BAM Fall 2026 Season to Feature Meshell Ndegeocello, Claudia Rankine & More
Claudia Rankine will discuss TRIAGE with Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah as part of Unworlding, NYC at BAM Fisher.
BAM has revealed its Fall 2026 and Next Wave lineup of music, poetry, literature and conversation, bringing together artists including Meshell Ndegeocello, Claudia Rankine, Hanif Abdurraqib, Ross Gay, Tyshawn Sorey, Taylor Mac and Matt Ray.
Among the highlights, Ndegeocello will return to BAM for a one-night-only celebration of her new album Synonym with Samora Pinderhughes, while BAM Curator at Large Hanif Abdurraqib will return for the third year of his multidisciplinary poetry series I Guess It Was My Destiny To Live So Long.
The fall will also bring Claudia Rankine to BAM to discuss her new book Triage, the venue's first-ever Poetry Overnight, a musical realization of Ross Gay's Be Holding and a celebration of the late Robert Wilson and his long-awaited memoir, The Space Behind the Face: Life Stories.
See the newly announced programming below.
Triage: Claudia Rankine in Conversation With Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah
Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m.
BAM Fisher, Fishman Space
Claudia Rankine will discuss Triage, her first book following her acclaimed American trilogy, with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah.
Blending lyric, narrative, memoir, image and essay, Triage follows two self-identified sisters grappling with their histories and differing understandings of the contemporary political landscape.
The event is part of Unworlding, NYC, a new series of public dialogues curated by BAM Artist-in-Residence and Curator Helga Davis and presented in association with The Racial Imaginary Institute and Greenlight Bookstore.
Meshell Ndegeocello Featuring Samora Pinderhughes
Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Howard Gilman Opera House
Meshell Ndegeocello will return to BAM for one night only to celebrate Synonym, her third album for Blue Note.
The album finds Ndegeocello reimagining familiar songs with a lineup of guest vocalists, including Cynthia Erivo on “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me,” Cat Power on “Don't You Want Me” and Chaka Khan on “Islands in the Stream.”
Composer, pianist, vocalist, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Samora Pinderhughes will open the evening.
Poetry Overnight at BAM
Sunday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m.
The Adam Space
Free
Hanif Abdurraqib will lead BAM's first-ever Poetry Overnight, an all-night gathering of readings, special guests and collaborations continuing through sunrise.
Hosted by Jon Goode, the event will feature Abdurraqib, Helga Davis and additional guests. Attendees can come and go throughout the night or bring comfortable clothes and a sleeping bag and stay until morning.
Anarchitecture After Everything
Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m.
BAM Fisher, Fishman Space
Columbia University professor and Guggenheim Fellow Jack Halberstam will join psychoanalyst and scholar Avgi Saketopoulou for a conversation exploring the relationship between anarchitecture, transness and radical politics.
The event is part of Helga Davis' Unworlding, NYC series.
Southern Oracles
Wednesday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The Adam Space
Free
Conceived and created by slam poet and author Scott Woods, Southern Oracles is a multidisciplinary concert by The Black Air Poets exploring the culture, history and mythology of “South Sides.”
Created with music director and drummer Dr. Mark Lomax II, the work combines jazz, hip-hop, poetry and dance to examine social memory, politics, neighborhoods and culture.
Be Holding
Thursday, October 29 at 7:30 p.m.
BAM Fisher, Fishman Space
Ross Gay's book-length poem Be Holding will become an evening-length concert with music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tyshawn Sorey.
Inspired by basketball legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving's famous baseline scoop shot during the 1980 NBA Finals, the work connects the moment to ideas of Black flight and joy.
Sorey's score will be performed by new music quartet Yarn/Wire, with text recited by Gay and poet David Gaines. Brooke O'Harra directs, with video by Catching on Thieves and Matt Deinhart.
Stones in the Water
Friday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m.
BAM Strong, Harvey Theater
Sarah Kay, Clint Smith, Anis Mojgani and Hanif Abdurraqib will reunite for the 10th performance of their annual poetry reading.
Returning to BAM following engagements during the previous two seasons of I Guess It Was My Destiny To Live So Long, the program celebrates poetry, friendship, care and artistic collaboration.
An Evening From the Queer Songbook: Taylor Mac and Matt Ray
Tuesday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m.
The Adam Space
Taylor Mac and Matt Ray will return to BAM for a conversation about their new book, Bark of Millions: Queer Songs for the Living Library of the Deviant Theme.
The two-volume illustrated collection expands on their four-hour rock opera Bark of Millions, which received its U.S. premiere at BAM in 2024. The book brings together lyrics, essays and lead sheets for 50 songs from the production, documenting and celebrating queer lives through music.
The Space Behind the Face: Life Stories
Saturday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Howard Gilman Opera House
BAM will celebrate the publication of The Space Behind the Face: Life Stories, the long-awaited memoir of the late theater and visual artist Robert Wilson.
Actor and writer Keith McDermott, who helped Wilson complete the manuscript before his death in July 2025, will join Wilson's associates and creative collaborators for a conversation celebrating his life and work.
The evening will also reflect on Wilson's relationship with BAM, which spanned more than half a century and included collaborations with artists including Philip Glass, David Byrne, Tom Waits and Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon.
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