The Caretaker and Moor Mother's Black Encyclopedia of the Air

Continuing a decade-long relationship, Unsound Festival returns to Lincoln Center with Leyland James Kirby, performing as The Caretaker. Over the past 25 years, James has released more than a dozen full-length albums which were initially inspired by the trapped-in-time ballroom from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining before then exploring audio representations of memory deterioration. His explorations of nostalgia and deterioration recreate the atmosphere of a 1930s dance hall with a warped, confusing and haunting verisimilitude. The avant-jazz poet and musician Moor Mother opens the evening with the premiere of a brand new performance based on her 2021 album Black Encyclopedia of the Air. In this first-ever live presentation, Moor Mother will celebrate the poetry and spoken word traditions of the '60s and '70s, featuring an array of special guest appearances by underground Hip-Hop icons and legendary artists along with the innovative jazz band Irreversible Entanglements, dancer Kayla Farrish, and tap dancer Melissa Imaguer.