The duo of NPNP and Jairus Sharif will be performing for the first time in Kelowna on April 8th at DunnEnzies Downtown in Kelowna. This concert is the forty-third installment of the Skin And Bones Music Series - an Okanagan Arts Award nominated concert series dedicated to the presentation of experimental music in the Okanagan.

Doors open at 7:30 pm and the concert will begin at 8:00 pm. DunnEnzies Downtown is located at 1559 Ellis Street in Kelowna. Admission at the door is $15 or $10 for students and Alternator members. Advance tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite.

Calgary based Jairus Sharif is a self-taught saxophonist who uses abstraction, tempered by a meditative focus and tranquility, to forge connections between free jazz, folk traditions, and hip-hop mysticism. Drawing from an ever evolving collection of electronics, traditional instrumentation and homemade tools, live performances offer a glimpse into an ongoing hermetic journey. NPNP is the solo alias of Montreal based multi-media artist Jackson Darby. Under this name he trudges through various styles with an emphasis on intangible forms realized through modular synth explorations and advanced recording techniques. The duo will be playing live renditions of music from their individual solo records: Harmony in a Vacuum - NPNP (Halocline Trance) and Basis of Unity - Jairus Sharif (Telephone Explosion). Together they emphasize aspects each other’s music while leaving space for live improvisation.

Also on the bill is Kelowna’s Beyond Horizon. Consisting of Theresa Bishop and Corey Bornau, both previously of the band Meteor Tree, these musicians have been creating together for over 16 years. Beyond Horizon is a meditative accumulation of everything that they have learned and everything that they are still learning.

This concert is made possible through the partnership between the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art and the Inner Fish Theatre Society. The Inner Fish Theatre Society produces Kelowna’s annual Living Things International Arts Festival, and remains frequent collaborators with both the Alternator and Skin And Bones.

Skin and Bones is a concert series dedicated to the presentation of experimental music in the Okanagan, established in 2015. Improvisation, contemporary composition, noise, and things in between, the Skin and Bones Music Series showcases performers both local and abroad. Skin and Bones shot forth from the dreams of Mike Woodworth and Darren Williams.

The duo of tenor saxophonist David Murray and drummer Kahil El’Zabar will be will be performing for the first time in Kelowna on June 19th in the Pyramid at the Summerhill Winery in Kelowna. This concert is the forty-second installment of the Skin And Bones Music Series - an Okanagan Arts Award nominated concert series dedicated to the presentation of experimental music in the Okanagan.

“To witness these time proven masters in person is to be exalted and rejuvenated! They are the miracle of a profound sound, within a priceless opportunity not to be missed!” - Manny Theiner, Arcane City

Considered to be the most influential tenor saxophonist of his generation, Grammy Award winner Dr. David Murray has recorded on more than 300 acclaimed projects and has worked with Max Roach, Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Jack DeJohnette, Chico Hamilton, Elvin Jones, Archie Shepp, Randy Weston, and many other jazz luminaries. He is co-founder of the World Saxophone Quartet, and leads the famed David Murray Quartet, the David Murray Octet, and the David Murray Big Band. Murray holds a PHD in the Arts from Claremont College, is a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Fulbright Scholar.

World renowned drummer Sir Kahil El’Zabar has worked with many musical titans including Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, Pharoah Sanders, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Archie Shepp, Eddie Harris, Paul Simon, Neneh Cherry, Lester Bowie, Billy Bang, and Gene Ammons. In addition to being knighted by the Council of France for his global contributions to the arts, El’Zabar is also the former chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), founded and leads the legendary Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and Ritual Trio, and has recorded on over 100 acclaimed projects.

David Murray and Kahil El’Zabar will perform in the Pyramid at Summerhill Winery. Doors open at 7:30 pm and the concert will begin at 8:00 pm. Admission is $35 or $30 for students and Alternator members. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at Eventbrite.

This concert is made possible through the partnership between the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, and the Inner Fish Theatre Society, as well as the generous support of the Summerhill Pyramid Winery. The Inner Fish Theatre Society produces Kelowna’s annual Living Things International Arts Festival, and remains frequent collaborators with both the Alternator and Skin And Bones.

For the 41st instalment of the Skin and Bones Music Series, we bring you composer and instrumentalist Rebecca Bruton as well as local songsmith Rachel Mercer!

Rebecca Bruton is an experimental composer, improviser, vocalist, violinist, and guitarist hailing from Calgary, Alberta. She creates work that moves in the narrow space between sorrow and celebration, revealing experiences of sensory and psychological alteredness. Rebecca works across several mediums, including chamber music composition, song making and experimental poetry, film scores, and free improvisation. For this concert Rebecca will perform a solo guitar and voice version of acclaimed Toronto composer Martin Arnold’s chamber work Tam Lin, a 40 minute beautifully introspective reinvention of the legendary Scottish ballad of the same name.

Rachel Mercer is a multifaceted visual, performative, and musical artist, wielding her ukulele with mastery as both a vocalist and songwriter. She has been making music for over a decade, crafting innovative and original compositions with vocal looping, and performing in local Goth country/punk dirge band The Civil Dead. Based in Kelowna, Rachel recently performed at the 2024 New Zealand Fringe Festival in Wellington, where her seamless blend of original music and stand-up comedy made for a one-woman tour de force.

