January 16, 2027
Dave Harrington’s Pranksters East / Ilhan Ersahin Trio/ sassafono notturno / Mauro refosco plays luca with spencer zahn & nicole mccabe

ABOUT

AARON SHAW
Aaron has earned the trust and collaboration of a diverse array of premier artists—ranging from legends and icons like Herbie Hancock, André 3000, Anderson .Paak, Dave Chappelle, and Mary J. Blige, to giants like Usher, Shawn Mendes, Elijah Blake, and jazz legends Donald Dean and Henry Franklin. Beyond the stage, his work as a composer and instrumentalist spans major film and television projects for leading brands and studios, including Netflix, Amazon, Warner Bros., Nike, Participant, and AT&T. An incredibly versatile musician, Aaron has also lent his talents to the theater, performing in the pit orchestras for acclaimed musical productions such as The Lion King, The Wiz, Dreamgirls, Mulan, and Copacabana.

NATE MERCEREAU
Complementing an already dizzying catalogue of solo releases, collaborations, and production/writing/instrumentation credits, Fantastic Thoughts is Nate Mercereau’s clarion call. The sound of a thousand dams breaking simultaneously. A hootin’ and hollering tantric affair that dares the listener, “What if you did?’” What if you sang out with a resounding, heart-forward, ‘YES!’” — sang it with your whole chest? If the beat poets abided by the maxim “first thought, best thought,” Fantastic Thoughts stakes a claim on the plain of imaginary where every thought is best (yes, fantastic, even). The resultant record is, without fail, maximalist—overflowing with ideas, varied influence, hairpin turns, and recursive processes—but it is also wildly (one might even say transgressively) sincere, and not infrequently vulnerable. From the first proggy breakdown of “There’s Something Here ...” (in many ways the album’s thesis statement) to the whispered mantra of “Resonant Angle, Seer Within,” we are borne atop a ceaselessly cresting wave of raw power and giddy delight. Mercereau’s is a singular vision, and yet, to anyone who has doggedly pursued the music, these sounds, these choices, will be instantly familiar.