About Waterworks 2026

Waterworks 2026 is a two-night experimental sound festival presented by Non-Event, a Boston-based concert series dedicated to experimental, abstract, improvised, and new music. Taking place April 24-25 at the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood, the festival celebrates the cutting edge of contemporary sound art and musical innovation.

The Venue

The Metropolitan Waterworks Museum provides an extraordinary acoustics environment—the Great Engines Hall—where enormous water pumps create a unique resonant space. This architectural setting becomes part of the performance experience, complementing the experimental nature of the music presented.

The Artists

Waterworks 2026 features artists from New England and beyond working across diverse experimental practices. Night 1 presents The Bicentennial Memorial Accordion Choir, A. Campbell Payne, Dave Seidel, SUTUR, and Bob Bellerue. Night 2 features Greg Kelley's "A Fanfare for Non-Event," a trio collaboration (Jesse Kenas Collins, Michael Rosenstein, Yoona Kim), Michiko O., Bill Nace & David Watson, and Amirtha Kidambi & Music Research Strategies. Artists represent practices spanning electroacoustic composition, free improvisation, noise music, world music traditions, and multimedia performance.

Why Attend

For listeners interested in avant-garde music, improvisation, and experimental sound, Waterworks 2026 offers a rare opportunity to experience innovative artists in an acoustically unique historical venue. Non-Event's 25-year commitment to presenting experimental music in Boston ensures a curated, high-quality program celebrating musical innovation and pushing the boundaries of contemporary music.