Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? festival has revealed plans for an online event next month, in lieu of this year’s usual edition which was postponed to 2021 earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LGW ON/OFF is billed as a two-part programme for international and local festival visitors. LGW ON will be based around a freely accessible online TV channel with videos, films and documentaries selected by past performers of the festival, while LGW OFF consists of a two-day programme happening throughout the city of Utrecht, dedicated to Dutch acts.
Broadcasting from November 13 to 15, LGW ON will present a series of ‘Reports From Other Continents’ videos, in which people from all over the world share video reports on topics such as art, culture and music from within their local community. Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, India, Iraq, Mexico, Nepal, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey and Venezuela are amongst the nations that will be profiled.
The online stream is curated by Le Guess Who?, together with artists who have previously performed at the festival, including Matana Roberts, The Bug, Lucrecia Dalt, John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees) and Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie), who’ve all selected their favourite videos, films and documentaries for the channel. Previously unseen live recordings of festival performances by Mary Margaret O’Hara, Sons of Kemet XL and Circuit des Yeux Ensemble will also be broadcast alongside live sessions with Dutch artists, Zoom interviews, a documentary about Le Guess Who? and highlights from the 13-year archive of the festival.
LGW OFF, meanwhile, will take place at a number of new and previously-used locations for Le Guess Who? in Utrecht on November 14 and 15. The live program is dedicated to Dutch artists "with a strong urge to innovate," Le Guess Who? says, with all events taking place in accordance with local COVID-19 guidelines.
LGW ON/OFF runs from November 13 to 15, 2020. Find more information here.
