Tonight in Park City, U students who make their way to Suede will have a rare chance to get a glimpse of the NYC music scene in one of its best, most creative and unified formats: the Ropeadope New Music Seminar.
The Ropeadope record label showcases a variety of jazz, hip-hop, DJ’s, electronica, rock and roll, and other acts. This fall, Ropeadope label owner Andy Hurwitz handpicked seven music acts, each with their own distinct style and genre, and sent them off to tour across the country together.
Ropeadope’s tour could be described as a “progressive underground” Lollapalooza. Like Lollapalooza, Ropeadope’s New Music Seminar features some of the most talented and popular left-of-mainstream performers in the business today.
Unlike Lollapalooza, though, the musicians in the Ropeadope festival will jam together and improvise for a single four-hour set.
The tour will include hip-hop artist Lyrics Born, jazz guitar/bassist Charlie Hunter, DJ Olive, jazz quartet Sex Mob, classically trained cellist Matt Haimovitz, and Critters Buggin’, among others.
While each of Ropeadope’s musicians play different styles and genres, they’re united in their ability to improvise live, in front of an audience.
Hurwitz said he chose these musicians in particular, based on their improvisational skills.
A given show is expected to consist of an ever-changing grouping of musicians accompanying each other, rotating in and out of the spotlight like well-matched musical tag-team partners.
While each musician is certainly unique in his own right-Matt Haimovitz has made a name for himself playing Bach and Sex Mob plays funk-jazz horns, while DJ Olive is an electronic aficionado-a basic set is expected to float effortlessly from one genre to the next.
But just because each act has a distinct sound, do not assume that the Ropeadope artists don’t have anything in common-they do: virtuosity. While their genre differences and individual recordings will vary significantly, their respective abilities enable them to play together unrestricted by conventional boundaries.
The Ropeadope New Music Seminar is certainly one of the prime music events of the year. If you like to dance, you’ll do a lot of it here. If you are a musician, you’ll undoubtedly vibe with Ropeadope’s overall tone.
Or, if you’re just a typical college student looking for your soul mate, there’ll certainly be enough interesting and creative people at Suede tonight.
Ropeadope New Music SeminarFeaturing Lyrics Born Sex Mob Matt HaimovitzAt Suede in Park City’s Kimball Junction. 1612 Ute Blvd. $17/ticketTickets available from all Smith’sTix outlets.Must be 21 and older to attend.