Listen to the MusicNOW: 10 Years compilation here: smarturl.it/musicnow10years
Directed & Edited by Pete Ohs - www.peteohs.com
Camera Operators Joshua Mattie & Charles Jensen Gibson
Filmed at Memorial Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The track "Love More" gets at the spirit of the MusicNOW event and the compilation that documents its first 10 years. "Love More" is a contemporary song written by Sharon Van Etten. But here it is performed by Justin Vernon (Bon Iver, Volcano Choir) with backing by Aaron & Bryce Dessner, Colin Stetson, and members of the yMusic Ensemble. The fresh, collaborative magic encapsulated by this 2010 performance would resonate through the player's activities in the years to follow. Colin and yMusic members Rob Moose and CJ Camerieri would go on to become core members of the Bon Iver live band which recorded 2011's self-titled album that later won a Gramnmy for Best New Artist. Aaron would go on to produce Van Etten's 2012 breakout release Tramp. Aaron & Vernon launched a larger, but still intimate Eaux Claires festival in Wisconsin in 2015, inspired largely by the example of Cincinnati's MusicNOW.
From a small festival in Ohio, a world of creativity germinates and grows.
"Many of my most significant memories as a musician have taken place in Cincinnati during the MusicNOW Festival over the last 10 years," says founder Bryce Dessner. "When we started, we were driven to create an intimate music festival that was as much a creative refuge for the artists as it is for the audience to partake in intimate and rare performances. We have celebrated works in progress and new commissions, new collaborations and detailed music of all kinds regardless of genre or popularity."
The MusicNOW: 10 Years - a 17 track live compilation - was released digitally in 2015 just prior to the 10th edition of this eclectic music festival. It highlights festival-only surprises like Fleet Foxes' leader Robin Pecknold playing the traditional song "Silver Dagger" for the first time, the debut performance of Grizzly Bear's "While You Wait for the Others", the premiere of Sufjan Stevens' "The Owl & The Tanager", as well as collaborations featuring Owen Pallett, Justin Vernon, Sharon van Etten, Tinariwen and Dirty Projectors.