8:00pm on Thursday, July 27th 2023
Peach Blossom Highway
Jess Griggs (Narrator), Jordan Walsh (Percussionist)
Peach Blossom Highway is a fictional pirate radio broadcast that only performs live and does not broadcast. The duo perform both original compositions and repertoire from the spoken word + music repertoire, reinvisioned for duo performance. Future projects include realizations of John Cage’s “The City Wears a Slouch Hat” and Aperghis’ “Retrovailles”, plus a larger original work by the duo based on Griggs’ poetry set “Meditations on Depression’s Recovery”. All works are presented using the Pacific Coast Highway framing device.
This performance will feature an original work by Griggs and Walsh titled “The Parable of Habits”
Jess Griggs is a radio host, producer, writer, and musician based in Austin, Texas. Jess has worked in a variety of music and media institutions in Austin and on the east coast. Currently, they work at KMFA 89.5 as the traffic manager and host of ‘Night Music.’ When they’re not on the airwaves, they write angsty poetry or they make questionable sounds via the trombone. They also have a Mini Australian Shepherd named Libby who is, by all accounts, perfect.
Jordan Walsh is a percussionist, audio engineer, and educator based in Austin, Texas. A proponent of electronics and theater in music, he strives to perform the most absurd music with the most genuine fervor. Jordan frequently commissions and performs new works in both chamber and solo settings, including recent collaborations with composers including Elainie Lillios, Akshaya Avril Tucker, Kitty Xiao, and José Martinez.
Frequently engaged as a solo performer, Jordan has appeared as a guest at the SEAMUS conference, the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and Southwestern University, with upcoming engagements including residencies at Purdue University and Alabama University. Jordan proudly endorses Pearl/Adams Instruments, Sabian Cymbals, Black Swamp Percussion, and Innovative Percussion. When he is not engaged with contemporary classical music, Jordan can be found playing drums with singer-songwriter James Tabata, a smattering of nonsense instruments with Goliath Was Bigfoot, and prepared guitar with Austin’s experimental folk band Middle Sattre.