Anything Goes in Your Imagination: Genre-defying Entertainment at the Lincoln Center

by REBECCA LAPOLE

This month, the Lincoln Center brings two inspiring acts that are perfect for audiences of any age: Black Violin and Recycled Percussion. Both events promise their audiences a remarkably unique experience.

Recycled Percussion began as a high school talent show act in 1995 in New Hampshire. Since they finished third on “America’s Got Talent” in 2009, Recycled Percussion has played more than 4,000 shows and 400 corporate events in 15 countries, had guest appearances on “Carson Daly,” “The Today Show,” “China’s Got Talent” and the Latin Grammy Awards, were featured on the cover of “USA Today” and voted National Act of the Year a record-breaking six times. Not only has the band gained world-wide recognition, they now have two live shows on the Las Vegas strip; one at Planet Hollywood and the other at The Quad Resort and Casino. They bring their massive stage attack, featuring what they call “junk rock,” to the Lincoln Center for one pulse-racing performance on Sunday, October 11th at 7:30pm.

Banging on ladders, buckets, hubcaps and using power tools to play guitars and each other, the band of four men (Justin Spencer – Lead Percussionist, Group Founder; Ryan Vezina – Lead Percussionist, Body Percussion Specialist; Matt Bowman – Guitar player, Percussionist; and Jason Davies – DJ, Percussionist) assault the stage with their contagious energy. Risky stunts, fun, funky guys and their insanely fast drumming will make this a night to remember whether you’re retired, in grade school, or somewhere in between. Save the date and get ready to rock!

High school friends from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Wil Baptiste (Wil-B) and Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester, never could have imagined where their music would take them. Wil-B was 14 when he picked up the viola, Kev Marcus the violin at nine. Ten years ago, after they both graduated college and tried their hands at producing beats for other artists, they decided to band together and Black Violin was born. Together they have won “Showtime at the Apollo,” opened for Alicia Keys, played at President Obama’s 2013 Inauguration, were named one of the hottest bands at SXSW, performed an average of 200 shows a year in 49 states and 36 countries and locations as far away as Dubai, Prague and South Africa, appeared at official NFL celebrations for three Super Bowls, last year’s U.S. Open in Forest Hills with Jordin Sparks, and on Sept. 18, released their major label debut, “Stereotypes.”

Their classically-trained violin skills are backed by a drummer and a DJ, creating a blend of genres including hip-hop, R&B, rock, and jazz perfect for every generation. They visit 100,000 children each year to instill the importance of music education and programming in schools and give back to the educational foundation they were blessed with. They spread their message among the youth and encourage them to think outside the box and be unique. Don’t miss their violin virtuosity during their two special shows on Saturday, October 24th at 2pm and 6pm at the Lincoln Center. Get tickets at lctix.com.