The Columbus Theatre and FirstWorks Welcome THE WHALE WATCHING TOUR 2016

The Columbus Theatre and FirstWorks present Icelandic record label Bedroom Community, who will launch a rare U.S. tour in Providence, R.I. Their exclusive New England appearance for THE WHALE WATCHING TOUR 2016 is part of the FirstWorks Frontier Series, which gives Rhode Island audiences first looks at groundbreaking performances from across the country.

The concert takes place tonight, March 25 at the Columbus Theatre (270 Broadway, Providence). Doors open at 7 p.m.; the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance; $40 at the door. Tickets are on sale now at columbustheatre.com and first-works.org.

Bedroom Community was hailed as "the best record label in the whole of Iceland and maybe even the entire world" by U.K. music webzine Drowned in Sound. In 2006, Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurðsson founded the label with composer and Rhode Island native Nico Muhly and Australian composer and producer Ben Frost. After a decade of concerts, collaborations and acclaimed album releases, Bedroom Community celebrates its tenth anniversary by crossing the Atlantic for THE WHALE WATCHING TOUR 2016.

THE WHALE WATCHING TOUR 2016 is an extension of the ongoing musical exchange between the three Bedroom Community co-founders, acclaimed as "sonic geniuses" by Black Book Magazine. The disparate musical backgrounds coexist and collide as Sigurðsson, Muhly, and Frost, along with fellow artists Sam Amidon, Nadia Sirota, Borgar Magnason, Una Sveinbjarnardóttir, and Helgi Jonsson, perform music from their catalogues, as well as introduce new and previously unreleased material.

Constructed in true Bedroom Community fashion, all of the artists contribute to each other's music on stage. The set flows undivided between restless modern compositions, surgical electro-acoustic pieces, haunting noise-scapes and apocalyptic folk songs. Add in liturgical dancing, video projections and stories that may or may not be true, and THE WHALE WATCHING TOUR 2016 becomes a striking event for the eyes and the ears.

"We are proud to partner with Columbus Theatre to connect Providence audiences with the eclectic sounds of Bedroom Community's artists," said Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director of FirstWorks. "The idea of 'world-class artists' is especially inspiring as Nico Muhly returns to Rhode Island with a musical reach that spans collaborating with Björk to composing for the Metropolitan Opera. Nico spent eight years working with acclaimed composer Philip Glass, who headlined our Artistic Icons series just a year ago. This performance brings our season full-circle. "

THE WHALE WATCHING TOUR 2016 marks the second production in the promotional partnership between FirstWorks and the historic Columbus Theatre.

Bedroom Community is an Icelandic record label/collective founded in 2006 by Valgeir Sigurðsson, with Nico Muhly and Ben Frost. The catalog includes Sam Amidon, Daníel Bjarnason, Puzzle Muteson, Paul Corley, Nadia Sirota, James McVinnie, Emily Hall, Jodie Landau, and Wild Up. The collective spirit of Bedroom Community is its most precious resource. The roster is made up of creatively diverse artists who are drawn to the murky spaces between genres, and who uniformly support one another's forays into this murk. Whether on tour or within the confines of Greenhouse Studios on the outskirts of Reykjavík, a collaborative foundation is beneath everything Bedroom Community does.

Formed in summer 2012, the Columbus Cooperative comprises members of the music, design, nonprofit, and hospitality industries. Working on a volunteer basis, the Cooperative works to reinvigorate both the Columbus Theatre and the West End community by programming a range of unique live events in an unequaled space.

FirstWorks' purpose is to build the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of our community by engaging audiences with world-class performing arts and education programs. Launched in 2004, FirstWorks festivals and programs have attracted more than 288,000 participants. The FirstWorks Arts Learning Program works with over 30 public and charter schools across Rhode Island to provide students, particularly those from underserved communities, direct connection with world-class performing artists.

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