The Golden Hour featuring Lucy Sante and Simon Hanes' Tsons of Tsunami

Spend a midsummer evening inside the inviting and electric world of The Golden Hour, ArtYard’s ongoing series that features some of the boldest and most singular artists in an intimate salon format. This special summer edition features celebrated writer and artist Lucy Sante reading from her work as well as a performance from composer and musician Simon Hanes and his psychedelic surf-rock ensemble Tsons of Tsunami.

Sante is the author of Low Life, The Other Paris, K*ll All Your Darlings, and I Heard Her Call My Name, a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize. Her many honors include a Whiting Writers’ Award, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an appointment as Officer of the Order of the Crown in Belgium. She taught writing and the history of photography at Bard College for 24 years and is currently at work on a new book while developing an expanding body of visual collage works.

Hanes is a composer, performer, and arranger whose work centers on bridging his main influences— soundtrack music from 1960s/70s Italian films, contemporary classical music, and non-idiomatic improvisation. Hanes is known for the ensemble Tredici Bacci, thrash-noise outfit Trigger, which has performed extensively in the US and Europe as part of composer John Zorn’s bagatelles project; GNR8RZ, a noise/improv quartet with Anthony Coleman, solo works, film scores, and his recent epic piece GARGANTUA.

Curated and hosted by Joseph Keckler, The Golden Hour unfolds as a kaleidoscopic evening of music, storytelling, and unexpected performance. Past guests have included Charlie Kaufman, Edgar Oliver, Alex Tatarsky, Lindy West, Ahamefule Oluo, and Dael Orlandersmith.