After Le Guess Who? had to move its international festival earlier this year to 2021, the organisation will present a hybrid event named ON/OFF from 13 to 15 November as an alternative: a dual programme for both international and local visitors. With LGW ON, Le Guess Who? creates a three-day online television channel; LGW OFF is a two-day programme in Utrecht with more than 50 performances by Dutch acts at familiar and new locations throughout the city.
LGW OFF
On Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November, LGW OFF will take visitors along known and unknown LGW grounds, with performances at TivoliVredenburg, EKKO, De Helling and dB’s, but also in De Nijverheid, Bibliotheek Neude, DUMS and the Janskerk. A large part of the programme is hosted in cooperation with festival partners such as Roadburn, IMPAKT, Movies That Matter, Stranded FM, Catching Cultures Orchestra and CinemAsia.
Where the programming of Le Guess Who? in other years has a strong international focus, the organisation finds it of great importance to give a stage to Dutch artists in this very time and to support local venues and partners. All the more so in these uncertain times to be able to offer a programme to visitors, according to the organisation completely coronaproof. LGW OFF presents several special collaborative performances. Early Bird Mystery Tickets for LGW OFF are available now on the website of Le Guess Who? and the programme will be announced later. With a ticket Le Guess Who? composes a route through Utrecht where 4 performances at different locations in the city can be visited. Tickets for individual performances (in limited capacity) will go on sale later.
LGW ON
LGW ON is a freely accessible online television channel from 13 to 15 November. On this channel Le Guess Who? launches its own production ‘Reports from Other Continents’, in which people from all over the world share current developments in art, culture and music in their local communities in short video reports. The festival shares special stories about worldwide music traditions and new cultural developments normally through concerts and performing artists; now LGW has found the way to do this online. Reports in the field of independent, progressive culture include from Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, India, Iraq, Mexico, Nepal, Tanzania, Turkey, Venezuela and South Africa. All reports were commissioned by Le Guess Who?.
The television channel is not only compiled by Le Guess Who? itself, but also by artists who have previously played at the festival, including Matana Roberts, John Dwyer (Tea Oh Sees), Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie), Lucrecia Dalt and The Bug. They chose their favourite videos, films and documentaries that they would like to show to the public. On LGW ON you can see more: never before shown live recordings of the festival, by a.o. Mary Margaret O’Hara, Sons of Kemet XL and Circuit des Yeux Ensemble; live sessions with Dutch artists; Zoom interviews; free work by video artists; a documentary about the festival and highlights from the thirteen-year archive of Le Guess Who? The stream of LGW ON can be followed from 13 November on the website of the event.
