Something I keep returning to in live music at the moment: attention.
The quality of listening in a room.
This Sunday in Stroud, we’re hosting two Grammy-nominated musicians: Manu Delago (Björk, Ólafur Arnalds) and New York’s ‘Jimi Hendrix’ of hammered dulcimer Max ZT at Lansdown Hall. On paper, it’s a duo of handpan and hammered dulcimer. In reality, it’s a study in what happens when two musicians build something entirely through listening.
They will perform facing each other, unplugged, in the round. No hierarchy, no fixed roles. The music shifts constantly: rhythmic, melodic, responsive. Shaped as much by the space and the audience as by the players themselves.
Their album ‘Deuce’ was recorded in a monastery chosen for its acoustic resonance, and you can hear that sense of space carried into the live performance. The room becomes part of the instrument.
For me, this is where the real power of live music sits right now. In smaller rooms, where attention is shared and held collectively. Where audiences aren’t just consuming, but participating through presence.
Again and again, I’m reminded that a 100-cap room, fully listening, can carry a different kind of weight. If you’re nearby, come and experience it.
Sunday 5 April – Lansdown Hall, Stroud TICKETS
#listening #livemusic #hammereddulcimer #handpan #deuce