Black Decelerant performing, presented by RVNG, photographed by Pete Galgani

DRONE IS DONE!

We are all still in a deep dream state from this past weekend’s 24-HOUR DRONE.

Amazingly, the entire livestream is already archived on the WGXC website – you can find it here and listen along as you read our note of gratitude. Thank you, first of all, to our longtime partners WGXC for broadcasting this very long song – it really is incredible that you can hear the whole thing online and on the airwaves.

Nadah El Shazly performing, presented by Heavy Trip

The lingering collective primal screams, the growling beauty of Nadah’s voice buzzing through our bones, remnants of vacuum-sealing sacraments with Mirrored Fatality, blessings by Mother Teresa and newt hymnals, electric angel Butoh performance by Azumi OE seemingly floating through the aisles with Space Tak singing into his trumpet above the beats, the rainbow crystal reflections of the manyhanded, psychedelic, omnipresent chandelier and pieces throughout the building made by Gracelee. It is nearly impossible to fully capture all that happened in this granular but grandiose span of shared time with simple words.

White Hills performing

It’s safe to say that 24-HOUR DRONE is a totally singular experience for all who attend, but it’s also a singular experience for all who curate, organize, work and perform. Every single hour counts in the 24 hour portal, and every minute within that hour. Every single part of this experience has been considered – how one act melts into the other, how to move within the space as engineers of sound, how to create an environment for both deep dreaming and sonic awakening. We are realm builders.

azumi OE (left) and Space Tak (right) performing, presented by Dripping

It is a rarity for all of us as individuals to enjoy stillness in this world and even more of a rarity to enjoy stillness together in duration. 24-HOUR DRONE lives as an annual marker of reinvention, resetting and a reminder of the endurance of humanity and its creations. One simply needs to open the portal and jump in. 

an iconic, cathartic closing set by Faccia Brutta
(check out the final group primal scream!)

Thank you to the singular artists who filled our temple with sound: Cal Fish, Scratch, S.P.A.L.L., Cowboy Sadness, Dragonchild, Proxemia, Black Decelerant, A Space for Sound, Push for Night & Jon Mueller, Alex Zhang Hungtai, Nadah El Shazly, Tyondai Braxton & Ben Vida, White Hills, Space Tak, Earthen Sea, Sphente, azumi OE, mirrored fatality, Vocalnori, Moundabout, Peepers, Ghost Ensemble, Ana Roxanne, Ephraim Asili, Senem Pirler & Monica Duncan & Faccia Brutta.

Peepers summoning the power of the newt

And thank you to our guest curators, who beautifully expanded our scope: RVNG, Heavy Trip, Dripping, and our longtime partners Le Guess Who?

Thanks, too, to everyone who applied to this year’s open call – many of DRONE ’24’s performers were brought in as a result!

DRONErs sleeping away in the sea of sound

Thanks, too, to Linda Mary Montano for bringing the flower-blessing sacraments and to Gracelee Lawrence for the iconic window-and-stage sculptures.

Linda Mary Montano appearing as Mother Theresa

We were nourished in other ways, too – thank you to these folks who did the hard work of feeding our bodies and spirits:

Lunch, Dinner, & Brunch by Local 111 from the Basilica Kitchen
Snacks of intention by Woodland Pantry
Coffee of attention by Coptic Light
Dreams guided and teas served by Grace Woodard
Tattoos and spells hand-poked by yokosnoopy

Local 111 serving it up!

CREW CREDITS

24-HOUR DRONE is an impossibly large lift and is only possible through the skill, effort, and dedication of a big group of humans:

Sarah Van Buren – Curator

Production:
Daniel Stout – Technical Director / Stage Manager
Roman Horst – Lighting & Production Design
Wesley Harper – Overnight Stage Manager
Emily Flores – Overnight Backstage Manager
Nick Dixon, Dylan Nowik, Matthew Cullen – Sound Mixer
Tyler Wood – WGXC Stream Engineer
Lukas Wheeler, Dan Schwartz, Jon McCarthy, Brandon Minnervini, Ethan Johnson, Kevin Halcott – Stagehands
Lina Dahbour, Caiti Friel, Talullah Pratt – Artist Liaisons

Jared Ashdown, JP Basileo, Kendra McKinley, Bri McCabe – Bartenders
Cycilie Graham, Michael Rivenburg, Seven Hall, Enky Bayarsaikhan – Box Office
Alex C – Merch

Ancil Dorsey, Tom Mignone, Makisha Brown, Devon Gaymon – Security
Jeanne Stark, Jamie Jackson – Artist Hospitality
Ben Vitale, Liam Stark – Vehicle Coordinators
Talia Thomas – Facilities

Hudson Valley Safer Spaces Volunteers:
Matt Evans, Jennae Santos, Bryan Kasenic, Giselle Manzano, Lenora Jayne, Brad Daschbach

Pete Galgani – Photography

Basilica staff:
Ben Seretan – Director of Programs
Xe Davis – Program & Marketing Manager
Stacy Morrison – Executive Director
Abe Etkin – Building & Facilities

24-HOUR DRONE is lovingly curated in collaboration with Sarah Van Buren and Le Guess Who? and streamed live on the radio in its entirety on WGXC. Accommodations provided by the Wick. Season support generously provided in part by Herrington’s and Kneller Insurance.