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The Bang on a Can All Stars in the eerie late-night lighting at the Winter Garden during the 2008 Marathon. (Photo by SPM.)

Bang on a Can, the genre-spanning musical organization, is staging its annual Music Marathon in the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden atrium for the third year. It runs from noon to midnight (maybe a little later) on Sunday, May 31, and it is FREE!

While the space is essentially an urban mall, with a few acoustic drawbacks, it’s a great place for an eclectic program. And it’s a beautiful spot on the water and it’s an easy place to duck out of when you need a break.

If you expect to be there for the long haul, though, come prepared. Seating is provided, but the folding chairs are flimsy and can be a bit uncomfortable. It’s a good idea to bring a pad or stadium cushion. And because the show is free thanks to the generosity of the World Financial people, it’s only right to patronize the eateries and shops in the Winter Garden. But be prepared for long queues for food and drink during set changes and don’t be surprised if eateries run out of provisions and close early. It’s tough for the businesses to predict demand, so be patient.

Highlights of this year’s marathon for me include Signal performing Michael Gordon‘s Trance, my friend Todd Reynolds with the Todd Reynolds String Quartet doing Stringsongs by Meredith Monk, the fantastic Lionheart (with Ethel, the string quartet), performing excerpts of Phil Kline‘s John the Revelator, and a performance by Ryuichi Sakamoto. There are some other artists, such as closing act Tortoise, that are unfamiliar to me, so my list could change as I dig more deeply into this list.

The full schedule is below, or click here to go to Bang on a Can’s site, where you’ll find everything you need to know about the Marathon, from inception to today:

12pm	Andy Akiho‘s Steel Pan Nonette performing new work by Andy Akiho Signal performing Trance by Michael Gordon Solo tabla performance by Sandeep Das DITHER & Friends performing Eric km Clark‘s exPAT: Deprivation Music No. 4
2pm	Todd Reynolds String Quartet performing Stringsongs by Meredith Monk Solo performance by Bill Frisell Your Bad Self performing We Didn’t Know, Snowball, and Blacktop by Ted Hearne Smith Quartet performing White Man Sleeps by Kevin Volans Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen performing Ground, vol. 3 by Jeppe Just Christensen
4pm	Lionheart & Ethel performing excerpts from John the Revelator by Phil Kline Build performing Imagining Winter and In the Backyard by Matthew McBane Bassist Henry Grimes performing with drummer Andrew Cyrille Smith Quartet performing The Sinking of the Titanic by Gavin Bryars Bang on a Can All-Stars & Bill Frisell performing new work by Bill Frisell
6pm	Ars Nova Copenhagen conducted by Paul Hillier performing Three Stages by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen and Rise Up, my love by Howard Skempton Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen performing Braun KSM 2 by Jeppe Just Christensen Ars Nova Copenhagen performing For love is strong by David Lang Smith Quartet performing Folk Music (Daithi’s Dumka) by Joe Cutler Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen performing excerpts from On This Planet by Anders Nordentoft
8pm	Wu Man performing 12th Century Pipa piece Night Thoughts Ken Thomson‘s 9-headed Saxophone Monster performing Rut by Ken Thomson Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen & Ars Nova Copenhagen performing Thirst by Julia Wolfe Shiau-uen Ding performing Haemmerklavier III: One Man Band by Moritz Eggert Victoire performing Like a Miracle, I am coming for my things by Victoire
10pm	Wu Man, Sandeep Das, and Brooklyn Rider performing Sulvasutra by Evan Ziporyn Solo performance by Ryuichi Sakamoto Bang on a Can All-Stars & Ryuichi Sakamoto performing new work by Ryuichi Sakamoto Bang on a Can All-Stars performing Houses of Instruction by Steve Martland Performance by Tortoise