I had the chance to speak with Bryce Dessner of The National recently about the Music Now festival, which will be here in Cincinnati next month. I attended the first Music Now Festival last year, which took place at the Cincinnati Arts Center downtown and it was a big success. Bryce is the creative source behind the process and curator of the festival, so I sought him out to get his thoughts.

ENS – What was the inspiration behind starting Music Now and bringing it to Cincinnati?

Bryce Dessner - “At first, I really wanted an excuse to come home more often. Even though I haven’t lived in Cincinnati for more than 10 years now, we all (The National) still have family back in Cincinnati.” But I also wanted Cincinnati to have something like Music Now. The first year I wanted something for the downtown area because I wanted a really compelling arts event for downtown Cincinnati. It was also important for me to add a visual element to the event, which is why we had the large background art piece. This made the CAC a perfect fit for our first year. I also had a connection with one of the bigger investors at the CAC, he had been a friend of my family for years. We had been in touch, and its actually his guitar that has been used on each of The National albums as well. So when I spoke with him about doing Music Now at the CAC, he was more than willing to assist.”

ENS – Clogs is often referred to as your “other band”, and of course you are well known for your work with The National, did you grow up wanting to be in a rock band, or wanting to play more classical / chamber music?

Bryce – I think I was first excited about rock music growing up. But after awhile I also branched out and began to learn some classical instruments. I learned classical flute first. Actually, I play flute on one of the new
National songs which is pretty different for us. But I also studied classical guitar as well and was heavily influenced by guitarists like John Fahey and Ralph Towner. But at the same time I was playing rock music. I was playing with my brother and Bryan (drummer from The National) all the way back in high school as well.”

ENS – This year, Music Now moves away from the CAC and into Memorial Hall in Over the Rhine, why the move?

Bryce- Well, even though I really liked having things downtown last year, with the lineup we are bringing in this time around, it didn’t make sense to have it in such a small venue. I wanted to have it in a place with a lot of history and an ideal atmosphere for the event and the music that we are showcasing. I researched all the old theaters in Cincinnati and visited at least a dozen different ones before I settled on Memorial. If you haven’t been there its been maintained incredibly. It has a very old style patriotic feel to it which is really amazing. To me, it really feels grand and intimate. It actually housed rock shows back in the 1960’s.

ENS – Talk a little bit about how you have approached musicians regarding this festival. And how its different.

Bryce – “All the artists are really excited to be a part of the event and I really asked everyone that is playing to take a different approach to this. I’m asking them all to be a part of the entire weekend. I want them to really feel comfortable in the enviroment I’m trying to create for them. Hopefully, they will feel like they can push the boundaries or what they would normally do and really expand the form. I think there will be lots of cross pollination and exploration going on from the musicians. They will be able to play music that they are passionate about but that wouldn’t go over at a rock show. That’s why many of them are writing and creating music specifically for the event. For instance, we have commissioned four string quartet arrangements from Sufjan’s instrumental album, Enjoy Your Rabbit (i.e. He won’t be singing!), for the first night that might not work at one of his rock shows, but which are really amazing.  I actually wrote a memorial piece to one of my mentors from college Bob Patterson that I will be performing as a part of the weekend.
ENS - Are there any surprises planned on the bill?

Bryce – “Well, it’s not a surprise I guess, but we will be doing the children’s concert again. I don’t think thats been publicized yet, but it will be on April 4th @ Noon for Rothenberg Elementary. I should also mention that individual show tickets will be going on sale in a week or so. And the reason we have held back on that a bit is because, just like I mentioned before, we are really trying to make the weekend a complete experience and feel that you will enjoy things much more if you are able to attend the entire event.

ENS – Finally, any artists on the bill that we may not know about, but shouldn’t miss?

Bryce – Yes, and this is a really fascinating story, but my sister was studying abroad years ago in Coopenhagen and one day she came across two street musicians playing and fell in love with their sound. She bought an LP from them and brought it home. This was about 1990. She brought the record home and it quickly became my personal favorite album. In fact, when I started Clogs, it was the music from that record that was the inspiration. So, anyway, Ive been trying to track down these guys, Irena and Vojtech Havel, who are Czech artists and for years I found nothing on them. I finally found them last year and they coming to play the festival. I’m so excited too, they will be opening for Sufjan on the final night.

Purchase Festival Passes Here.

The Music Now Festival takes place next month here in Cincinnati. Thursday April 5th through Saturday April 7th @ Memorial Hall In Cincinnati. The entire lineup and showtimes can be found here. You can also find more artist info here. Bryce’s “other” project, The National, have an album due out at the end of May titled, The Boxer. More on that here.