Who we are

Deemed “outstanding” (San Francisco Chronicle), “transcendent” (Charleston City Paper) and one of the “22 for ‘22 performers to watch,” (Washington Post), The Living Earth Show–percussionist/Artistic Director Andy Meyerson and guitarist/Executive Director Travis Andrews–represents the future of American contemporary and experimental chamber music. Based in San Francisco, The Living Earth Show is simultaneously one of the premiere contemporary chamber ensembles in the United States, a groundbreaking production company (TLES Productions), proprietors of an experimental performance venue (The Roar Shack), and uncompromising record label (Earthy Records). The Living Earth Show exists to push the boundaries of technical and artistic possibility while amplifying voices, perspectives, and bodies that the classical music tradition has often excluded. The organization uses the tools of experimental classical music to facilitate the creation of its collaborators' most ambitious musical visions and create work that reflects and responds to our world.

Raven Chacon is a composer, performer, and installation artist born at Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation. A recording artist since 1999, Chacon has appeared on over eighty releases on national and international labels. He has exhibited, performed, or had works performed at LACMA, SITE Santa Fe, and The Kennedy Center, and in the Whitney Biennial, Borealis Festival, among others. As an educator, Chacon is the senior composer mentor for the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP). In 2022, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Music, for his composition Voiceless Mass, and in 2023 was named a MacArthur Fellow.

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Travis Andrews is the co-founder, executive director, and electric guitarist in The Living Earth Show. In that capacity, Andrews' performances have been praised as “mind-blowing” and "a vanguard effort of new chamber music" by the San Francisco Examiner and "emotional, transcendent, and at times bursting with raw post-rock power" by the Charleston City Paper. In his work, he strives to use the tools of classical and contemporary music to foreground the voices and perspectives often marginalized by the tradition and its presentation. Highly in demand as a solo artist, Andrews has been a featured soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Eco Ensemble, and the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble.  He has performed with John Doe of X, Bryce Dessner of The National, Terry Riley, & Kronos Quartet. A musical omnivore, Andrews also performs with avant-thrash trio Freighter, chambercore band miRthkon, and queer nü metal band COMMANDO.  Andrews has authored articles and books for String Letter Publishing and has been an artist in residence at universities and conservatories around the country. He is an endorsing artist for Fishman Transducers.

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Miriam Elhajli is a folk singer, composer-improviser, and musicologist whose work is influenced by the rich musical traditions of her heritage. Elhajli lives in New York City where she performs & works as a researcher at The Association for Cultural Equity founded by Alan Lomax. Moving in the intersection of the vibrant avant-garde and the folkloric communities of Brooklyn, she has collaborated with musicians such as Mali Obomsawin, Adam O’Farrill, Jason Lindner, and Chris Dingman. Elhajli has released four records on her label Numina Records, a label she founded to aid in the documentation of traditional women’s music in the Maghreb and beyond. Numina is set to release Moroccan chaabi ensemble, Bnat El Houariyat’s in June of this year.

https://www.miriamelhajli.com/

Steven Hammond is a Troy, New York–based vocalist, bassist, and guitarist, having shared the stage with artists such as Dead Moon, Sleep, Dick Dale, Wayne Hancock, YOB, Charlie Parr, the White Stripes, and many more. Hammond has spent more than 20 years writing, recording, and touring. He has released over 30 albums and at least a dozen EPs and 7” singles in that time in genres as diverse as psychedelic rock, heavy metal, soul, pop, honky tonk, and experimental music. Most of these releases can be found through his record label Lorchestral Recording Company (LORCO, loco.bandcamp.com).

Andy Meyerson is a drummer and percussionist based in San Francisco, California. He is the Artistic Director, co-founder, and percussionist of The Living Earth Show, one of the premiere experimental classical ensembles in the United States.  He is also the drummer and co-founder of queer nü metal collective COMMANDO, music director of renegade dance company Post:ballet, frequent drummer for Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot, the artistic director and CEO of uncompromising experimental chamber music record label Earthy Records, and a renowned solo artist. Andy Meyerson has released two solo percussion recordings: “My Side of the Story,” a collection of percussion solos written for him by Adrian Knight, Jude Traxler, Brendon Randall-Myers, Samuel Adams, and Danny Clay on slash/sound recordings, and “Extra Time,” an album of percussion solos written for him by Sarah Hennies on Hasana Editions. He is an endorsing artist for Spaun Drums, Innovative Percussion, and Marimba One.

Mali Obomsawin is a bassist, vocalist, songwriter, and composer. She is a citizen of Odanak First Nation. Across mediums, Obomsawin’s bold artistry challenges the complacency of our times with lush, bombastic, and at times haunting compositions. An international touring artist and celebrated accompanist, her current projects include her eponymous experimental ensemble, the rock band Deerlady, and the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band. Obomsawin's expansive artistic practice models the complexity of 21st century Indigenous art. Mali has been blessed to study and perform with notable musicians including Esperanza Spalding, Raven Chacon, Taylor Ho Bynum, Dave Holland, Angelica Sanchez, Kris Davis, Billy Hart, Jeff Parker, Peter Apfelbaum, Craig Harris, Bill Cole, Althea Sully-Cole, Tomas Fujiwara, Mike Formanek, and others.