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New York, NY - May 2, 2006 - This year the ceaseless innovators Bang on a Can boldly embark on a FREE music marathon, The Bang on a Can Marathon, in downtown New York City at the World Financial Center on Sunday, June 4th. Together, with its partners the River to River Festival and the World Financial Center Arts & Events, Bang on a Can has scheduled a 10+ hour eclectic super-mix of mind boggling genre-defying music by pioneering artists from around the globe.

For nearly 20 years, The Bang on a Can Marathon has promoted an optimistic vision of the world of music. Presenting a wide range of styles, genres and musical attitudes, The Bang on a Can Marathon demonstrates how many musical options are available right now, how many compelling and contradictory voices there are, how much innovation is happening, how much is possible. Nearly 1,000 pieces, more than 500 performers and about 200 composers later, the Bang on a Can Marathon remains the premiere concert of its kind, drawing thousands of concert-goers and tens of thousands of radio listeners to each event.

The 2006 Bang on a Can Marathon will feature an incredible host of 21st century boundary-busting collaborations including:

• The electronic wizadry of Matmos with New York's explosive drumming ensemble, So Percussion
• The amplified Alarm Will Sound orchestra playing their mind-blowing live arrangements of music by Aphex Twin, as well as minimalist master John Adams
• Sigur Ros' recording and touring counterparts Amiina -- an all-female Icelandic quartet that morphs from laptop and saw to a string quartet
• Glenn Kotche of Wilco debuting his newest experimental drum duo with David Cossin of Bang on a Can
• The punk rock-Mongolian throat singing hybrid of Yat Kah (from Siberia)
• Collaborations combining Indonesian Gamelan music with a full-blown orchestra, and the famed British soundtrack composer Michael Nyman with Bang on a Can All-Stars
• Jazz punk gurus Gutbucket
• Anthony Braxton premieres his parade piece for 100 tubas.
• Guitar Player's Guitar Hero of 2005 -- Dominic Frasca
• And much more, including Maya Beiser, Don Bryon, Dewa Ketut Alit, Annie Gosfield, Michael Gordon, Michael Harrison, David Lang, Paul Lansky, William Parker, Sentieri Selvaggi, Tactus, Todd Reynolds, and Julia Wolfe!

The Bang on a Can Marathon is co-produced by the River to River Festival (R) and the World Financial Center Arts & Events. The River to River Festival presented by American Express, proudly returns for its 5th season of more than 500 arts and cultural events in Lower Manhattan. For more information visit. www.RiverToRiverNYC.com. World Financial Center Arts & Events is sponsored by American Express, Merrill Lynch, Brookfield Properties, and Battery Park City Authority. Visit www.worldfinancialcenter.com for a complete schedule of events and a list of shops and restaurants. Additional lead support comes from The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through its MPO Initiative.

For more information, visit: http://www.bangonacan.org/marathon2006.html

Previously
big FREE show & BBQ on Roosevelt Island on Sunday
Ace Fu presents the 3rd Annual R&R Brunch - Sunday in Williamsburg
Amina NOW Amiina, banging cans w/ Matmos | Sigur Ros Tour Dates