William Close To Perform At Official NFL Super Bowl Tailgate Party, Alongside Gavin DeGraw & Dierks Bentley

June 19, 2015 BY Nettwerk

Nettwerk recording artist William Close & The Earth Harp Collective – a team of musicians, dancers, aerialists and artists – will bring their unique performance-based experience to the official NFL Super Bowl XLIX Tailgate Party, alongside fellow musicians Dierks Bentley and Gavin DeGraw. In the past, the Tailgate Party has boasted a talent lineup that included Phillip Phillips, Lenny Kravitz, The Fray, OneRepublic, Jersey Boys and more.

Installation artist, musician and America’s Got Talent finalist William Close has built over 100 one-of-a-kind musical instruments, including the world’s largest string instrument, The Earth Harp. Developed by Close, the body of the instrument rests on the stage, while the strings travel over the audience, attaching to the back of the theatre, concert hall and/or festival ground, turning every space into an instrument. By rubbing violin rosin covered gloves along the strings, Close delivers The Harp’s signature bowed sound. “It’s an instrument unlike anything Bach or Beethoven could have ever imagined,” writes The New York Times.

Close studied sculpture and sound design at the Art Institute of Chicago. His installations and performances have been experienced around the world – including The Coliseum in Rome, The Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center, The Seattle Space Needle, the temples of Vietnam, Grand Theater of Shanghai International Arts Festival, Brazil’s Theatro Municipal in São Paulo, The Dhow Harbour in Qatar, and major US festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bumbershoot, Burning Man, Lightning In A Bottle, and more. The Earth Harp is a permanent installation for Cirque du Soleil show, KA, at the MGM Las Vegas.

Experience The “Earth Harp” Here:

William Close & The Earth Harp has released two albums – Behind The Veil and Holidays – that are now available HERE.