

Lisa E. Harris - voice, electronics

Anton Hatwich - bass

Steve Lands - trumpet 

Steve Marquette - guitar

JayVe Montgomery - woodwinds, electronics

Aurora Nealand - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, accordion

Dan Oestreicher - baritone saxophone

Mike Reed - drums

Arif Smith - percussion

Ayanna Woods - voice, electronics

Katherine Young - bassoon, electronics

Presented by Instigation Festival in Partnership with Cultural Ties Festival 

January 30 | 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Lower Depths Experimental Theatre
Loyola University, New Orleans

Buy Your Tickets Here

Festival co-founder Marie Casimir will present Lakansyèl (Haitian Kreyòl for “rainbow”), a speculative performance collage inspired by Lumane Casimir, Haiti’s first female guitarist and a radiant, groundbreaking artist of the 1940s–50s. Through music, movement, voice, and image, Lakansyèl reimagines the cultural revolution that might have emerged had Lumane’s life not been cut short, where her brilliance and Black Caribbean imagination not only survived but flourished."Rooted in collective dreaming and radical imagination, the work reclaims freedom as an unfolding experiment, not a fixed prize. Through echoes of memory and flashes of futurism, it envisions a world where Black womanist resistance reverberates beyond time, and the future remains a space of possibility.

Part 1 - Vwayaj

Directed by Marie Casimir

Choreography - Kai Knight

Movement:
Marie Casimir 
J'aime Griffith
Kai Knight
Nikki Noland

Music:
Jeff Albert - trombone
Moyakhe DuBois - drums
Steve Lands - trumpet
Arif Smith -percussion/drums
Ayana Woods - voice, guitar

Video Art: Kim Alpert


 

Albums

 

The Art of flight: for alvin fielder

by Survival Unit III Recorded at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, January 25th, 2018 as part of the Instigation Festival (New Orleans)

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Kobra Quartet

by Aurora Nealand / Steve Marquette / Anton Hatwich / Paul Thibodeaux Recorded at a concert held at the Hungry Brain in Chicago, IL on September 9th, 2018 as a part of the Instigation Festival.

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Cadillac Turns

by Charles Rumback with Jim Baker / James Singleton / Greg Ward
Recorded by David Zuchowski at the Instigation Festival (Chicago) at Constellation September 7, 2017.

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MARKER

By Marker Recorded at a concert held at the New Orleans Jazz Museum in New Orleans, LA on January 25th, 2018 as a part of the Instigation Festival.

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JEFF ALBERT / BEN LAMAR GAY / MATT LUX / QUIN KIRCHNER

By Jeff Albert / Ben LaMar Gay / Matt Lux / Quin Kirchner Recorded at a concert held at the Hungry Brain, Chicago, IL on September 9th, 2018 as part of the Instigation Festival

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ABOUT

The Instigation Festival brings Chicago & New Orleans music, movement and visual artists together for a week of improvised and interesting interdisciplinary collaboration in each city. Since its’ founding in 2016 by guitarist Steve Marquette and movement artist Marie Casimir, they have presented over seventy artists at twenty venues across seven festivals. Now entering its’ seventh year, the Instigation Festival continues its’ work of fostering connections between these cities’ creative arts communities, while expanding the scope to include European performers.

 
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