SUNDANCE ASCAP MUSIC CAFÉ AT ACURA HOUSE OF ENERGY SHOWCASES THE POWER OF MUSIC IN FILM WITH COMPOSER CONVERSATIONS AND LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES FROM THE DIG! XX DANDY JONESTOWN REVUE (WITH BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE & THE DANDY WARHOLS), PLUS EVAN BARTELS, FANTASTIC CAT, MARY SCHOLZ AND OGI ON JANUARY 21 AND 22

ASCAP Screen Time Hosts Exclusive Interviews with Will & Harper Composer Nathan Halpern and Producer/Director Josh Greenbaum, As We Speak Artist Kemba and Producer/Director J.M. Harper, and Union composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe with Co-Directors Brett Story and Stephen Maing

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) announces the ASCAP songwriters and composers taking the stage for the 26th Annual Sundance ASCAP Music Café at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Together with Acura, longtime Presenting Sponsor and Official Vehicle of Sundance Film Festival, the Café will feature live music performances and interviews with top film music composers on Sunday, January 21 and Monday, January 22 from 2:00 - 6:00 PM, at Acura's House of Energy, 480 Swede Alley at 5th Street, Park City, UT.

Spotlighting some of today's most exciting musical storytellers, the Sundance ASCAP Music Café will feature a performance from the DIG! XX Dandy Jonestown Revue, comprised of members from the dueling rock bands featured in the Sundance Film Festival 2004 Grand Jury Award-winning rock documentary DIG!. Joel Gion, Jeff Davies and Miranda Lee Richards (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) and Zia McCabe and Eric Hedford (The Dandy Warhols) will take the stage to celebrate the 20th anniversary edition of the film, DIG! XX, which premieres at this year's festival featuring 40 minutes of previously unseen footage. 

Also appearing on the Sundance ASCAP Music Café stage will be independent singer-songwriter Evan Bartels, whose music takes an unflinching look at the deepest parts of the human experience; Americana supergroup Fantastic Cat, four songwriters who mix genres and decades in their musical collaborations; folk singer-songwriter Mary Scholz and Nigerian-American singer-songwriter Ogi.

ASCAP Screen Time, the ASCAP Film & Television team's ongoing interview series about the craft and business of music for screens, will host three exclusive conversations with the creators behind some of the festival's most anticipated films. Composer Nathan Halpern and producer/director Josh Greenbaum will discuss their highly anticipated documentary Will & Harper, an intimate portrayal of friendship, transition and America that follows Will Ferrell and his best buddy of 30 years on a cross-country road trip. Bronx rap artist and As We Speak film subject Kemba will join the film's producer/director J.M. Harper in a conversation and will perform an a capella song featured in the film. And composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe will speak with Union co-directors Brett Story and Stephen Maing on scoring their documentary about the formation of the Amazon Labor Union.

"As we head into our 26th year, the Sundance ASCAP Music Café will continue bringing great music to Park City! We'll celebrate filmmaking and the magic of music with two days of incredible performances and interviews," said Loretta Muñoz, ASCAP Assistant Vice President, Membership. "We're excited to present this year's lineup of songwriters and composers and thrilled to continue this tradition with our new partners at Acura."

See the full schedule and get performer/panelist bios at www.ascap.com/sundance2024.

For the latest information on ASCAP events at the Sundance Film Festival, follow ASCAP on Instagram, Facebook and X, and through the event hashtag, #ASCAPMusicCafe.

Music in Film

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival includes many films and audio/visual projects that prominently feature the music of ASCAP's composer and songwriter members. ASCAP composers and foreign affiliates who have scored Festival films and audio/visual projects this year include:

Michael Abels (The American Society of Magical Negroes), Geoff Zanelli (10 Lives), Cristobal Tapia de Veer (Ponyboi), Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Union, Power and Being), Este Haim & Christopher Stracey (Suncoast), Nathan Halpern (Will & Harper), Nainita Desai (Nocturnes), Andrew Hewitt (It's What's Inside), Graham Reynolds (Hit Man, God Save Texas), Giosuè Greco (Dìdi), William Ryan Fritch (As We Speak, The Battle for Laikipia), Samantha Crain (Winding Path), Caitlin Yeo (Every Little Thing), Jackson Greenberg (LOLLA: THE STORY OF LOLLAPALOOZA), Julia Piker (Penelope), Peter Raeburn (Handling the Undead), René G. Boscio (Pathological), Frederic Alvarez (In the Land of Brothers), Chris Bailoni (Bob's Funeral), Ádám Balázs (Agent of Happiness), Richard Córdoba (IGUALADA), Steve Francis (The Moogai), Gifted Gab & Elijah Grae (Freaky Tales), Stephen Gallagher (Lea Tupu'anga), John Gürtler & Jan Miserre (The Outrun), Sterling Hampton IV (Merman), Ilari Heinilä (Sebastian), Celia Hollander (Good One), Charles Humenry (Didn't Think I'd See You Here), Natasha Jacobs (Bug Diner), Sami Jano (Drago), Gregor Keienburg & Raffael Seyfried (Eternal You), Sneha Khanwalkar (Girls Will Be Girls), Lucas Lechowski (Pasture Prime), Raül Fernandez Miró (La Mesías), Toke Brorson Odin (Brief History of a Family), Aaron C. Schroeder (Dream Creep), Dimitri Simakis (The Rainbow Bridge), Jason Smith & Karl Sölve Steven (Never Look Away), Umberto Smerilli (A Different Man), Quinn Tsan (Ghostlight), Tim Williams (Your Monster), and Yasna Vismale (To Be Invisible).

This year Sundance is also welcoming back several feature films as part of their "Special Screenings" series. The following films feature works from the following ASCAP composers and foreign affiliates:

Jed Kurzel (The Babadook) and Pawel Mykietyn (War Game).

Find more information about the ASCAP composers at this year's Festival www.ascap.com/sundancecomposers2024.

About ASCAP

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than 960,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, and represents some of the world's most talented music creators. Founded and governed by songwriters, composers and publishers, it is the only performing rights organization in the U.S. that operates on a not-for-profit basis. ASCAP licenses a repertory of over 19 million musical works to hundreds of thousands of businesses that use music, including streaming services, cable television, radio and satellite radio and brick and mortar businesses such as retail stores, hotels, clubs, restaurants and bars. ASCAP collects the licensing fees; identifies, matches and processes trillions of performances every year; and returns nearly 90 cents of every dollar back to its members as royalties. The ASCAP blanket license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. ASCAP puts music creators first, advocating for their rights and the value of music on Capitol Hill, driving innovation that moves the industry forward, building community and providing the resources and support that creators need to succeed in their careers. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Twitter and Instagram @ASCAP and on Facebook.

About Acura

Acura is a leading automotive brand committed to delivering expressive styling, innovative engineering and high performance, all built on the brand's Precision Crafted Performance DNA. The Acura lineup consists of two sport sedans, the Integra and TLX, and three sport-utility vehicles, the RDX, MDX and all-electric ZDX. A line of high-performance Type S variants further demonstrate the virtues of Acura Precision Crafted Performance. All Acura vehicles sold in America are made in the US, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

SOURCE ASCAP