Scientific America / Nectar Gnome / Nate Scheible & Layne Garrett
Scientific America, Nectar Gnome, and the improvising duo of Nate Scheible and Layne Garrett share an evening of experimental sound at Rhizome DC. The program moves from sustained resonant drones and harmonic friction to ecstatic, story-like textures made with saxophone, strings, tones, percussion, and found objects, followed by a free-improvising guitar-and-drums set.
Scientific America—Morgan Evans-Weiler and Flandrew Fleisenberg—has pursued an ongoing study of acoustic phenomena since 2008. Their work excites resonant bodies, particularly violin and percussion, through unconventional physical techniques, emphasizing sustained frequencies and the friction between harmonics rather than conventional melodic or lyrical structures.
Nectar Gnome, featuring Jenny Moon Tucker and Meg Ragan, explores sound as a way of moving through different “realms.” Their instrumentation includes saxophone, strings, tones, and percussive sounds drawn from an assortment of unusual objects. Based in Stevenson, Maryland, they also help operate Changing Ferns Farm, a site focused on food, medicine, and healing. Tucker has longstanding connections to the DC and Baltimore experimental-music communities, has collaborated with numerous sound artists, and has performed at High Zero and DC’s Sound Scene.
Scheible and Garrett perform as a guitar-and-drums duo rooted in free improvisation. Their music investigates timbre, repetition, intuition, physicality, and abstraction. The two Washington, DC-based musicians have also worked together in DRAWN and other ad hoc ensembles. Scheible has released music through Outside Time and Warm Winters Ltd. and has been associated with Mock Identity, Scarcity of Tanks, and Self Destruct Button; Garrett performs with Weed Tree and other projects.
When: Sunday, October 4, 2026
Showtimes: 7:00 PM–10:00 PM
Tickets: $15–$25
Lineup: Scientific America, featuring Morgan Evans-Weiler and Flandrew Fleisenberg; Nectar Gnome, featuring Jenny Moon Tucker and Meg Ragan; and Nate Scheible on drums with Layne Garrett on guitar
Run time: Approximately three hours, based on the listed 7:00 PM–10:00 PM schedule
Venue: Rhizome DC
Genre: Experimental music, acoustic drones, free improvisation, and sound-based performance