Taylor Mac Machine Dazzle Matt Ray Niegel Smith Jocelyn Clarke Mimi Lien John Torres Jimin Brelsford Noah Greenberg

Since 2013, Pomegranate Arts has collaborated with Taylor to co-produce his most ambitious (and our most unforgettable) work to date—a unique 24-part performance art concert series that creates a subjective history of America since its founding in 1776. Years in development, the project culminated in a one-time 24-hour marathon performance for a sold-out audience at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, NY on October 8, 2016. Co-Directed by Niegel Smith, the work features Taylor and his long- time collaborators, costume designer Machine Dazzle and Music Director/ Arranger Matt Ray. Over 200 performers appeared in the NY run including a 24-piece orchestra, an ensemble of “dandy minions” and countless special guests ranging from a youth marching band, a troupe of feminist acrobatic dancers to members of the audience who were cast as colonial needleworkers, WWI soldiers, and Yum Yum from the Mikado. Among many accolades, the project was placed on The NY Times Top 10 lists of Best Performances, Best of Theater, and Best of Classical Music of 2016. NY Times critic Wesley Morris wrote of the marathon performance, “Mac gave me one of the great experiences of my life.”

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music will tour as a concert series consisting of several touring programs. Options include hour-long concerts which feature songs from a single decade from the 1770s to the 2000s, performed by Taylor and a small band; abridged concerts which consist of a selection of songs over multiple decades; and the full 24-Decade canon which can be presented in a variety of ways in a special co-production partnership with Pomegranate Arts.