‘SLEEP' During an Offbeat Grand Park Performance

Grab a cot for composer Max Richter's eight-hour sound journey, an "ultimate lullaby."

What to Know

  • July 27 and 28
  • $60 and $80
  • Comfortable clothing recommended, due to the overnight nature of the performance

So many surreal and unusual and wonderfully whimsical happenings have shimmered through Grand Park, since it start Grand-Park-ing at the civic center nearly six years ago, that detailing them all would be, well... a total delight.

To name a few?

You perhaps remember Exxopolis, the inflatable walk-through color world that popped up in the park a few years back, and you know National Dance Day, where people shake their stuff at the DTLA destination, and you surely remember the "Paper Airplane" art installation, from 2016.

Surely.

It's a place that easily embraces the bold and the idea-embiggening, and it will do so again, over the final weekend in July 2018.

For that's when an "8-hour lullaby for a frenetic world" will gently lull and delight audience members as they recline on cots under the stars above.

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Yes, cots. You may have enjoyed many intriguing cultural performances in your life, and attended a host of quirky happenings, but if you haven't been supine on a cot for a third of a day, near a lot of other people, while beautiful music plays nearby, this is may be a must-do for you.

The overnight concert has celebrated composer Max Richter at the forefront, and it is Mr. Richter's "SLEEP" that's the aforementioned lullaby, a multi-hour sonic journey meant to comfort those in nearby cots.

Comfort and also, of course, inspire, bewitch, lull, and intrigue. The experience "... pushes the boundaries of post-minimalism and the interplay of music and consciousness."

Mr. Richter will be there, of course, on piano and keyboard. He'll be joined by soprano Grace Davidson and the American Contemporary Music Ensemble during the event, which is presented by The Music Center.

Tickets are $60 and $80, and, yes, your cot for the night, which extends from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., is included in that price. 

And booking early is a must, for this has the promise of selling out fast. It's the first time "SLEEP" has been staged outdoors, and those non-Angelenos who dig Mr. Richter's elegant work, and this piece in particular, may understandably journey to LA to be a part of it all.

There's also a cot-less listening area, too, if that's your preference.

"SLEEP" flows across "31 interrupted pieces," making for a night of mystery, possible snoozing, stargazing, community, and musical enjoyment from a sky-facing position.

It's a work that invites "... listeners to fall asleep and drift in and out of consciousness and lucid dreams states, entering into another world through the act of slumbering."

Do you love a lullaby presented on a large-of-scope, LA-lovely, Grand-Park-ian scale? The nights are July 27 and July 28, a Friday and Saturday.

La la la, la la la...

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