A new and unique improvising trio of master musicians with long histories—Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), and David Watson (Glacial, Yoshi Wada, Phill Niblock)—presents a deep collaboration built around long-form improvisation wrapping psychedelia, traditional sources, and noise into a powerful sonic theater. All three musicians have an abiding interest in taking their instruments into long-form, suspended states.

Ranaldo and Watson have worked together for 25 years. They have both worked with Chase separately, but not together—this trio is a first.

Brian Chase drums
Lee Ranaldo guitars
David Watson bagpipes

A livestream will be available free of charge at 8pm on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing.

Brian Chase is the drummer for rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and NYC’s experimental music community. He also created Drums and Drones, a solo project with a compositional focus on the harmonic resonances of drums and percussion. In 2018, Chase started Chaikin Records, a record label which spotlights pioneering figures of the avant-garde.

Lee Ranaldo is a musician, composer, visual artist, writer, producer. He was a founding member of Sonic Youth, from 1981 through to 2011.  His includes sound installations, performances, songwriting, scoring for films, composing for orchestra, and still plenty of guitar playing.

David Watson has worked for thirty years to bring the bagpipes into contemporary context. For twenty-five of those years, he has worked with Lee Ranaldo in the trio Glacial. He collaborated with Yoshi Wada. He played Phill Niblock’s music for 30 years, collaborating on four compositions with Niblock. He made an avant-bagpipe duet record with Matthew Welch. He was awarded the 2025 Alvin Lucier prize for experimental music by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.