Can a residency have wheels?

Continuing the recent theme of mobility and engaging communities, I was inspired to check in on Yellow Barn's Music Haul, which first hit the road in October 2015. More recently, Music Haul toured Boston and was profiled by Malcolm Gay in The Boston Globe:

“We exist in the world as musicians that is in a way so finely controlled and tuned,” said Yellow Barn’s artistic director, Seth Knopp. “Music Haul removes some of the ceremony, which can be a barrier for people who are not often exposed to that world. There’s an element of taking something out of its accustomed place and allowing it to take people by surprise.”

​"Knopp said when it comes to Music Haul, which is also equipped with marine speakers to blast Yellow Barn recordings en route, a key element is in the wonderment afforded by surprise.

“Because it’s unexpected, people will not have preconceptions, and they won’t feel the fear of ignorance in the face of an experience they’ve never had before,” he said. “Without that expectation, you have a kind of vulnerability, an openness, that one needs to listen in the best possible way.”

This September, you can expect to find Music Haul engaging new audiences in mid-coast Maine. In related audience engagement efforts, honorable mention goes to Music Haven's String Quartet Truck and Steuart Pincombe's Music in Familiar Spaces road trip across most of the US.