No Idea Festival Vernacular Residency

Over the course of two nights, the No Idea Festival Vernacular Residency presents a multifaceted portrait of creative labor, improvisation, and collaboration through the lens of internationally acclaimed saxophonist and composer Ken Vandermark. On Thursday, May 29, the residency opens with a screening of Musician, Daniel Kraus’ vérité-style documentary that captures the often unseen, unglamorous work behind a music career, featuring Vandermark as a central—but not centralizing—figure. Following the screening, Vandermark and pianist Mabel Kwan will perform as a duo for the first time, after years of intersecting in projects with Ensemble Dal Niente and beyond. The evening concludes with a panel discussion exploring the realities of sustaining a creative life, featuring Vandermark, Kwan, UT Professor Eric Drott, Epistrophy Arts founder Pedro Moreno, and more. On Friday, May 30, the program continues with a night of boundary-pushing performance. The early show begins with a first-time duo between Kwan and experimental bassist Juan García, followed by the premiere of new ensemble work by Vandermark, written specifically for a quartet of Texas-based collaborators. The late set features Vandermark’s Texas Trio performing music by two visionary voices in avant-garde jazz: Fred Anderson and Dennis González. These rarely performed works—rooted in Chicago’s AACM tradition and its reverberations in Dallas’ experimental scene—offer a powerful closing to a residency steeped in improvisational lineage, regional dialogue, and the enduring labor of musical invention. Please Note: This is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Cold bottles of still and sparkling water will be available for purchase, but this event is BYOB. Ice will be available if needed, wine keys and 9oz cups provided! 22 free parking spaces onsite are first-come-first-serve.