Created in collaboration with Rolling Ryot, Dumpster Fire is a gut-wrenching, visceral experience that is part outdoor installation and part concert.

This 45-minute sonic spectacle features Austin-based multi-instrumentalist percussion wizards using an arsenal of modified and handmade instruments, to create assorted aural textures by tapping, striking, scratching, and slamming their implements against the resonant metal bodies of dumpsters.

Sound and light artist Kyle Evans paints a smoldering backdrop of tension and release as he triggers pre-programmed, robotic percussion elements that help carry the performance and facilitate the dialog between the percussionists. Their foundation of stark, emotive lighting is augmented by a number of visual cues and surprises that move the piece forward in exciting ways.

Years in development, the work stems from the Ryots’ experimentation with large commercial roll-off dumpsters as musical instruments. In this case, they have doubled them up to create a larger sound field and to use their resonant low-frequencies to provoke a truly palpable reaction.

The piece is a direct response to the nearly irreparable harm the creative ecosystem has suffered after Covid. Economic devastation notwithstanding, artists have been robbed of the vital exchange of ideas that actual venues and live audiences provide. And while there is much work to be done, there is a light – perhaps even, a beautiful conflagration – at the end of this tunnel.

“This work is a unique way to create big, unamplified sound while holding onto the belief that despite the circumstances, we can (and must) continue to create meaningful work,” says Barna Kantor, co-founder of Rolling Ryot. “Now more than ever, we must push artistic limits and the limits of our audiences as we create new opportunities for live performance to thrive and to connect.”

Dumpster Fire 1 performers: Thor Harris (Swans) and Lyman Hardy (Pong)

Dumpster Fire 2 performers: Lisa Cameron, Jeffrey King Coffey, Kyle Evans, Peggy Ghorbani, Lyman Hardy, Thor Harris, Jeff Hoskins, Alton Jenkins, Lacey Lewis, and Thom Washburn