M³ Festival 2025
Saturday, October 4, 2025 | 7pm-10pm
Roulette Intermedium
The one-day, marathon-style festival will feature 9 sets and 16 musicians including M³ musicians and friends
General Admission tix available as a single ticket, pair and package!
Digital Ticket
One ticket to watch the festival virtually
Early Bird + General Admissions Ticket
Early bird tickets are on sale until September 2nd!
VIP Ticket
One ticket to the event with Orchestra reserved seating; one drink ticket; food voucher.
Four tickets to the event with Orchestra reserved seating; four drink tickets; a special gift from M³.
Lead Sponsor
Five tickets to the event with Orchestra reserved seating; five drink tickets; a special gift from M³; five food vouchers.
Becca Stevens
Twice GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Becca Stevens has forged a unique career, blending pop, jazz, indie-rock, folk, and world music with her classical and Appalachian roots. Known for her versatile vocals and mastery of multiple string instruments, Stevens’ work transcends genres through intricate rhythms and harmonies. Since founding the Becca Stevens Band in 2006, she has toured internationally and become a sought-after collaborator, working with David Crosby, Jacob Collier, Michael League of Snarky Puppy, and Taylor Eigsti. Her collaborations extend further, with artists like Brad Mehldau, Chris Thile, Laura Mvula, Michael McDonald, Antonio Sánchez, Gretchen Parlato, and Ambrose Akinmusire. Currently, she is on tour, performing Maple to Paper across Asia, Europe, and the US, continuing her journey as a boundary-pushing artist and storyteller.
Kenny Barron
Honored by the National Endowment for the Arts as a 2010 Jazz Master, Kenny Barron has an unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies, and infectious rhythms. The Los Angeles Times named him “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” and Jazz Weekly called him “the most lyrical piano player of our time.”The Philadelphia native started playing professionally as a teenager with Mel Melvin’s orchestra and Philly Joe Jones and at 19, he moved to New York City where he freelanced with Roy Haynes, Lee Morgan, and James Moody. Upon Moody’s recommendation, Dizzy Gillespie hired Barron in 1962 without even hearing him play a note. After five years with Gillespie, Barron played with Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, Buddy Rich and later with Yusef Lateef, whom Barron credits as a key influence on his art for improvisation. His duo album with Stan Getz in the late 1980s, People Time, earned the first of 14 Grammy nominations which also includes Barron’s latest album, Beyond This Place recorded in Paris and released May 2024. As a committed educator, Barron has taught at Rutgers University, Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School.
Immanuel Wilkins
The music of Philadelphia-born, Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins is filled with empathy and conviction, bonding arcs of melody and lamentation to pluming gestures of space and breath. Listeners were introduced to this riveting sound with his acclaimed debut album Omega, which was named the #1 Jazz Album of 2020 by The New York Times. The album also introduced his remarkable quartet with Micah Thomas on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums, a tight-knit unit that Wilkins features once again on his stunning sophomore album The 7th Hand. Having just released Blues Blood (2024) also on Blue Note Records, Wilkins has also worked as a sideman with a diverse range of artists, including Jason Moran, Solange, and Bob Dylan. Immanuel will offer a not-to-be missed solo set at this year’s M³ Festival.
Devon Gates’ Ghost Stories
Devon Gates (bass/voice), Victoria Awkward (dance), and Matt Greenwood (guitar) will perform original works inspired by Black feminist luminaries, exploring life, ephemerality, and liberation. Recently named one of 2024’s Up and Comers of the Year (The New York City Jazz Record), Devon Gates is a bassist, vocalist, and composer from Atlanta, Georgia, now based in Brooklyn, NY. She is an alum of the M³ Winter Solstice 2021 Cohort 4.
Vortex: Shoko Nagai & Satoshi Takeishi
Composed of Shoko Nagai (piano, moog synth, electronics) and Satoshi Takeishi (drums), this duo explores every possibility within their musical vocabulary, and their strength as performers transcends boundaries—while remaining deeply rooted in the spirit of improvisation. Shoko Nagai, a Japanese-born composer, pianist, accordionist, and improviser based in New York, masterfully blends classical, jazz, world, and electronic traditions. Guided by a philosophy of creative freedom, she tirelessly explores magical sonic realms, crafting profound musical expressions. World-renowned drummer Satoshi Takeishi joins her in performing new compositions dedicated to M³.
Maia
In addition to being M³’s 2025 Luminary Award Recipient, Maia, aka S.D.H. Harper, (flute, piccolo, vocals, percussion) is an internationally renowned multidimensional performer, educator, recording artist, composer, SAG-AFTRA Actor. She has gained notoriety as a member of the AACM Chicago & Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (LA).
Siren Xypher: Melanie Dyer, Mara Rosenbloom, Kyoko Kitamura
Siren Xypher is a New York City-based collective of three established performing composers Melanie Dyer (viola), Mara Rosenbloom (piano) and Kyoko Kitamura (voice), presenting intricate original works which combine art songs, spoken words and free-flowing improvisation. Their love for, and extensive experience in, these musical genres generate deep sonic conversations full of humor, warmth, surprises and fire. Melanie Dyer is a jazz/creative improvisation violist/composer. She studied viola at Univ./Denver, and privately with William Lincer, Lee Yeingst and Naomi Fellows. She has recorded with the Sun Ra Arkestra under Marshall Allen, William Parker, Tomeka Reid, among others. She founded WeFreeStrings in 2011.
Vertical Sounds: Kess Southpaw, Mnisibass & Melanie Dyer
Composed of Kess Southpaw (electric guitar, voice) Mnisibass (double bass, voice) and Melanie Dyer (viola), Vertical Sounds explores vibrations generated by strings. The trio will present original compositions that merge arpeggiated harmonies, rhythmic basslines and dreamy melodies, leaving space for free improvisations and surprising sounds. Mnisibass is an arts practitioner and cultural worker passionate about music, heritage, and women’s voices. She builds platforms for female creatives, and tells stories rooted in African identity. Kess Southpaw is a guitarist, improviser and composer from Italy focused on mixing acoustic and electric sounds on guitar. Using a deep listening approach, she explores the possibilities of her instrument, adventuring from roaring drones to microscopic vibrations.
Special thanks to the Mellon Foundation, Jerome Foundation, NYSCA, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Nancy & Joe Walker, mediaThe foundation, New Music USA, Patrina Foundation, Copland Fund, CRS (Center for Remembering and Sharing), Brooklyn Music School, Christopher Pelham & Yasuko Kasaki, Arlene and Larry Dunn, Yuhan Su, Rogerio Boccato, Karen Kandel, Tracy Hebrew, Clif Hubby, Jeff Evans, Miles Okazaki, our M³ Board Members Sumi Tonooka (Chair), Emily Bookwalter, Moy Eng, Emil Kang, and all of our individual donors and supporters.