$16 (General Admission)
7:00pm Show
The first installment of Nona Invie’s June residency will feature atmospheric music from Isa Gagarin and Walt McClements (LA) as well as an ambient DJ set by Nona themself.
First, in an experimental poetry-and-music collaboration between Isa Gagarin and Nona Invie, Gagarin will tell the story of I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena), an imaginary descendent of a character in a Chamorro folktale. Incorporating poetry, traditional kantan Chamorita songs, and oceanic instruments—including shells and sand—Gagarin and Invie will invite the audience to witness the past and present colliding and the endangered language of Chamorro being brought to life. Then, Walt McClements will use processed accordion to continue the ambient soundscape. An ambient cassette DJ set by Invie will follow.
Isa Gagarin is an artist based in Minneapolis, MN (Mni Sóta Makoce). Working in painting and drawing, Gagarin transforms elements of the Pacific islands, ocean, and sky into a poetic visual language. In 2020, Gagarin began studying her maternal heritage language, Chamorro, which is endangered due to the U.S. government’s 50-year ban of its use in schools, workplaces, and other public spaces. Learning Chamorro inspired Gagarin to experiment with storytelling as a way to express her perspective and reconnect to her birthplace of Guam. She received an MFA in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University and earned her BFA in painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Walt McClements is an accordionist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer based in Los Angeles. His solo compositions focus on processed accordion, creating patient and emotional meditations that nod to drone and ambient music. His debut record, A Hole in the Fence, was released in 2021 on American Dreams and utilized a palette of accordions processed through pedals to create glacial soundscapes and odes to hidden worlds. On his latest record, On a Painted Ocean (Western Vinyl), he expands his sonic tools to include lush synths, droning pipe organs, and spirited horns, creating a vibrant journey from solitary stillness to community exuberance. The record also follows last year’s Rain on the Road—a collaborative album with harpist Mary Lattimore—which was released on Thrill Jockey.
Nona Invie is a singer/composer based in Minneapolis who has worked with a range of musical projects, including folk/Americana band Dark Dark Dark, electronic trio RONiiA, and the choral ensemble Anonymous Choir. Their solo work layers acoustic piano with synth instruments, creating an ethereal landscape to get lost in.
This show is presented by Minnesota Public Radio's The Current.
