With the success of the first Into The Veil, we were able to go even bigger in 2016. We doubled our capacity to 1,500 people and we were able to bring more musicians and performers to Green-Wood Cemetery.
The highlight of the evening for me was booking and working with The Sun Ra Arkestra. Coming from a jazz background, it was a surreal experience to work with these legends. The Catacombs we on fire that night, packed with people The Arkestra played an inspired performance. It is probably one of my most favorite musical moments of all time.
(Myself and The Sun Ra Arkestra in The Catacombs)
For the rest of the evening, I thought a lot about how sound would travel and sound in the cemetery. I wanted music to guide people as they wandered through the grounds. I tried to create a place where people would hear something off in the distance and intrigue them to go find its source.
I created a huge drum circle at The Circle with druid inspired drummers, a group of loud Gamelans welcomed guests, a Civil war band played over a fire, Noel Hourx from Mass Gothic created heavy guitar drones in the Catacombs and even a Bari Sax army haunted the grounds. I even got to put a harpsichord in the Steinway Mausoleum this year!
There were many exceptional experiences that night and it was an honor to help curate Into The Veil again. You can watch Atlas Obscura’s 2016’s video that my friends, Loroto made of the evening.