The Early / Bent Light / Raven Bauer Durham
This three-act experimental music showcase brings together a compelling trio of artists working at the intersection of post-rock, ambient drone, improvisation, and punk-informed guitar experimentation. Hosted at Rhizome DC on Monday, June 1, the evening opens doors at 6:30 PM with music beginning at 7:00 PM, offering an intimate setting for adventurous sound.
Headlining the night is The Early, the duo of Alex Lewis (guitars, synthesizers) and Jake Nussbaum (drums, electronics). Over the course of seven years, the two have developed a shared musical language that fuses the textural grandeur of post-rock with the communicational intimacy of jazz improvisation, weaving in the patient grooves of minimalism, electronica, and drone. Their 2026 release, *I Want To Be Ready* (Island House Recordings), was described by Record Crates United as "drifty, minimalist jazz fusion soundscapes that hum, drone and rumble like the atmosphere of a clockwork city."
Bent Light is the duo of Michael Slyne and Russel Linder — two punk rockers who have stripped back the volume but not the intensity. Armed with two guitars, millions of pedals, and busted tape machines that sing along, their sound moves between the beautiful and the harsh, described as feeling like a dream. Raven Bauer Durham rounds out the bill as an experimental guitar-based performer from Virginia. Her work layers electric and acoustic ambient textures with voice and song, drawing on her background as a former member of the improvisational group Phoenix Auto Group.
When: Monday, June 1, 2026
Doors: 6:30 PM
Music starts: 7:00 PM
Venue: Rhizome DC
Tickets: $15–20
Lineup: The Early (Alex Lewis — guitars, synthesizers; Jake Nussbaum — drums, electronics), Bent Light (Michael Slyne and Russel Linder — guitars, pedals, tape machines), Raven Bauer Durham (electric and acoustic guitar, voice)
Note: This event takes place during Rhizome's month-long QUEERING SOUND visual art exhibit, which runs June 1–28 and is open during all events at the venue.