Elizabeth McQueen Debuts Interactive Musical Experience

EMQ, Elizabeth McQueen’s latest ensemble

One of the things I love most about Elizabeth McQueen is that she’s constantly reinventing herself as a musician and artist. She has the talent to slide into one niche and stay there, but her adventurous attitude seems to always have her exploring boundaries and experimenting with a little of this and a little of that. Whether it’s DJing on local radio or teaming up with genre-melding groups from St. Louis, she puts a priority on keeping things fresh and I appreciate it.

Fortunately for us, McQueen’s latest venture, Infinity + Infinity, is right around the corner with shows debuting at Austin’s Museum of Human Achievement on April 30th and May 1st. Infinity + Infinity is an interactive, multimedia performance with cutting edge animation and life sized, audience controlled visual environments working in tandem with McQueen’s original music. Here’s a sneak peek of the interactive, pseudoholographic experience you can expect at the show:

The musical performance will feature McQueen’s latest ensemble – EMQ – made up of McQueen, guitarist Lauren Gurgiolo (Okkervil River, The Dialtones) and multi-instrumentalist Lindsay Greene (Paula Nelson, Seth Walker) in conjunction with interactive structures designed and built by designer and visual artist Jerome Morrison.

The installation is partly funded by a grant from the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division as well as through funds received from local music non-profit Black Fret. Additional sponsors include KUTX 98.9, PsiPlay and Texas Music Water.

L-R: Lindsay Greene, Lauren Gurgiolo, Elizabeth McQueen

Infinity + Infinity will explore heartaches, ambivalences and joys of long-term commitment. McQueen talked about how that theme came about. “Last year I suddenly found myself with time enough to write about where I was. And where I was, where I am, is deep into a series of lifelong commitments – to my husband, to my children, to my cat even.”

“This kind of journey is as mind-expanding and magical as it is tedious, as rewarding as it is frustrating,” McQueen continued. “I wanted to try and capture that lovely ambivalence in my songs. At the same time, I was getting more and more interested in different possibilities in interactive visuals thanks to my friendship and collaboration with Jerome Morrison. I’m excited to combine these visuals with my new songs to create an immersive experience for people.”