Third Annual Festival of Firsts to Return to Lincoln Center in October

The third annual Festival of Firsts will return to Lincoln Center from October 2-18 at the David Rubenstein Atrium, as part of the Lincoln Center Presents fall/winter programming. This year’s festival features a diverse range of artists in debut performances across music, theater, puppetry, social dance, comedy, and more.

Building upon the past two years of Festival of Firsts, this year’s rendition features an even broader global perspective, showcasing emerging and established artists from across Chile, Colombia, Cuba, France, Jordan, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, and beyond. All taking place for FREE at the David Rubenstein Atrium, the series offers a platform for new voices and perspectives in the arts.

Lincoln Center’s Festival of Firsts
October 2-18, 2024
David Rubenstein Atrium

FREE
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Comedy in Español
Lincoln Center's First Comedy Night in Español
Be a part of history at the Atrium's very first Spanish-language comedy night, headlined by one of the most well-known comedians in Latin America, Fabrizio Copano, and joined by his very funny friends, Pedro Gonzalez and Carmen Lynch! With the largest Latine population in the U.S., New York City is home to an abundance of talent. Enjoy an evening with these incredible comics as humor transcends barriers through the universal language of laughter.
 

FREE
Thursday, October 3, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Truth Future Bachman's SECOND SIGHT
World Premiere
Brooklyn-based composer, playwright, and vocalist Truth Future Bachman deftly interweaves three of the most compelling cultural threads of our moment: musical theater, gender fluidity, and superhero/sci-fi parables. The third act in a series of queer and trans superhero musicals called Shapeshifters (following Luna & the Starbodies and Skyward: An Endling Elegy), SECOND SIGHT is a prophecy of love that persists, resists, and survives the end of the world. Xander is a doctor facing an impossible choice. To escape the iron fist of the 'Dissociate or Die' policy, he flees to the outskirts of society, where musicians, poets, and baristas create an unlikely coalition. Here, bodies entwine and erotic acts of rebellion erupt in defiance. At the heart of it all is Sike, an oracle whose visions conjure unseen futures. But when Sike's dreams awaken Xander's dormant healing powers, the two find their revolution—and their desires—at the center of a war zone.
 

FREE
Friday, October 4, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Y la Bamba
Lincoln Center Debut
*This event will be livestreamed on LincolnCenter.org/Livestreams*
Making their Lincoln Center debut, the genre-defying band Y la Bamba fuses Indie pop and Mexican folk music into a global, experimental sound. Led by Luz Elena Mendoza, NPR Music says: "Mendoza is becoming a visionary, and her band continues to intrigue as it evolves." With roots in the Pacific Northwest and Mexico, incisive lyrics and Mendoza’s earth-shaking voice, this relentlessly inventive group is one not to miss.

FREE
Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Bendik Giske
Lincoln Center Debut
In his Lincoln Center debut, saxophonist and two-time Norwegian GRAMMY nominee Bendik Giske is in his prime. With a vulnerable approach cultivated from years of peeling away the stricter elements of his training, this artist quite literally amplifies his own imperfections: the sounds of his breathing and tapping against his instrument become a hypnotic second partner in his solo work. Don’t miss this meditative musician as he further explores an inclusive, improvisatory landscape.

FREE
Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Amina Claudine Myers
Lincoln Center Debut
Acclaimed pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and educator Amina Claudine Myers makes her long overdue debut at Lincoln Center with a collection of some of her greatest compositions. With expertise in gospel, jazz, blues, classical music and more, Ms. Myers has made her mark in every musical genre and toured worldwide with some of music’s most celebrated stars. Be sure to catch this living legend onstage!

FREE
Friday, October 11, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Epidermis Circus: The Weirdest Puppet Show You’ve Ever Seen.
Lincoln Center Debut
*Please note: this production contains sexual content, profanity, depictions of suicide, and loud music. The show is intended for audiences 14+.
Ingrid Hansen, puppeteer for the Jim Henson Company’s Fraggle Rock, makes her Lincoln Center debut with her award-winning spicy puppetry cabaret Epidermis Circus. Using only household objects, a camera, and her bare hands, Hansen animates cheeky vignettes in the palm of her hand to create a gloriously inventive and wickedly funny live puppet film. Hailed as the kind of presence that is often attributed to the greatest stage performers, Ingrid’s is a show that must not be missed. This event is presented in collaboration with the SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles, touring in from Victoria, Canada.
*This event will be a Relaxed Performance, open to all, but designed for people with autism, sensory and communication disorders or learning disabilities

FREE
Saturday, October 12, 2024 at 11:00 am

Farah Siraj
World Premiere
In this program designed for Lincoln Center's family audiences, Farah Siraj and her band will be publicly performing selections from her soon-to-be-released EP for the first time! She approaches music as a medium for peace and a way to lend a voice to people around the world who need to be heard. Farah's Arabian flamenco jazz quartet features world-class musicians from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, fusing Middle Eastern music, flamenco, jazz, bossa, and pop. Farah’s songs are sung in Arabic, English, and Spanish; don't be surprised if she asks you to sing along with her!

FREE
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Alex Cuba
Lincoln Center Debut
GRAMMY Award winner and multiple Latin GRAMMY Award-winning composer and performer, Alex Cuba searches for the simplicity and soul in Cuban music with the gift of his sugarcane-sweet melodies, pop-soul hooks and powerful guitar riffs. Frequent collaborator with some of today’s biggest musical stars, the ever-exploring and evolving musician in his Lincoln Center debut mixes North American influences with Cuban folk traditions, defying conventional stereotypes and finding joy in every note he plays.

FREE
Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Nova Materia
Lincoln Center Debut
Marking their first performance at Lincoln Center, the duet behind Nova Materia’s powerful, hypnotic music incorporates eerie sounds generated by raw and mineral materials (metal, rocks, and more) to create tracks that are in turn hyper-rhythmic and dreamy, poised between post-punk rock and electronic dance music. French-born Caroline Chaspoul and Chilean musician Eduardo Henriquez are a captivating team that will provide an unforgettable evening!

FREE
Friday, October 18, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Liza + Willie
Lincoln Center Debut
The sensational bachata duo Liza + Willie have known each other since high school and have quickly racked up fans, with over 5 million streams on Spotify and over 600k views on YouTube. As the first Bachateros to perform at the Smithsonian Museum for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) committee in Washington, Liza + Willie is a pair not to be missed.
 

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