No Idea Festival Returns to Houston March 1

By Daniel Mee Wed., Feb. 4 2009 at 1:00 PM

Categories: Eat Your Vegetables, This Just In

Jawwaad Taylor

Local creative-music organization Nameless Sound has announced the lineup for the Houston installation of the 2009 No Idea Festival, to be held Sunday, March 1 at Art League of Houston (1006 Willard): Mario de Vega (Mexico, electronics); Jawwaad Taylor (New York City, electronics, voice/MC, trumpet); Annette Krebs (Berlin, guitar, electronics); Jason Kahn (Zurich, percussion, electronics); Bonnie Jones (Baltimore, electronics); David Dove (Houston, trombone); and Chris Cogburn (Austin, percussion)

Adopted Austinite Cogburn organized the first No Idea in 2003 as a celebration of the free improv communities in Austin and Houston, and since then, the festival has expanded its reach, with each year comprising a dozen (give or take) members of the international cutting edge of creative improvised music. The festival has also branched out to include performances in other Texas locales; Nameless Sound's collaboration brings the festival to Houston this year, for the first time since 2004.

Annette Krebs

2009 also marks the growing festival's first performances in Fort Worth and New Orleans. According to last year's feature in the Austin Chronicle, Cogburn intentionally selects unusual venues for No Idea, and this Houston show is no exception - Art League of Houston claims to have been the first alternative art space in all of Texas when it was founded way back in 1948. This is a rare chance to see a thought-provoking performance at a venerable landmark of Houston's art scene.

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