Rebecca Bruton and Rachel Mercer perform at Kelowna Unitarians as part of the Skin And Bones Music Series on May 28th. Doors open at 7:30 pm and the concert will begin at 8:00 pm. Admission at the door is $15 or $10 for students and Alternator members. Advance tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite.

This concert is made possible through the partnership between the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art and the Inner Fish Theatre Society.

Acclaimed saxophonist and composer Darren Williams and local electronic favourites The Cavernous will be performing in Kelowna on April 12th at Kelowna Unitarians.  This concert is the fortieth installment of the Skin and Bones Music Series - an Okanagan Arts Award nominated concert series dedicated to the presentation of experimental music in the Okanagan.  This event marks the release of Darren Williams’ solo album Musical Idiot, a collection of original compositions for unaccompanied tenor saxophone, issued on The Infidels Jazz label.

Williams plays a series of compositions for solo tenor that have all of the spiritual gravity of an Albert Ayler or a David S. Ware while spinning and extrapolating his thought into endless circular breathing routines that give the nod to Evan Parker or Joe McPhee but that somehow sound like no one else.  …  (David Keenan of Volcanic Tongue, The Wire)

Darren Williams has toured across Canada, having performed with many internationally celebrated musicians including Juno award winning guitarist Gordon Grdina (Canada), Chris Corsano (USA), Mats Gustafsson (Sweden), and Han Bennink (Netherlands.)  For over two decades Williams has enjoyed a semi-regular collaboration with guitarist/banjoist Eugene Chadbourne (USA), being featured on Chadbourne’s 2011 album Stop Snoring.  Williams is involved many other projects, notably as one third of the Branchroot Ensemble which released their debut album Far From the Tree in 2023.  

Also appearing on the bill is The Cavernous, a live electronic duo consisting of Robert McLaren and Jesse Barrette.  Based in Kelowna and known for dark, psychedelic sounds, The Cavernous make extensive use of synthesizers, samplers, and sequencers to render a sonic terrain that is lyrical, eerie, and nostalgic.  Influences include Tangerine Dream, Mogwai, and John Carpenter. 

Darren Williams and The Cavernous perform at Kelowna Unitarians as part of the Skin And Bones Music Series on April 12th.  Doors open at 7:30 pm and the concert will begin at 8:00 pm.  Kelowna Unitarians is located at 1310 Bertram Street, in Kelowna.  Admission at the door is $15 or $10 for students and Alternator members.  Advance tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite.  This concert is made possible through the partnership between the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art and the Inner Fish Theatre Society, producers of Kelowna’s annual Living Things International Arts Festival, and frequent collaborators with both the Alternator and Skin And Bones.

Register to attend here!

World-renowned avant-garde percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani and his Nakatani Gong Orchestra will be performing in Kelowna on October 21st at the Centre culturel francophone de l’Okanagan/Okanagan Francophone Cultural Centre. This concert is the thirty-ninth installment of the Skin and Bones Experimental Music Series - an Okanagan Arts Award nominated concert series dedicated to the presentation of experimental music in the Okanagan.

The Nakatani Gong Orchestra (NGO) is a contemporary sound art project under the direction of Tatsuya Nakatani. Since the 1990s Nakatani has been redefining the tonal capabilities of the drum set and percussion through extended instrumental techniques, incorporating the use of custom-made bows, similar to the techniques associated with violin or cello. He created the NGO, the only bowed gong orchestra in the world, as an extension of his solo explorations. The NGO is comprised of musicians/performers sourced from the local populace - in this case the Okanagan community - and trained by Tatsuya in the technique of bowing some 16 to 18 large gongs. The result is a shimmering resonance that is both ethereal and meditative, enrobing the listener in pure sound.

This concert is made possible through the collaboration between the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art and the Inner Fish Theatre Society, producers of Kelowna’s annual Living Things International Arts Festival, and frequent collaborators with both the Alternator and Skin and Bones.  The evening will begin with the public unveiling of the 2024 Living Things Festival lineup. The eighth edition of Living Things will be January 20th - 28th).

Doors open at 7:30pm, with music starting at 8pm. Tickets are $20 ($15 for Alternator Members and students). For more information about this event, click here.

After a three year hiatus, the Skin and Bones Music Series has returned!

For those who may not be familiar, the Skin And Bones Music Series is an Okanagan Arts Award nominated concert series dedicated to the presentation of experimental music in the Okanagan, and is produced through the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art. Since 2015 the series has created space for emerging, innovative, and unique musical performances across the Okanagan.

Ushering in this resurgence of experimental music is How To Survive A High Rise Hotel Fire and Wizard Meat, preforming at DunnEnzies Pizza Co. on August 2nd!

Started by bassist Nikko Whitworth and oboist Haley Bird, How To Survive A High Rise Hotel Fire's collective of musicians, meld elements of noise and free jazz to create a community around co-regulation, meaning-making and nonsense-making through sound.

Wizard Meat describes themselves as the unholy trio of Adam Preston on electric bass, PJ Hermann on drums, and Darren Williams on baritone saxophone. “Our music is our meat, our instruments our abattoir.” Joining them for this performance will be guitarist Brian Looney of High Horse and Behemoth Sleeps fame.

Doors open at 8pm, with music starting at 9pm. Tickets are $10 at the door - $5 for Alternator Members and students. For more information about this event, click here.