Terry Riley 90th Birthday Tribute with Bang on a Can All-Stars, Gyan Riley, and Special Guests
Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival
We regretfully announce that guitar-legend Pete Townshend has to withdraw from the Long Play celebration of Terry Riley's birthday due to an injury. All of us at Bang on a Can and Pioneer Works send Pete warm wishes for excellent health and complete recovery.
In the spirit of Terry Riley's legendary 'Live at 85' birthday concerts at Pioneer Works in 2019, we are beyond delighted to team up with Bang on a Can to host a 90th birthday spotlight-celebration of Terry Riley's music on Sunday, May 4 as part of Long Play Festival 2025. The program will feature the Bang on a Can All-Stars premiering a new version of Riley’s iconic and inspirational A Rainbow in Curved Air, arranged by Gyan Riley, plus Riley’s minimalist classic In C performed by an All-Star cast, and includes special guests Krishna Bhatt, Michael Harrison, Valentina Magaletti, Nicole Mitchell, Suphala, and Clara Warnaar.
In addition to the 90th Birthday Tribute to Terry Riley, we will co-present the opening night of Long Play 2025 in our Main Hall featuring Kim Gordon on Friday, May 2nd. For more information about Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival, please visit their website.
Please note: As part of the Long Play Festival, there are no individual tickets available to this show. Access to the Terry Riley 90th Birthday Tribute is currently available through purchase of a Long Play Festival 3-Day Pass. Additionally, Pioneer Works Members receive exclusive access to a Sunday Day-Pass, with guarantee access to this show. Learn more about becoming a member today.
About the artists
Terry Riley launched the minimalist movement with his classic In C. Composed in 1964, this seminal work had an enormous impact on the course of western music. His music has been played in the great concert halls throughout the world, and his discography includes 60 recordings on labels such as Columbia Masterworks, Wergo, and Nonesuch. A diverse and prolific career, Riley is still influencing music today.
Formed in 1992, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are recognized worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music, this six-member amplified ensemble has consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories. Performing each year throughout the U.S. and internationally, the All-Stars have shattered the definition of what concert music is today.
Gyan Riley won his first guitar in a raffle when he was 12 years old, and it soon became difficult for his parents to wrestle it from his hands. He first immersed himself in classical guitar, gaining a scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and winning a handful of competitions. In his twenties he turned to composition, and has since written music for the Kronos Quartet, New Music USA, the Carnegie Hall Corporation, the American Composers Forum, the New York Guitar Festival and documentary film makers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. He has performed with Zakir Hussain, Lou Reed, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, the Kronos Quartet, Lee Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth), Devendra Banhart, Julian Lage, Nico Muhly, Glenn Kotche, the San Francisco Symphony, and his father, the renowned composer Terry Riley.