Magnificent Bird / Book of Travelers

Experience two distinct works by acclaimed songwriter and performer Gabriel Kahane in one unforgettable day.

In this duo of intimate solo musical plays, composer Gabriel Kahane blends songwriting and storytelling for a singular, poignant theatrical event. Book of Travelers recounts the strangers he met on a 9,000-mile train journey through a divided America, and Magnificent Bird chronicles a year he spent entirely off-line, and the unexpected turbulence of living quietly. Performed on alternating nights, these two concept albums offer a relentless self-inquiry, and a searing portrait of a world in flux.

4:00 pm Magnificent Bird

Run Time: 74 minutes, no intermission.

Magnificent Bird, is an intimate reflection on a year of self-imposed isolation during which the artist set out to write a song every day. With contributions from Andrew Bird, Chris Thile, Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso), and Pulitzer Prize- winning composer Caroline Shaw, this collection explores the delicate balance between personal introspection and global crises. It’s a vivid musical snapshot of life during a tumultuous period, offering both a personal and universal meditation on modern-day existence. Based on Kahane’s fifth LP.

7:00 pm – Book of Travelers

Run Time: 70 minutes, no intermission

In Book of Travelers, Gabriel Kahane embarks on a journey across the United States, exploring the intersections of American identity and personal connection through the people he meets along the way. This powerful and emotional piece blends folk, classical, and pop influences to create a nuanced reflection on contemporary life in America. The work is a poignant and intimate exploration of what it means to traverse a country at a crossroads.

One Day. Two Shows.
Come for one, stay for both, and immerse yourself in the unique soundscapes that define Gabriel Kahane’s groundbreaking works.

Hailed as “one of the finest songwriters of the day” by The New Yorker, Gabriel Kahane is a musician and storyteller whose work spans the theater, club, and concert hall.

Highlights of the 2024-25 season include a return to the New York stage in a production at Playwrights Horizons of two solo works, Magnificent Bird and Book of Travelers, which Gabriel performs in repertory. In addition, he tours as a duo with fellow composer/performer Caroline Shaw in the United States and Europe, including performances at the Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall, and the Concertgebouw. This season also witnesses the premiere of a clarinet concerto for Anthony McGill, a solo debut with the Orchestre National de Lyon, as well as Kahane’s San Francisco conducting debut in Carla Kihlstedt’s Twenty-six Little Deaths.

Kahane maintains a diverse roster of collaborators from various corners of the musical universe, ranging from Phoebe Bridgers, Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens, and Sylvan Esso, to the Danish String Quartet, Roomful of Teeth, and Attacca Quartet. As a writer, he has been published by The New Yorker online and The New York Times; a newsletter and collection of essays on music, literature, and politics can be found at gabrielkahane.substack.com.

Piano and Vocals: Gabriel Kahane
Photo of Gabriel Kahane by: Josh Goleman
All music and lyrics by: Gabriel Kahane, © 2016-2018 Magdeburg Music (ASCAP)